‘Chop’ cheer to greet Braves as World Series hits Atlanta
WASHINGTON: The Atlanta Braves, unbeaten at home in this year’s Major League Baseball playoffs, will try to reclaim the lead in the 117th World Series on Friday, October 29 (Saturday in Manila) by defeating the Houston Astros.
With their supporters delivering the controversial “Tomahawk Chop” cheer in what some see as an insult to Native Americans, the Braves will try to bounce back from a 7-2 loss Wednesday (Thursday) at Houston that left the best-of-seven series level 1-1.
“Realistically, you want to win two,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “But if you can split and go home, where we’ve been really good, that’s a positive.”
The Braves are 5-0 at home in this year’s playoffs. But they have a fivegame home losing streak in World Series contests from 1996 and 1999.
“The atmosphere is awesome,” Snitker said of home games. “Braves Country is real.”
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred backed the Braves nickname and “Tomahawk Chop” cheer this week, saying Native Americans in the Atlanta area are “fully supportive of the Braves’ program, including the chop. For me, that’s kind of the end of the story.”
National Council of American Indians president Fawn Sharp ripped Manfred’s comments, saying the group has repeatedly told the Braves that “Native people are not mascots and degrading rituals like the ‘Tomahawk Chop’ that dehumanize and harm us have no place in American society.”
MLB saw the end of the Cleveland Indians earlier this year, the club retiring its’ long-time nickname in favor of Cleveland Guardians starting next season.
Atlanta is playing in the World Series for the first time since 1999 and chasing the team’s first title since 1995.
The Astros are in the World Series for the third time in five seasons, having won a 2017 crown tainted by a cheating scandal for stealing signs and lost to Washington in seven games in 2019.
Ian Anderson, a 23-year-old US right-hander, will be Atlanta’s starting pitcher in game three against 24-year-old Venezuelan righthander Luis Garcia for Houston.
It’s only the eighth time in World Series history, and first time since 2006, that two rookies will start.