(NOTE: This article went to press the day before the Atlanta Braves clinched the World Series title)
When the trophy is lifted and the confetti falls on either the Houston Astros or Atlanta Braves as baseball’s new champion this week, you’ll be able to draw a connection from the Word Series winner all the way back here to Dahlonega and the University of North Georgia baseball program.
For the Astros, who represent the American League, that connection comes via hitting coach Troy Snitker who was originally drafted by the Braves in the 19th round of the 2011 draft after playing three seasons in Dahlonega at UNG.
And on the other side, the Braves coaching staff includes former Braves catcher Eddie Perez, who has also spent many weekends at the UNG baseball complex, watching his son Andres, who recently graduated from UNG with a business degree after several years starring on the diamond for the Nighthawks.
UNG Baseball head coach Tom Cantrell has his own connections to the Braves, being drafted into the organization in 1985 and even playing for Brian Snitker, Troy’s father and the manager of the Braves, back in 1986 during Spring Training. Cantrell said that with all the ties to him and his program, it makes it impossible to choose who to root for.
“I’m not rooting for anybody. I’m rooting for good baseball,” he said. “…Of course I’m closer to Troy than his dad…. It’s tough. If I go against the Braves, all of my players would be mad at me and if I go against the Astros, only one person will be mad at me, but he’s pretty important to me. I’m just going to the game and hoping to watch a good game.”
The 2021 World Series has already made history as the first ever to involve a father and son on opposing sides.
“Like they’ve already said there’s going to be a trophy in the house for one of them,” Cantrell said.
Following Troy’s playing career, he rejoined his beloved college coach as a graduate assistant. Now as a major league coach at the age of 32, Cantrell believes he has a bright future ahead.
“I believe he’ll get a shot as a big league manager,” the coach said. “He’s already in the big leagues and he’s only 32 years old. He’s very good at what he does and he’s very good with people.”
Cantrell, who’s been at every World Series game so far this year to support Troy, said nothing brings him joy like watching his former players succeed after they leave his program.
“We have a lot of people out there that are doing things in the community,” he said of his former players. “They’re just not on the grand stage on television like the World Series….We’re trying to make difference makers at North Georgia. They’re getting taught the game, but we’re making young men.”
And Cantrell credits Troy and his work ethic for getting this far.
“I can tell you this, he worked his tail off to get where he’s at,” he said. “You talk about a tireless worker, smart, love of the game, love of people, a winning mentality, very intelligent. That’s why I say he’ll be a big league manager. He is very, very good at what he does….They’re the ones that determine their path. I just try to guide them along the way. I had nothing to do with Troy becoming a big league hitting coach. He did that and that’s what makes me proud and I’m glad to be a part of his life.”
FAMILY TRADITION
For Andres Perez, who played catcher for Cantrell at UNG and owns the school’s single season home run record, this World Series thing is new. Even if it's not for his dad.
“I was alive for ‘99 when they went back to it,” Perez said. “...I just always assumed I was there, but I asked my mom yesterday and she told me I didn’t go to the World Series so this is my first World Series. I just assumed I was there. She said I was at the NLCS, but they left me at home with the babysitter for the World Series.”
Andres was 1 year old when his father helped the Braves to their last World Series in 1999, winning MVP honors in the National League Championship Series. While he’s watched his dad’s stunning NLCS performance many times on the family’s old VCR, joking that it shows just how long ago it’s been since the Braves last made it this far, Andres said it’s sometimes hard to believe it all happened. So watching another Eddie, Atlanta’s midseason pick up Eddie Rosario, lead the Braves back to the World Series and win NLCS MVP made the moment seem extra special.
“It’s almost like a myth, you see it and hear it for so long and so it’s like ‘did that really happen?’” he said. “ ...It’s hard to put a contextual memory to it, so all of the NLCS, every time Eddie Rosario would go hit, I would kind of envision my dad.”
Now that his dad is back in the World Series, Andres is trying to soak in every moment with his family, while also enjoying the success of his favorite team.
