Tommy Lasorda, former MLB player and manager, once said, “The best possible thing in baseball is winning The World Series. The second best thing is losing The World Series.” The first World Series games were approaching the week of October 24. The American League Championship Series (ALCS) and the National League Championship Series (NLCS) were finishing their series to the best of seven games. In the ALCS, the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros played for a spot in the World Series. The Red Sox were a -121 favorite, meaning there was a risk of losing $121 to win $100. The Houston Astros won the series 4-2. They returned to the World Series for the third time in the past five years. Eli Koopman (X23) has been an Astros fan his whole life and even attended the 2019 World Series when the Houston Astros played the Washington Nationals. “Being at a World Series game [in 2019] is so much more fun because the crowd is into the game every single pitch and it’s 100 times louder,” Koopman said. In the NLCS, the Atlanta Braves beat the Los Angeles Dodgers with a one game lead of 4-2 to take the other spot in the World Series. The Braves have an overall record of 88-73-0 for the 2021 season. The last time they attended the World Series was in 1999. Davis Wawro (X23) has been watching the Braves since he was a kid and was very excited to see his team advance to the World Series. “It means the world that the Braves are advancing. Watching us throughout the season, no one believed that we could do it after Ronald Acuña Jr. went down,” Wawro said. The World Series has been an American tradition for years. The first World Series game in 1903 between the Boston Red Sox (AL), known as the Boston Americans at the time, and the Pittsburgh Pirates (NL) resulted in the Boston Americans winning the series 5-3 in a best of nine game count. The first World Series game was played on October 26 at 7 p.m. at the Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. The Braves won 6-2, kicking off the series. The Houston Astros took the second game with a score of 7-2. The series will be the best of seven games.