Stripped of the All-Star Game, Atlanta Hopes to Make Up for Lost Time
The New York Times
A tribute to Hank Aaron will kick off the World Series in a city and region still resentful of M.L.B.’s decision to step into the political fray.
ATLANTA — Truist Park, the home of the Atlanta Braves, was shoved aside by Major League Baseball in April when the league stripped the team of its chance to host the All-Star Game and garner the attention and money the event provides.
In a decision that inspired a great deal of debate, M.L.B. moved the game to Denver to signal the league’s opposition to Georgia’s new election law that limits voting and, according to Democrats and voting rights groups that have condemned the law, unfairly targets voters of color. The team was bitterly disappointed by the move and said so in a rare statement that took issue with the league’s decision.
But fate forced all of baseball back to Atlanta, not for the All-Star Game, but for the World Series, much to the delight of the team — and some local residents and politicians who resented M.L.B.’s delving into the political fray.