“A lot of our conversations have been over the phone, but then last weekend after they won the NLCS, I was able to get onto the field and we were celebrating with him and it’s surreal to see the excitement on his and my mom’s face,” he said. “It makes me really proud to be a part of this family and see it all happen because I know he works really hard and gives it his all to be the best coach that he can be and to give insight to the rest of the team so it’s really cool to see.”
RAISED A BRAVE
Growing up with a big league coach in the house, Andres had to learn early that there’s more to life than just baseball.
“I love baseball, I love the Braves, so I could talk about it all day long, but I know when it becomes a job, it’s different and that’s something I learned when I got a little bit older that there needs to be a balance,” he said. “….The conversations right now, he asks me about my job, then we’ll talk about the game and his behind the scenes look. He always likes to brag about who he threw BP to that day if they did well. I’ll never forget when Freddie [Freeman] hit that home run against the Brewers, he was like ‘yeah I threw him BP today and he thanked me so much and said I helped him get better,’ and jokes that it was all him.”
Unfortunately, Andres was given a second dose of that lesson earlier this year when his baseball career finished, pretty unexpectedly, after not being chosen in the MLB Draft.
“It’s been a couple years for me of tough situations,” he said. “Not to focus on negatives because I want to be positive and happy, but I’ve gone through some years of tough times and tough breaks physically, emotionally and all this stuff through my experience of baseball….from the actual baseball perspective, it didn’t end how I wanted it to with the draft and all that stuff, so from that perspective, [baseball] kind of left a bad taste in my mouth.”
Unable to continue playing the game he loved, Andres jumped into business marketing and specifically stayed out of potential sports jobs out of frustration. Now seeing his family and his favorite team thrive with this playoff run has allowed him to make amends with the sport he’d given so much of his life to.
“For this to happen this year after my career basically ended is surreal. It’s super special to me,” he said. “...Even though I’m not playing, I’m not a part of the team, I kind of feel like I am. It’s kind of the sign of good things are starting to happen and that life post-playing is going to be OK. For the longest time I couldn’t imagine my life without baseball and playing but now I’m in the business world in marketing and away from sports period, which was kind of by design. So for this to happen and to be able to show up like that with family is truly special to me.”
SOAKING IT UP
While he’ll always be a fan of the sport, the former catcher feels this run is the perfect way to close that chapter of his life.
“It’s a good way to finish out baseball-wise,” he said. “I’m going to continue being a Braves fan and continue going to games, but for it to happen the year I stopped playing, it’s one of those things that lets you know God is working. He’s got it all figured out and He’s helping me grow into what I need to be.”
So for now, he’s trying to make the most of this experience.
With his parents traveling to Milwaukee, Los Angeles and now Houston this postseason, Andres tends to steer the conversations to his other great love: food.
“I’m a big foodie, so I would always ask mom what they had for dinner that night on the road trips so I can feel like I’m with them,” he said.
This leads to one of his father’s great loves: wine. One of Eddie’s contributions to the World Series run is a new tradition amongst a few of the players, who refer to themselves as “The Burgundy Boys.”
“[There’s] Joc [Pederson], Ian Anderson, Drew Smiley and Luke Jackson and then my dad,” Perez said. “My dad has always been a big wine guy….And so they started a tradition that every time they win a game they open up these bottles of wine and these guys are making a good bit of money so a lot of the wines that they’re drinking are quality, I’ll put it that way."
Andres says he understands how blessed he is to have these opportunities and thus is trying to soak up every second and share as much as he can with his friends. This was especially evident when he went live on Instagram during the NLCS celebration on the field so his former teammates could feel a part of the celebration too. Cantrell says that selflessness is just who Andres is.
“He may be the best person I’ve ever coached,” he said. “…I truly love him and I’m happy for his dad too. What a great family. We just have a lot of great people and we’re truly blessed for that.”
If the Braves can win just one more game and claim its first World Series in his lifetime, Andres says he won’t be able to keep his emotions inside.
“To be honest with you, I think the first thing that’s going to happen is my eyes are going to start sweating,” he said. “I’m going to want to be around my mom and celebrate with her. When we won the NLCS I found myself just taking it all in. There’s a video that my mom has where she’s screaming and celebrating with everybody in our section and she pans to me and I’m just staring at the field with a smile on my face.”