World Series 2021: Braves prove to themselves that they belong on MLB's biggest stage

By Pedro Moura
FOX Sports MLB Writer

ATLANTA — When the Dodgers trounced the Braves 11-2 in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series, one Atlanta player spoke up in Dodger Stadium’s visiting clubhouse before everyone packed up and headed east for the round’s last leg.

The Braves still held a 3-2 lead in the series, though it didn’t exactly feel like it in that moment.

"You know, we’re playing the Dodgers," Joc Pederson said. "Everybody they play, there’s at least one game in the series where they completely blow you out. That was the game."

Pederson would know. He just last year finished a seven-season stint with Los Angeles. He was a key player in the Dodgers' 11-1 victory over the Cubs in the 2017 NLCS, their 13-12 loss (!) to the Astros in that year’s World Series, their 10-4 win over the Nationals in the 2019 NLDS and their 12-3 and 15-3 wins during their World Series run a year ago.

"It was a great point," said Braves catcher Travis d’Arnaud, who was a Dodger for five days in May 2019. "They’re a great team. You know that’s gonna happen. They’re the Dodgers. They’re the friggin' world champions. So for us to know that and keep going, it’s huge for us."

In part thanks to Pederson’s words, the Braves bounced back from defeat better than they did in 2020, when the Dodgers climbed back from a 3-1 NLCS deficit to earn the pennant. Now the Braves are the 2021 National League champions. Atlanta will play Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday in Houston (8 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app).

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A month or so after the 2020 NLCS, d’Arnaud ran into Dodgers assistant hitting coach Aaron Bates at an Arizona golf tournament. Within a few minutes, they were discussing the series. d’Arnaud surprised Bates by vocalizing the Braves’ sense of surprise at even getting to the point they did, one win from the World Series.

"They didn’t know how good they were. They were just happy to be there. Those were his words," Bates said. "So that played in our favor, having guys on our team who have experienced this before."

Braves pitcher Charlie Morton, who was on the 2020 Rays team that nearly squandered a 3-0 ALCS lead to the Astros, knew exactly what d’Arnaud meant. Last year, the Braves were prepared to play their best against an unsuspecting team; they weren’t prepared to fight back when the sleeping giant finally woke up.

"What can happen is, you get a sense of the energy, the vibe, and when you start to see the momentum shift in a series, how do you respond to that change in the clubhouse?" Morton said. "You gotta fight back, right? Not just mentally but also maybe even faking it, pumping yourself up."

Standing on the field during an NLCS off day last week, Morton searched for a metaphor to convey what he was thinking. The 37-year-old right-hander is, in his words, "awkward, weird and nice." He’s also the Braves’ Game 1 starter and their emotional leader.

"Say you see a river, and you know you’re about to try to cross this river," Morton said. "You better start to pump yourself up when you get in the water before you do it because you know you’re gonna be fighting the stream."

In this case, Pederson initiated the pump-up session; fellow veterans such as Morton who have been there before supported it. And Eddie Rosario guided the Braves through the NLCS river. Now there is one more round to traverse, against Morton’s old team. Again, Atlanta will be a significant underdog.

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But the Braves now believe they can handle the challenge. They just completed, in terms of winning-percentage differential, the third-biggest upset in postseason series history. Before that, they completed a remarkable comeback to even qualify for the postseason, given their lackluster start to their season.

They survived the early 2021 struggles because, again, they learned from last year.

In 2020, the Braves lost talented right-hander Mike Soroka to injury, as they did this year, and lacked established starting pitchers. Max Fried carried the staff until Ian Anderson emerged as a viable starter. In 2021, the outfield was the problem area — until general manager Alex Anthopoulos aggressively acted in July.

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"Last year, we overcame a lot of things, especially with our pitching staff," d’Arnaud said. "I think the lessons we learned from last year’s losses helped us this year to just keep believing in ourselves and never give up. We just know that when we’re at our best and we stick together, nobody can beat us."

That will be put to the test over the next 10 days. But even if the Braves lose, they will not be lamenting that they didn’t realize their true talent. Remember, even after the Dodgers lost Saturday night at Truist Park, they reminded one another before parting ways for the winter that the best team doesn’t always win. They retained the belief that they are superior.

"I think what everybody’s trying to get to is the point where you don’t think about how good you are," Morton said. "You just know you’re good."

Pedro Moura is the national baseball writer for FOX Sports. He most recently covered the Dodgers for three seasons for The Athletic. Previously, he spent five years covering the Angels and Dodgers for the Orange County Register and L.A. Times. More previously, he covered his alma mater, USC, for ESPNLosAngeles.com. The son of Brazilian immigrants, he grew up in the Southern California suburbs. Follow him on Twitter @pedromoura.