This year the 2021 World Series has come and gone with the Atlanta Braves handily winning the series against the Houston Astros 4–2. 

The Astros remained a favorite amongst gamblers and odds favorers. The Braves, however, had the rockiest road to even make it to the playoffs, much less the World Series. With injuries galore, losing streaks and even losing their first series of the season, the Braves overcame those obstacles and took home the victory for the first time since 1995.

Looking at the Astros record, they dominated the American League West (AL West), topping off the regular season with 95 wins and 67 losses. Comparing the Braves 88–73 record to Houston, the odds make sense. 

Not only does their record not compare, but the Braves had one of their crucial hitters, Ronald Acuña Jr, injured along with one of their pitchers, Mike Soroka. That’s not to say that Houston didn’t have their fair share of injuries. Both pitchers Lance McCullers and Pedro Baez were injured in October just before the series.

In game three, the Braves showed an amazing feat of defense.They shut out the Astro’s completely and pitcher Ian Anderson got a perfect game allowing no hits, making the final score 2–0.

The Braves were the last team anybody expected to win the series— teams like the Dodgers with massive salary incentives were top picks over them. This means they pull the best of the best in the league and are always on top. Debates occur over these massive salaries and the argument that there should be a salary cap in the Major League Baseball (MLB) is in serious consideration. Having such large signing bonuses and contracts allows teams to require the best of the best and make it to the finals time after time. The consensus is that a salary cap would prevent this from happening and make the game more fair.

For the whole season the Braves seemed to have been cursed with Murphy’s law. Everything that could go wrong did, and they still ran out with the victory.