Carrying on the tradition of celebrating a championship at the White House, the 2021 World Series champion Atlanta Braves were honored by President Joe Biden on Monday in Washington, D.C.
General manager Alex Anthopoulos and skipper Brian Snitker presented Biden, the 46th president of the United States, with a No. 46 Braves home jersey.
“It was a rough start, played through injuries,” Biden said of the Braves’ run to the title. “At the All-Star break, not one day with a winning record. Given a 0.4 percent chance of winning on CNN. My batting average isn’t nearly as good.
“But the franchise never quit, never gave in. You rebuilt the whole outfield practically overnight. Play by play, inning by inning, you ground it out and you did it together.”
The Braves defeated the Houston Astros in six games to win their first title since 1995.
Biden said the team was lifted by the spirit of Hall of Famer and Braves legend Hank Aaron, who died before the 2021 season.
“This team is defined by the courage of Hank Aaron, the home run king and 25-time All-Star,” Biden said. “Hank Aaron shattered a lot of records, but he shattered racism as well, with dignity and with class.”
The Braves entered Monday 1 1/2 games behind the New York Mets in the National League East race, with just over a week before the regular season concludes.
“We have a very young and talented roster, and we hope this isn’t a one-and-done visit to your home,” Braves chairman Terry McGuirk told Biden. “In short, we plan to be back.”
–Field Level Media