Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos Unable to Attend Team's World Series Win After Testing Positive for COVID-19
David John Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Alex Anthopoulos
Atlanta Braves General Manager Alex Anthopoulos was forced to miss the team's World Series win Tuesday night after testing positing for COVID-19 on Saturday, according to ESPN.
Speaking to ESPN, Anthopoulos, 44, said he decided not to disclose his COVID-19 status until after the big game to avoid any distractions.
"I want to keep it quiet to not take any chance that I would be a distraction before the end of the series," said Anthopoulos. "I'm totally fine. I watched with the whole family at home. Very happy."
In another interview with Sportsnet, Anthopoulos said he was fully vaccinated and reiterated that he didn't feel sick. He said after traveling with the team to Houston for Game 1, he tested the next day and found out he was positive.
"I thought it was a joke," he admitted of testing positive.
RELATED: Atlanta Braves Defeat Houston Astros to Win First World Series in 26 years
The Braves' victory over the Houston Astros in Game 6 marked the team's first World Series title in 26 years, winning 7-0 and finishing the championship 4-2.
After two scoreless innings, the game quickly heated up in the third when Atlanta outfielder Jorge Soler hit a home run with two men on base to increase the score to 3-0. Atlanta shortstop Dansby Swanson eventually followed suit with his own homer, taking the score to 5-0.
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In the game's fifth inning, first baseman Freddie Freeman hit an RBI, taking the Braves' lead up to 6-0. The score stayed there until the seventh inning when Freeman hit a home run to bump it up once again.
In all, six of the Braves' seven runs were home runs.
RELATED: Atlanta Braves Honor Hank Aaron and His Family with Emotional Tribute Ceremony During World Series
On Friday, a championship parade will be held in Atlanta — which Anthopoulos told ESPN he might be able to attend in celebration of the team's victory.
Details about the parade are forthcoming, but according to Atlanta's 11 Alive, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said, "We are having a parade. I think the people in Atlanta and the great people in Cobb County are going to be very pleased with the parade we have."
Breakthrough cases — COVID-19 infections that occur in people who have been fully vaccinated against the virus — are possible and expected, as the vaccines are not 100% effective in preventing infections. Still, vaccinated people who test positive will likely be asymptomatic or experience a far milder illness than if they were not vaccinated. The majority of deaths from COVID-19 — around 98 to 99% — are in unvaccinated people.
