The end comes for all big leaguers eventually and Sunday afternoon was the end of the road for Charlie Morton. The 2021 World Series champion made what will likely be his final career appearance as a Major Leaguer and he did so t home with the team that drafted him: The Atlanta Braves. It was certainly a circuitous and fortuitous path that resulted in Morton ending up back with the Braves to end his career but ultimately, the rough season that he had was made worth it by the send-off that he received
from the Braves and the fans here at the ballpark in Cobb County and across Braves Country.
Morton pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, which doesn’t really matter too much but it was still lovely to see Morton go out there and keep the Pirates off the scoreboard for his final outing. Once he sat down Alexander Canario with a strikeout to start the second (on a curveball, of course), Brian Snitker made his way out to the mound to bring in Chris Sale from the bullpen and begin the long ovation. Frank Sinatra’s rendition of “My Way” played through the speakers as Morton walked from the mound to the dugout for one last time.
This time it was pleasantly different, as Morton was greeted by his family on the way to the dugout. Once he finally made it in there, he took a lap around the dugout receiving handshakes and hugs before eventually taking one last curtain call.
It was a truly special moment to witness at the ballpark and manager Brian Snitker did a great job of expressing how he felt and essentially summing up how things went on the last day of the season. The Braves went out in a hard-fought manner in order to avert a sweep at the hands of the Pirates but at the end of the day, this was really and truly all about Charlie Morton finishing his career on his terms.
As I mentioned in the series recap, it’s not as if winning on the final day and making sure that Charlie Morton went out as a winner on his final day as a big leaguer doesn’t exactly make up for the rest of the season being a disappointment. With that being said, moments like this are what baseball is all about. The sport of baseball itself is ultimately more about the journey rather than the destination — however, seeing a player reach the end of his journey and cross the finish line in triumphant fashion is one of those rare occurrences that needs to be appreciated whenever it happens.
How many times have we seen a former star play their final game and not know at the time that that was it? Especially in baseball, we’ve seen players retire right on the spot in the middle of the season or they simply get released on the spot and that’s the end of the road for them. Charlie Morton got lucky and we were all lucky to be able to see a pitcher of his caliber go out in a glorious manner instead of in a sad procedure with little-to-no fanfare.
More players should be allowed to get their roses when there’s a chance and while that destiny isn’t guaranteed for every player, it’s lovely that Charlie Morton was able to get that treatment one last time before he rode off into the sunset. He certainly earned it over the course of his career and both the Braves and the fans all across Braves Country needed a moment like this end a down season on a high note. Who knows what the future holds but for now, I’m grateful that I was able to see one of the heroes from the 2021 World Series receive a proper send-off on his way off. Thanks for the memories and best of luck in your future endeavors, Charlie Morton.
