The Atlanta Braves are the 2021 World Series champions after a 7-0 win against the Houston Astros in Game 6. This was the Braves first World Series title in 26 years, which is also the last time that Atlanta has won a championship in any sport. According to the Braves manager Brian Snitker, “Everybody that’s in the World Series right now is gassed, everybody and both teams, all the players. It’s been a long year.” The Braves returned to Atlanta leading the series 3-2. 

The Braves hit three home runs between the third inning and the seventh inning. In the third, right fielder Jorge Soler (designated hitter) hit a three-run homer. Then in the fifth, shortstop Dansby Swanson hit a two-run home run. To make the game 6-0, first baseman Freddie Freeman hit the ball deep to left field for a double. Soler was on base and scored. Freeman then returned with a solo homer to put the Braves up 7-0. 

Jorge Soler was named the World Series MVP. Soler grew up in Cuba and at age 18, he left Cuba on a boat with his father in order to pursue his dreams of being a baseball player. His father told the New York Times that “He always wanted to play baseball, and from a young age, he [had] the talent. And he wanted to play in the big leagues.” His efforts in the World Series earned him this title, putting him in the same league as pitcher Livan Hernández of the Florida Marlins, who is the only other Cuban-born player to win the MVP title. 

At the end of the game, with a Cuban flag draping behind his shoulders and his daughter in his arms, he said in Spanish, “This means a lot to me … This is the biggest thing that’s happened to me in my career, especially from where I come from, Cuba. It’s harder to reach here and reach the big leagues and have these results. It’s incredible.”