Series pairing looks at iconic past
But some might not support ‘cheating’ Astros or chanting/chopping Braves.
Freddie Freeman is swinging onto baseball’s biggest stage for the first time, Jose Altuve & Co. are back for more. Luis Garcia, Framber Valdez and a fresh set of Houston arms will face Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley and eager, young Atlanta bats. And then there’s the quest of Dusty Baker.
There’s a lot to savor in this Braves-Astros World Series — even a family faceoff. Atlanta manager Brian Snitker’s son, Troy, is a Houston hitting coach.
“It [looks] like the Snitkers are going to have a World Series trophy in their house here,” the senior Snitker said Saturday night. “I don’t know who is going to own it, but we’re going to have one. So that’s a pretty cool thing too.”
A matchup six decades in the making, pairing former National League rivals who’ve played more than 700 times, including five postseason series. Think of The Hammer and The Toy Cannon teeing up a home run derby at the Astrodome, or Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz vs. Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio on a June evening on TBS.
Because of scheduling and COVID-19, the Astros and Braves haven’t seen each other since 2017. They’ll now meet for Game 1 on Tuesday night in Houston.
The Astros opened as a 3-2 favorite, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
But there are many baseball fans who might not be thrilled to see either team in late October.
Altuve and Astros teammates Carlos Correa, Alex Bregman and Yuli Gurriel will forever wear the label of cheaters after being part of a team that devised an illegal, signstealing scheme on its way to the 2017 championship.
At Minute Maid Park, they’re cheered. At every other ballpark, they’re heckled — and worse — as the game’s worst villains.
“I think we’ve all wanted to prove what kind of class of players that we are and team that we are,” AL Championship Series MVP Yordan Alvarez said.
“I wasn’t here with the team in 2017, but I’ve gotten booed just as equal as anybody else.”
The Astros are in the World Series for the third time in five years. Atlanta is making its first appearance in the Fall Classic since 1999 and is boosted by NL Championship Series MVP Eddie Rosario,
Yet while the roster and stadium have changed, the sights and sounds in Atlanta still remain. Throughout the NLCS, fans at Truist Park emphatically chopped and chanted during big moments for the Braves.
In an era of social reckoning that saw the Cleveland Indians change their name to the Guardians and Washington’s NFL team get rid of a name considered racist, the scene in Atlanta is sure to draw increased attention.
On the field — and the bench — a lot of eyes will be on Baker. He won the World Series as a player with the Dodgers in 1981 and has taken five teams to the playoffs as a manager but has never won the crown.
Baker took this job in 2020 in the wake of Houston’s cheating scandal. At 72, with a lifetime of credentials, he gets another chance.