The World Series is a Division of Major League Baseball. It is the championship series that decides which team will win the best-of-seven playoff between two teams from opposite leagues, and determine who will compete in baseball’s premier event: The Fall Classic. The first World Series was played in 1903 and has been held every year since then except 1904 due to suspension caused by an American civil war., 2021 will mark 100 years since last season
The “world series 2021 winner” is the baseball championship of the world’s most popular sport. The World Series is a best-of-seven playoff series that determines the champion of Major League Baseball.
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- Author of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of Sports’ Most Valuable Commodity,” “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of Sports’ Most Valuable Commodity”
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HOUSTON, Texas — Throughout Game 1 of the World Series, people continued stopping into the visiting clubhouse’s training room to apologize to Atlanta Braves pitcher Charlie Morton for his misfortune. “I’m sorry,” he said to them, as well as others who reached out to wish him well after a comebacker fractured his leg.
In the second inning, the pitcher who wore a 102-mph shot off his right fibula apologized. The pitcher who battled through the discomfort to face three more hitters — and retire them all — expressed regret. The person who pushed himself to the point where his leg physically gave out under the strain of his exertion expressed regret.
“I’m not sure what more to say about Charlie Morton if it doesn’t tell you all you need to know about him,” Atlanta star Freddie Freeman said.
It’s vital to note that pain has always been a part of Morton’s baseball career. It’s not anything Morton would want on anyone else — his apologies demonstrate his legendary sincerity — but he’s still playing baseball at 37 because of what he learned in the first half of his career, when all he appeared to know was how his body felt when it betrayed him. There were major and little injuries, golden years squandered and talent robbed, and Morton ultimately realized that his work means accepting a brutal reality: throwing a baseball for a livelihood demands embracing the pain.
Morton’s actions Tuesday night, though, went beyond pain tolerance. He set the tone for Atlanta’s 6-2 win against the Houston Astros. He was so desperate to win a title that he’d pitch until his body couldn’t take it any more. He wanted to do it against the squad with whom he won a ring in 2017 and for whom he returned after almost a decade and a half away this year.
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Atlanta manager Brian Snitker remarked, “He was doing exactly what we recruited him to do.” “Bring credibility to the table. He did that for the whole year. He pulled it off tonight. I despise it for him. He’s the kind of man who would break his leg and then apologize.”
Sure, Morton’s wizened arm could still whip 97 mph fastballs and feather 80 mph curveballs when Atlanta signed him to a one-year, $15 million contract last November. But it was also for the same reason that he was so popular in the Tampa Bay Rays’ and Houston Astros’ clubhouses before moving to Atlanta: being around Morton is an exercise in delight and entertainment, in witnessing someone who exudes positive energy except when he’s being self-deprecating.
“He pitches eight innings, gives up one run, and then says, ‘I’m sorry, guys,’” said Atlanta catcher Travis d’Arnaud. “He honestly believes he shouldn’t have given up on a run.”
“His résumé is well-known, yet his humility is something you wouldn’t anticipate from someone with such a resume. He’s just so sincere all of the time, and he’ll tell you whatever he’s thinking. It makes no difference whether you’ve never played a day in your life or if you’ve spent 20 years in the majors.”
This is why so many teammates showed up in the locker room on Tuesday night. Morton is a fan favorite. He was when he arrived in Atlanta as a 24-year-old after spending seven years in the minors, and he was when Tommy John surgery, hip surgery, and shoulder injuries derailed his career, and he is now that he has finally stayed healthy for a few years in a row — culminating this season, when he tied for the National League lead with 33 starts and was dominant in the majority.
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In the second inning, Braves pitcher Charlie Morton takes a comebacker to his right leg and is forced out of the game.
The 96 mph fastball that Yuli Gurriel, the American League hitting champion, ricocheted off Morton, bouncing to Freeman for an easy out, didn’t seem to hurt Morton at first. Morton pretended it wasn’t a big deal. On four pitches, he struck out Chas McCormick. He threw six more to Martin Maldonado, grimacing sometimes but no more than a typical Charlie Morton start, during which his expressions are consistently funny.
The picture of Morton’s leg was taken by an X-ray machine at the stadium between innings, and the diagnosis was: no break. It ached, but his shoulder, elbow, and hip had hurt before, and he had pushed himself through them. It was the World Series, after all. Even though Atlanta has already signed Morton to a $20 million agreement through 2022, no one can foresee what will happen. Perhaps this was his best shot for a championship. He wasn’t going to let his discomfort stop him from returning.
So he returned for the third inning, throwing six pitches and catching Altuve staring at a curveball for the second time, only this time he pirouetted away, a grimace creasing his face, and avoided landing on a ginger leg that had been ambushed by Gurriel’s batted ball 30 minutes, 39 seconds earlier.
“It’s remarkable that he even considered going out there, and I’m sure it was so A.J. could have some more time to get ready,” d’Arnaud said of reliever A.J. Minter, who spelled Morton with a season-high 223 innings. “He made the ultimate sacrifice.”
There’s something special about the way this Braves club handles injuries. It lost Ronald Acua Jr., one of baseball’s top players, to a torn ACL in the midst of the season — and then became better. On Tuesday, relievers faced a lethal Astros lineup and needed to get the last 20 outs. In Game 1, it worked. The idea of numerous bullpen games in the future is even more challenging with Morton out for the remainder of the World Series (a second X-ray after the third inning confirmed the fibula fracture).
That’s why Morton expressed regret. Of course, it wasn’t because of anything he did, but because Gurriel’s bat struck his pitch at a negative-6-degree angle, and the cut of the grass and the swing of his leg cooperated to put the latter in a boot. He was disappointed that he only pitched 213 innings since he had hoped for more.
There was no bloody sock to commemorate Game 1, nothing concrete other than Morton’s transformation into a Sorry Charlie. Finally, there’s the chance that the pitcher who continued throwing until his leg shattered may be rewarded with a gold-and-diamond ring.
The “world series 2021 predictions” is a question about the upcoming World Series. The first game of the series will be played on October 23, 2020.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the World Series 2021 being played?
A: The World Series 2021 will be played at Marlins Park in Miami, Florida.
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