Shortly after the Braves’ airplane touched down at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Wednesday evening, first baseman Freddie Freeman emerged and held the World Series trophy high, smiling broadly.
He carried the trophy over to fans gathered to meet the plane, who began chanting his name.
Credit: WSBTV Videos
Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, the official airline of the Braves, flew the team back from Houston on an Airbus A330 to a private terminal on the north side of the airfield. While there wasn’t a public event for the arrival, Delta CEO Ed Bastian greeted the plane, and the company invited along some of its Braves-loving employees.
“This is pretty cool. This is everything you can dream about right here... welcoming us back home makes us feel warm even though it’s cold out here” Freeman said. “We’re just so excited and happy to be back in Atlanta.”
Freeman said team members heard during the flight that metro Atlanta school districts had canceled school Friday, the day of the World Series parade.
“Pretty special,” he said. “So I think there might be a few people out at the parade on Friday.” The parade is scheduled to begin at noon in Atlanta and culminate at Truist Park in Cobb County with a concert featuring Ludacris and Big Boi.
“I’m just so looking forward to Friday. It’s going to be amazing,” Freeman said. “This is everything we worked for, and everybody contributed.... This is what we work for every single year and we were able to accomplish it this year.”
