KEY POINTS

  • The Atlanta Braves' conquest was predicted accurately in March by Plouffe
  • Jorge Soler's move has been justified with a second World Series title
  • The last-minute trade deadline benefitted greatly the Braves’ cinderella run greatly

The Atlanta Braves won the 2021 World Series, a Cinderella story that caught most by surprise.

They finished off the Houston Astros in six games, 7-0, an outcome that someone may have already predicted back in March.

Giving a wild guess on the potential outcome of games or series is nothing new. But rarely would most call it accurately such as former big leaguer Trevor Plouffe.

It was on March 31 when the 35-year-old baseball player-turned media personality made the daring prediction that the Braves would win over the Astros in 6 games, something he posted on Twitter.

Some may call it a wild or lucky guess. But it is just one of the many sidelights pointed out by MLB.com concerning the 2021 World Series win of the Braves.

Looking back at how they got here, it was not a smooth ride.

Atlanta lost some key players like Mike Soroka, Charlie Morton and Ronald Acuña. This explains why they never led in the NL East until August.

To make up for those missing players, Atlanta needed to make its move and did so in the closing hours of the trade deadline last July 30.

They acquired Adam Duvall, Jorge Soler and Eddie Rosario, thanks to the efforts of Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos.

The moves are justified and undoubtedly paid off.

In Game 6, there was no denying that Atlanta wanted to cap off their run. They came out with a dominant performance, but it was not until the final out when it all sunk in for the Braves.

Atlanta had finally won the World Series for the first time since 1995.

Soler, one of the key players that the Braves got in July, undoubtedly played a key role. That included a three-run blast in the third inning that pushed Atlanta ahead.

The 29-year-old Cuban ended up being named the World Series MVP, largely because of his clutch hitting and 1.191 OPS.

It was fitting as well for the MLB veteran who missed four games of the NL Championship against the Los Angeles Dodgers after testing positive for COVID-19.

He returned in time for Game 1 against the Astros, and the rest is history.

 Jorge Soler #12 of the Atlanta Braves is named the MVP following the team's 7-0 victory against the Houston Astros in Game Six to win the 2021 World Series at Minute Maid Park
Jorge Soler #12 of the Atlanta Braves is named the MVP following the team's 7-0 victory against the Houston Astros in Game Six to win the 2021 World Series at Minute Maid Park Getty Images | Bob Levey