Exclusive with Max Fried: Atlanta Celebrates World Series Victory

On Nov. 5 Braves’ fans surrounded streets in downtown Atlanta and Cobb County, during a parade honoring the World Series champions in their hometown before ending at Truist Park with a ceremony to acknowledge this monumental occasion. Many metro Atlanta counties closed schools, and some government offices shut down for the parade.

Atlanta Police estimated that over 300,000 fans participated in the parade that began at Peachtree St. and Marietta St. NW and went up Peachtree to 10th St. The parade sped through many parts of downtown, causing many people to take to social media, some unsurprised by the vast participation given the rarity of an Atlanta sports victory parade. According to fans waiting by the Fox Theatre, they had spent hours in the cold morning weather, waiting for the parade to only pass them for few minutes, but that didn’t stop anyone from enjoying the celebration.

Before arriving at Truist Park, the parade resumed in Cobb County, near the new home of the Braves, mostly taking place on Cobb Parkway before entering The Battery then a grand entrance as they approached the stadium.

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The City of Atlanta and Cobb County celebrate the Braves World Series victory on Nov. 5,

Eye Robinovitz, a junior at Brandeis University and a Atlanta native flew down for the parade and ceremony at Truist Park. His family started waiting outside at 8:30 a.m., and he felt it was worth the wait, telling the AJT, “thankfully, they weren’t going that fast by us at the battery.” He did feel bad for some people downtown, stating, “That was kind of sad for some people who were waiting for so long just to have like a 30-second glimpse.” For many fans, including Robinovitz, this ceremony was decades in the making, as he said, “I’ve waited all 21 years of my life to have this moment, … I thought overall, the city and the state did a really good job.” It wasn’t fans alone who shared that sentiment, as Braves player and Marietta native Dansby Swanson said in an interview during the parade, “I know how much this means to the city, to see everybody out, it’s so beautiful. This city has been wanting a championship for a long time now, … This moment, it is second to none.”

Mayor Bottoms shares her pride in the Atlanta Braves during ceremony on Nov. 5.

While the victory meant a lot to the city which has waited decades for such a victory, the World Series itself brought special meaning to the Jewish community. In what was believed to be one of the most Jewish world series ever, the two Braves’ Jewish players Joc Pederson and Max Fried helped the team to victory, with Fried throwing six innings in the final game, only allowing four hits. Along the parade route, both could be seen smoking cigars, with Pederson catching beers thrown by fans and spraying the bottles on fans as he passed. Pederson said during the parade, “The turnout is amazing, I didn’t expect anything less. Atlanta has been supporting us the whole year, this is really special for us and the city.”

Joc Pederson #22 of the Atlanta Braves

Both players spoke during the ceremony held at Truist Park, Fried stated, “I couldn’t be more proud of every guy on this stage, and everyone behind the scene. There were a lot of ups and downs, a lot of injuries, but we fought through it. To not only have the support of everyone behind me, but everyone in the stadium and on the parade route, I am speechless, it’s unbelievable. Thank you for all your support this year, and let’s run it back next year.” Joc Pederson, known for wearing pearls, gave slightly more crude remarks, which received an approving uproar from the crowd.

Fried spoke with the AJT directly after the ceremony and upon asking Fried his thoughts on the Jewish representation in this World Series, Fried said, “I mean it’s awesome. There are a lot of really good Jewish players out there, to be able to be on the biggest stage and you have a good number of them represented it’s really awesome and it’s really cool.”

Max Fried shares his victory speech at Truist Park on Nov. 5.

On the World Series victory, Fried added “it’s something that I’ve always dream about since being a kid, and being able to enjoy with these fans here, and my teammates, it is awesome and amazing.” As one of the best Jewish players in the league, many younger Jewish baseball fans have begun to look up to Fried, with him giving this advice to younger players, “Just keep working hard, and at the end of the day, I am like anyone else. Be in the right place at the right time, you put in the work, you’re able to kind of get over the next obstacle one after the other. “