By: Kipp Branch

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The Atlanta Braves are your 2021 World Series Champions!

That sounds pretty good doesn’t it Braves fans? This Braves team was not favored in a single series this postseason.

The Brewers, Dodgers, and the Astros all found out that the Atlanta Braves were a team of destiny in 2021. It has been a long 26 years since the last championship in 1995.

To give you some context here is what the world looked like in 1995:

Cost of Living in 1995

Average Cost of new house $113,150.00.

Average Income per year $35,900.00.

Average Monthly Rent $550.00.

Cost of a gallon of Gas $1.09.

US Postage Stamp 32 cents.

Average cost of new car $15,500.00.

To say it mildly a lot of things have changed in those 26 years.

Things looked bleak for 2021 when Ronald Acuna got hurt and was lost for the season with a torn ACL in early July in Miami.

The Braves were not really playing good baseball. At the time the Braves were trailing the Mets in the Eastern division. Actually, the Braves started the evolution to become a World champion back in 2017 when they hired Alex Anthopoulos as GM to clean up a huge mess in the Atlanta Braves Front office, whose illegal signings in Latin America cost the team 13 prospects, wrecked their ability to pursue premium international talent for two years and got the previous GM, John Coppolella, banned from the sport for life.

Anthopoulos, with the Braves not even playing .500 baseball at the time put together an outfield for the stretch run that may go down as some of the greatest moves in baseball history.

It started with Joc Pederson, who came in with a swagger that helped ignite the clubhouse. Pederson hit some big HRs down the stretch as the Braves started winning games. The Pearls became a fashion statement in Atlanta.

Eddie Rosario was brought in from Cleveland. Rosario had to get healthy once he got to Atlanta and then his bat paid dividends. Ask the Los Angeles Dodgers how good he is as Rosario was the NLCS MVP.

Adam Duvall was brought back in from Miami with his much-needed power added into the lineup.

Jorge Soler was brought in from Kansas City and hit a HR in game 6 of the World Series in Houston that landed in the Gulf of Mexico. Soler went on to become the World Series MVP.

These moves pieced together an outfield at the trade deadline that will be viewed as some of the greatest moves in baseball history.

The Atlanta Braves were playing sub-.500 ball until early August.

In fact, they were in third place in the NL East with a 52-55 record entering play on August 3. They went 36-18 in the final third of the season, which was enough to win the NL East by 6.5 games and were a red hot team entering the playoffs.

The bullpen, which struggled for most of the season, became lights out down the stretch run and in the postseason. Minter, Matzek, and Smith became a feared trio in the playoffs.

The magical season just ended in a World Championship for the City of Atlanta. Alex Anthopoulos deserves a lot of credit for building this roster and salvaging the season when things looked bleak. He deserves a huge raise.

Now the Braves need to get Mike Soroka and Ronald Acuna healthy, re-sign Freddie Freeman to a mega deal to make him a Brave for life, and decide what they are going to do with the championship pieces assembled at the trade deadline.

The Braves can worry about those items in a few weeks. Now is the time to celebrate your World Champion Atlanta Braves.