Dansby Swanson: The Hometown Kid who became a Hometown Hero

All photos courtesy of: Dansby Swanson's Instagram Page

Dansby Swanson believed in his team all year. Even on July 30th, when the Atlanta Braves had a 0.3% chance to win the World Series, Swanson believed. Now on November 3rd, Swanson and the Atlanta Braves sit atop the baseball world as they are 2021 World Series Champions.

“There were times where it seemed bleak,” Swanson said. “There were times where you couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. But we knew that if we kept working and if we were able to kind of put together a team- which we did after some of the injuries that this would be possible.”

The last time the Braves won the World Series was 26 years ago, when Swanson was 1 year old. Growing up in Atlanta, Swanson fell in love with his community, and all Atlanta sports teams, especially the Braves. This Atlanta kid shined on the diamond in the shadows of his idols, as he played merely 10 miles away from Truist Park at Marietta High School.

While Swanson’s journey took him away from Atlanta, when he played for Vanderbilt University and was drafted first overall in the MLB draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks, he found his way home. Six months after being drafted, Swanson was heading home as he was traded to the Braves. While having mixed feelings about the trade at the time, today Swanson ‘s confident this trade happened for a reason.

“I just know that God’s blessed me so much to be here, getting traded here,” Swanson said. “It was probably the best thing that ever happened to me, to be able to be back home, and to be able to play for this city, and to just (grow up) in this community.”

Now that Swanson, who grew up wearing Braves jerseys and cheering for his favorite players, he has Braves fans throughout Georgia wearing his jersey. The Braves faced one last challenge the Houston Astros. With a series lead of 3-2, the Braves closed out their season with a dominate offensive performance in game 6.

The script for this season had the perfect ending as the last ground ball of the 2021 World Series landed in Swanson’s glove. As Swanson threw the final out to teammate Freddie Freeman, pure happiness overtook Swanson as he let out a scream with both of his arms lifted over his head.

“Destiny, I guess,” Swanson said. “The good Lord, he has blessed me with so much. Wouldn’t be here without him. Just the peace that he gives me, it’s remarkable. Especially in moments like this, you can never go wrong trusting in that. Like I said, I’m just so thankful to be here, truly.”

Swanson’s story in the most powerful of them all, as the kid from Atlanta with a dream became a hometown hero.