Atlanta Braves are World Series Champions

There are very few things that compare to having your favourite team win a championship. And for the people of Atlanta this morning, they certainly are waking up with a smile on their face.

The Atlanta Braves defeated the Houston Astros 7-0 on Tuesday night to win the World Series. Something they have not accomplished since 1995.

“There’s a lot of players on that team that could have left,” said Darren Dupont. “They could have asked for trades, and they went through a lot of tough years since 95 and now they are on top again.”

It took six games, but the Braves are finally able to celebrate all the work they have put in over the last year to win it all.

On Wednesday’s The Rod Pedersen Show, we were able to talk with Dean Millard, the commissioner of Ultimate Fantasy League Baseball, and chat all about the Braves World Series win.

“I’ll be honest, I was surprised,” said Millard. “I thought Houston was going to win this. I thought their bats would overcome the pitching of the Atlanta Braves.”

But at the end of the day, the Braves were the last team standing, and it was something that came together through hard work, a little bit of luck, and maybe even friendship.

“The Braves used the word love a lot this season,” said Millard. “’We love each other,’ and you could really tell that team really came together. And keep in mind they did it without their best player. A top five guy in Ronald Acuña Jr. How many franchises could lose their best player and still win it all?”

It was a special evening the whole way through, and when the score reached 7-0 in the seventh inning, you had a feeling they were going to win it all. The biggest moment of all however, came in the ninth inning when Freddie Freeman made the catch at first to secure the out, and bring the championship to Atlanta.

THE ATLANTA BRAVES ARE WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 26 YEARS ‼️ pic.twitter.com/WWCscFx2Zs

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 3, 2021

The best part is you can see the smile start to break out even before the ball is in Freeman’s glove.

That is the champion feeling everyone dreams about.

For many MLB fans across the league, it was not about the Braves winning, but more about making sure the Astros lost.

“I think this went great for every fan that isn’t a Houston Astros fan,” said Millard. For many people, it’s hard to forget the sign-stealing scandal that was so much of a story during the 2017 championship.

“When Jim Crane said what they did didn’t taint their championship, I think it put everyone over the top,” said Millard. “And I feel that baseball fans were robbed of the opportunity to really give it to the Astros in the 2020 season. So, for them to get that close and then lose, I think a lot of baseball fans are happy about it.”

Now the Braves begin their journey to hopefully win back-to-back titles. General manager Alex Anthopoulos will have some big decisions to make this offseason, especially when it comes to Freddie Freeman. But until then, maybe the Braves can sit back and have some champagne first.