Atlanta Braves win 2021 World Series

The Atlanta Braves beat the Houston Astros 7-0 in Game 6 of the World Series at Minute Maid Park on Wednesday, taking the series 4-2.

The Braves won the World Series title for the first time since 1996, when the Big Three starting pitchers including Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz played for the franchise. It is the Braves’ fourth World Series crown following 1914 (Boston Braves) and 1957 (Milwaukee Braves). Braves’ legendary right fielder Hank Aaron (755 career home runs), who led the team to a World Series victory in 1957, died in January this year, and the Braves coincidentally won the World Series title in the same year.

The Braves’ road to the World Championship was rockier than teams. Outfielder Marcell Ozuna, 31, was arrested on domestic violence charges in May and outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. missed the rest of the season after tearing the ACL in his right knee in July. The Braves were in third place in National League (NL) East with a 44-45 record at the All-Star break. FanGraphs predicted that the Braves had 8 percent playoff odds and 0.3 percent World Series odds.

Atlanta Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos, however, held out hope. The Braves acquired Jox Pederson from the Chicago Cubs in July and added outfielders including Adam Duvall, Eddie Rosario and Jorge Solar on July 31, the final day for the trade. With the help of these new players, the Braves had a 44-28 second-half record, advancing to playoffs as the leader of NL East.


Hong-Gu Kang windup@donga.com