Last night, Atlanta wasn’t the only city cheering the Braves on to their second-ever World Series title. About 1,000 miles to the northeast, a contingent of fans from New York’s Capital Region was also rooting for the team, or, more specifically, for one of the team’s pitchers.
Rexford native Ian Anderson graduated from Shenendehowa High School in 2016, the same year he was drafted third overall in the Major League Baseball draft by the Atlanta Braves. He made his Major League debut in 2020, and was a key member of the team’s bullpen this year, keeping the Los Angeles Dodgers to just one run in the four innings he pitched in Game 6 of the National League Championship series. That performance helped land the Braves in the World Series for the first time since 1999.
Anderson took the mound again in Game 3 of the World Series, pitching five straight no-hit innings against the Houston Astros. (Braves Manager Brian Snitker pulled him out of the game because of a “gut feeling,” per ESPN.) The Braves finished off that game with a 2-0 victory, putting them up 2-1 over the Astros, and then won two of the next three games to clinch the World Series title. While Anderson was stripped of his chance at pitching a true no-hitter, he will go home with a World Series ring—not bad for a 23 year old from little old Upstate New York.
