Braves Parade 2021: Celebration Schedule, Route and Players to Watch

A celebration 26 years in the making takes place on Friday, as the Atlanta Braves return home to commemorate their World Series title alongside their fans.

The city of Atlanta is hosting a championship parade for the Braves that will begin at 12 p.m. ET. It will start at the intersection of Peachtree and Marietta Streets before making its way into Cobb County and finishing at Truist Park.

Once the parade gets to the Braves home park, there will be a celebration inside the stadium where players and coaches will be able to address the crowd. Fox 5 in Atlanta noted the Truist Park portion of the event is likely to run from 3-5 p.m., but that time is subject to change.

Per an official press release from the Braves, tickets for the event are free.

Players to Watch

Freddie Freeman

Atlanta fans have been spoiled because they went from having Chipper Jones as the face of the franchise to Freddie Freeman without any gap in between.

Freeman's tenure in Major League Baseball overlapped with the final three seasons of Jones' career. He has since gone on to become one of the most beloved players in franchise history.

Coming off an MVP season in 2020, Freeman put together another excellent campaign this year. The five-time All-Star had an .896 OPS and 31 homers during the regular season.

Even though his playoff performance got overshadowed by NLCS MVP Eddie Rosario and World Series MVP Jorge Soler, Freeman was the most consistent hitter in the lineup from Game 1 of the NLDS against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Freeman hit .304/.420/.625 with five homers and 11 RBI in 16 postseason games. His solo homer in the seventh inning of Game 6 against the Houston Astros was the cherry on top of a 7-0 victory.

There's also a chance this could be Freeman's final opportunity to interact with Atlanta fans as a member of the organization. The 32-year-old is set to become a free agent for the first time in his career.

Jorge Soler

Soler's time with Atlanta has been short, but he made the most of it. The 29-year-old was acquired from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for pitching prospect Kasey Kalich on July 30.

In 55 regular-season games after the deal, Soler hit .269/.358/.524 with 14 homers. He barely played in the first two postseason series, in part due to a stint on the COVID-19 list at the start of the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Soler got back into the lineup on a regular basis in the World Series. He responded by posting an 1.191 OPS with three homers, including a three-run rocket in Game 6 that got the scoring started.

Anyone who is capable of evoking memories of Albert Pujols vs. Brad Lidge in the 2005 NLCS is going to be worth paying attention to when he steps up to a microphone to celebrate.

Ronald Acuna Jr.

This one comes with a caveat, because it's not clear if Ronald Acuna Jr. will speak during the celebration. He does speak English, but the majority of his interviews are conducted with an interpreter who translates for him.

If Acuna does speak, his voice will be one of the most fascinating to hear. Freeman is probably the most popular baseball player in Atlanta because of his longevity with the franchise, but Acuna is the best player on the team.

The 23-year-old was unable to be on the field for the Braves in the postseason because of an injury. He tore his ACL trying to make a catch in a game against the Miami Marlins on July 10.

At the time of his injury, Acuna was in an MVP-caliber season. He was hitting .283/.394/.596 with 24 homers and 17 stolen bases in 82 games. The Venezuelan star ranked second in MLB with 4.2 FanGraphs wins above replacement through July 10.

While no one would argue that Atlanta is a better team without Acuna, that one play had massive ripple effects on the roster.

General manager Alex Anthopoulos made a series of trades over the next three weeks to bring in Soler, Rosario, Adam Duvall and Joc Pederson. That quartet combined to hit 44 homers and drive in 116 runs in the regular season with the Braves.

They each hit three homers and had a total of 36 RBI during the playoffs.

"In all of the moments, even in the key ones, I'm imagining myself there taking that at-bat," Acuna said in Spanish to reporters prior to Game 2 of the World Series.

MLB would have been better served if Acuna, one of the best young stars in the sport, was able to play in the postseason. But he made his presence felt cheering on the bench for his team every game.

Hopefully we get to hear from Acuna about his experience watching from the dugout.