Atlanta and Houston have good reasons to be thankful for the Fall Classic.
The stage is set for the 2021 World Series, Houston Astros vs. the Atlanta Braves. For the Astros, it’s the third World Series in five years. A dynasty could be in the making. Atlanta is back in the Fall Classic by virtue of winning 88 regular-season wins and then beating the formidable Dodgers in the NL Championship series. The Astros will have home-field advantage in the series that begins tonight at 8:09p Eastern time, televised by FOX.
Why is this Series especially important? There are two reasons.
The Braves home, Trust Park, was supposed to host MLB’s 2021 All-Star game. But after the Georgia Legislature passed the Election Integrity Act–viewed negatively by many as a voting restriction bill–and MLB moved the game to Coors Field in Denver, home of the Colorado Rockies. I don’t understand why MLB moved the game from a metro community with an extensive African American population (around 40%) to a city with about a 10% African-American population.
Second, the Astros are still receiving backlash from the scandal that rocked the sport in 2017. The Astros won that series in seven games, winning the finale in LA. Skills and execution are always the bottom lines in sports. But here were are, four years later, and people are still talking about 2017. The Astros are where they are because they earned it, managed ably by veteran Dusty Baker, the 9th manager to win a pennant in both leagues.
It’s going to be a fun series for the great cities of Houston and Atlanta. It’s also a tremendous opportunity to bring people together. And that’s how it should be.
