The Atlanta Braves have won the World Series in 2021!

November 2, 2021. The Braves have just beaten the Astros to take the World Series 4-2.

It’s been a long winding road for the franchise to take this victory, and I thought I’d share some of my perspective on part of their journey.

2003
Bobby Cox manages the Braves to a 101-61 record. Braves lose the NLDS in five against the Cubs. I was in the stands with Lena for games two and three at Turner Field.

Turner Field, October 1, 2003. NL Division Series vs Chicago Cubs.

2004-2005
Braves lose the NLDS to the Astros two years in a row.

2006-2009
After 14 straight division titles, the golden era of the Braves comes to an end. A few years with no playoff baseball in Atlanta.

2010
The final season of Bobby Cox. The Braves clinch the Wild Card on the last day of the season beating the Phillies 8-7 with me, Lena, my mother, brother and my two daughters in the stands at Turner Field. Heartbreaking loss to the Giants in four games in the NLDS.

October 3, 2010. NL Division Series vs San Francisco Giants.
October 3, 2010. Regular season finale.
This was the final game that Bobby Cox ever coached. The big 6 in the outfield is in tribute to him. Fans would shout ”Get off the 6!” whenever an outfielder stepped on his number. 🙂

2011
We fly to Atlanta with the intention of watching some playoff baseball, only to have the team finish the season abysmally and lose the Wild Card spot to the Cardinals in the final game of the season. No October baseball for us this year.

2012
The last season of Chipper Jones. I and my brother Lars come to Atlanta to watch the Braves play the single NL Wild Card Game against the St Louis Cardinals, only to have them lose in a heartbreak. This was the infamous ”infield fly rule” game, where the umpire called Andrelton Simmons out on an infield fly way out in left field in the bottom of the eighth inning. Very high energy game that felt like it might end in a riot.

”Infield Fly Rule” game, NL Wild Card Game, October 5, 2012

2013
Braves win their division again. Lena and I fly to Atlanta to support the Braves in their four game loss to the Dodgers in the NLDS.

October 4, 2013. NLDS vs LA Dodgers.

2014-2017
Painful rebuilding years. No playoff baseball for us, we do catch a couple of games at the new stadium in Cobb County in 2017.

Suntrust Park in 2017.
July 4, 2017.

2018-2019
Braves lose the NLDS both years.

2020
Shortened Covid-19 season. The Braves sweep the Reds 2-0 in the Wild Card Series and sweep the Marlins 3-0 in the NLDS. Heartbreaking loss after having been up 3-1 in the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

2021
The year of the Atlanta Braves, finally! I wish we could have gone to a World Series game, but unfortunately the lingering pandemic put a stop to it. Still, we stayed up through the nights and watched the playoffs from home.

I got an ”A” tattoo early in the season. It seems fitting that this was the year the Braves won it all.