I've been a Braves fan for most of my 61 years. I remember sitting with my granddad watching them clinch in 1969 and being so disappointed to lose to the cursed Mets. After watching horrid baseball for most of the 70s and 80s, I honestly thought I would never see the Braves in the World Series. I remember sitting with my grandparents watching games on the Superstation and even calling them from a graveyard shift job to get updates on game results, but we never seemed to win more than the occasional western division championship.
Then 1991 happened and the Braves became magical. What a run! Sadly, my grandparents missed that, but I still watched for them. The Braves did it with phenomenal pitching, great defense and timely hitting - a formula that stood the test of time - a team that took advantage of the fact that Turner Field was a tough place to hit it out. There always seemed to be young players coming onto the roster at the right time. Then we hit the skids again and had to go into rebuild mode in the 2010s.
Now the team, again built without just throwing money at the roster like the Dodgers or Yankees, takes advantage of its new field and the short porch in right, as well as analytics combined with a coaching staff that is old school, to win another World Championship - only the 4th in franchise history - 1914, 1957, 1995 and now 2021. Best pitcher is out with an Achilles; best player is out with a torn ACL; one of the best hitters on the team KOs himself with a domestic violence charge; and assorted other injuries all season.... Alex Anthopoulos is a friggin' genius.... We didn't get to .500 until August 6th. Incredible! These things come few and far between. Cherish this one! Brian Snitker's story of 45 years with the Braves organization is a fantastic story, and he almost didn't get the job or keep the job after he got it. Sad that we lost Hank and Knucksie this year; they would have taken great joy from this season.
Then 1991 happened and the Braves became magical. What a run! Sadly, my grandparents missed that, but I still watched for them. The Braves did it with phenomenal pitching, great defense and timely hitting - a formula that stood the test of time - a team that took advantage of the fact that Turner Field was a tough place to hit it out. There always seemed to be young players coming onto the roster at the right time. Then we hit the skids again and had to go into rebuild mode in the 2010s.
Now the team, again built without just throwing money at the roster like the Dodgers or Yankees, takes advantage of its new field and the short porch in right, as well as analytics combined with a coaching staff that is old school, to win another World Championship - only the 4th in franchise history - 1914, 1957, 1995 and now 2021. Best pitcher is out with an Achilles; best player is out with a torn ACL; one of the best hitters on the team KOs himself with a domestic violence charge; and assorted other injuries all season.... Alex Anthopoulos is a friggin' genius.... We didn't get to .500 until August 6th. Incredible! These things come few and far between. Cherish this one! Brian Snitker's story of 45 years with the Braves organization is a fantastic story, and he almost didn't get the job or keep the job after he got it. Sad that we lost Hank and Knucksie this year; they would have taken great joy from this season.