October is here and that means that the Fall Classic, or World Series, is also here. This year’s matchup is the Atlanta Braves versus the Houston Astros.

Both teams have a good chance at raising the trophy, but it’ll be a long hard-fought battle to get there. The Atlanta Braves are really an anomaly compared to most of the other teams in the postseason. As a result of the way the postseason is structured, the Braves made it to the postseason with only 88 wins in the regular season. This is mind-boggling, especially because both the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners had more wins than the Braves but didn’t make the playoffs. Again, this is all a result of how the postseason is structured. 

Based solely on numbers, the Atlanta Braves were the worst team to make the playoffs. They defeated the Milwaukee Brewers and the ever-powerful Los Angeles Dodgers to earn a World Series appearance. 

The Braves’ pitching staff is very weak, especially after losing their ace Mike Soroka. Atlanta has made up for their lack of pitching with stellar offense. Reoccurring Braves stars like Freddie Freeman, Austin Riley, and Ozzie Albies have made their mark on the postseason. Ronald Acuna Jr., who is one of the brightest stars of the game and easily the best player on the Braves, got injured and is currently recovering. 

To fill that void, Atlanta traded for three outfielders. They were Joc Pederson, Jorge Soler, and Eddie Rosario. These players were seen as bench players and not a significant upgrade when they were acquired, but that couldn’t be further from the truth now. These three have come in clutch in the postseason and played hard when they needed to.

On paper, Atlanta is not the better team participating in the World Series. That doesn’t mean they don’t have a chance to win it all. They are the underdogs and could pull off a magical run like the 2019 Washington Nationals. To do so, they would have to defeat the Houston Astros. 

The Astros are infamous for the cheating scandal that led them to a World Series win in 2017. Many baseball fans still boo the Astros and criticize the players who weren’t punished at all. Houston fans look at this as a chance for redemption. This is the opportunity to show the world that the Astros didn’t need to cheat to win. A World Series victory would silence the haters. 

Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, and Carlos Correa are the three big stars that were involved in the scandal in 2017 and are still on the 2021 Astros. Even without the cheating, they are really good players. This will be seen when Correa becomes a free agent and gets a big contract this offseason. They still have talent and can make some noise on the field. 

They are the better team on paper. It’s the Astros chance for redemption, will they seize it? It’s an interesting World Series matchup that will make for an exciting series. Currently, the Braves lead the series 3-2, but anything can happen in the postseason. Whatever happens, it is exciting to see who will be the best in baseball in 2021.