One of the most consistent franchises in Major League Baseball (MLB), the Atlanta Braves made the playoffs in 14 consecutive seasons from 1991 to 2005—the longest streak in MLB history—and appeared in a record eight consecutive League Championship Series. Atlanta missed the playoffs four consecutive seasons from 2006 to 2009 but has since made the postseason in seven of 12 seasons.
The Braves lost in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series (NLCS) in 2020 but made the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year in 2021. Winning the team’s first World Series since 1995 and for the fourth time in franchise history, the Braves defeated the Houston Astros in six games. Max Fried pitched six shutout innings and Jorge Soler drove in three runs as the Braves won Game 6 by a score of 7-0. Despite the Braves’ consistency over the years, it was a surprising victory for a number of reasons.
1. Fewest Regular Season Wins among Playoff Teams
Except for the Braves, every team that qualified for the MLB playoffs had at least 90 wins. Atlanta finished the season with just 88 wins, which was not only the fewest among all contenders but also the least amount of wins in a full 162-game season for a Braves playoff team since 2001, when the team lost in the NLCS after winning 88 games. The Braves have never made the playoffs with fewer than 88 victories.
Despite finishing the season with a win-loss record of 88-73, Atlanta didn’t reach a .500 winning percentage until August 6, when the team scored an 8-4 victory over the Washington Nationals. The Braves finished the first month of the season with a 12-14 record, prompting Sports Illustrated‘s Tom Verducci to ponder if their playoff aspirations were in danger. The team hovered around .500 during the next three months but won 36 of its 54 games to close out the season.
However, Atlanta’s impressive finish wasn’t enough to convince MLB analysts. Only two of 36 analysts at ESPN picked the Braves to win the National League.
2. Missing Its Best Offensive Player
One of the primary reasons few analysts believed in the Braves as a World Series contender was the fact the team was without its most talented offensive player. Ronald Acuna Jr., a 23-year-old outfielder from Venezuela, played only 82 games this season and had 24 home runs, 52 RBI, and a career-best .990 OPS. However, he tore his ACL in July and was subsequently ruled out for the remainder of the season.
3. The Revival of Jorge Soler
Atlanta didn’t have the star power of Acuna in its lineup, but it was able to replace his production with a combination of low-cost, low-risk additions, including Eddie Rosario, Joc Pederson, and Jorge Soler. The Braves acquired Soler from the Kansas City Royals on July 30 in exchange for right-handed minor league pitcher Kasey Kalich. Soler hit 48 home runs in 2019 but was in the midst of a down year before the trade to Atlanta. Through 94 games with Kansas City, he had only 13 home runs and a .192 batting average.
Soler played 55 regular-season games in Atlanta and recorded a .269 batting average in addition to 14 home runs and 33 RBI. He was even better in the playoffs, particularly in the World Series. He hit three home runs in the series, including a 446-foot, go-ahead, three-run shot in the decisive Game 6. He is the fourth Braves player to hit at least three home runs in a single World Series and became the second player from Cuba to be named World Series MVP.
4. Improved Bullpen
Improved pitching among its relievers was another reason for the Braves’ late-season turnaround. The team’s bullpen had a combined 4.58 ERA before the All-Star break compared to a 3.24 ERA in the second half of the season. The improved performance was especially noteworthy considering the Braves only added one pitcher, Richard Rodriguez, to its bullpen via mid-season trade.
Atlanta’s closer, Will Smith, recorded 37 saves and a 3.44 ERA during the regular season and was dominant in the playoffs. He closed out six games in the playoffs and didn’t allow a single earned run through 11 innings.
5. GM Was Forced to Watch at Home
Although he made several trades that helped Atlanta make the playoffs and ultimately win the World Series, Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos was unable to attend the team’s Game 6 victory in Houston as he previously tested positive for COVID-19. Anthopoulos kept the news to himself to avoid being a distraction and watched the game, or at least most of it, at home with his family.
“At the beginning of the game, I was stressing. I was telling my wife, ‘I don’t think I can watch,’” he told Sportsnet during an interview on November 3. “So I switched to the [Toronto Maple Leafs] game, the [Montreal] Canadiens were on, TNT had an NBA game on. I was trying to take my mind off of it.”
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