Baseball, one of the most popular sports in the US, crowned a new champion. In game six, the Atlanta Braves defeated the Houston Astros by 7-0 and have won their first World Series title since 1995.
Atlanta took the lead early on. Jorge Soler hit a three-run home run in the top of the third after Ozzie Albies singled and Eddie Rosario walked around two flyouts. Soler, born in Cuba, was named World Series MVP.
In the fifth, Atlanta-area native Dansby Swanson made it 5-0. Two batters later, first baseman Freddie Freeman made the score 6-0, after Soler had walked, and in the top of the seventh, Freeman had a single home run to make it 7-0 and stamp Atlanta’s win.
The Braves starting pitcher, Max Fried, also had a fantastic game, striking out six in six innings while giving only four singles.
The Braves’ 88 regular-season wins make them only the eighth sub-90 win team to take the World Series. The team reached the .500 on August 8th, making them the latest World Series-bound team.
The title is their second since moving to Atlanta in 1996, as the other one was won in 1995.
Unlike their 1995 title, when the team was full of Hall of Famers, they had a different team this time. The Braves acquired Adam Duvall, NL Championship Series MVP, Eddie Rosario, and World Series MVP, Jorge Soler, on Trade Deadline Day.
The team had a record 59 home runs from players that started the season with another team.
The latest audience numbers prove that baseball’s popularity is diminishing. While the sport was the most popular until the 60s, now it is second to football. The 2021 World Series had the second-lowest viewership ever, behind only the 2020 pandemic-affected year.
