Atlanta was praised for its shrewd deadline trading. The brave players attribute their recovery to the mid-season pickup day after day.

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Atlanta-The Atlanta Warriors made their first World Series appearance since 1999 due to star players in multiple positions, underrated pitchers, and shrewd midsummer moves in the front office.

However, in the clubhouse, the players also pointed to a secret weapon. It will not throw, throw, or hit, but it is delivered again and again. Atlanta will change the rules of the game in 2021? Soft ice cream machine.

"When they brought it to the clubhouse, it was like magic," infielder John Camargo said. Star rescuer Tyler Matzek added, "This is just a matter of uniting us."

In late May, in Boston, he began to tell the story of how frozen food can make a team that started the season full of vitality. When Atlanta was visiting Fenway Park, during the 9-5 loss to the Red Sox, the team experienced a rain delay that lasted nearly three hours.

"We didn't restart the game until midnight," Mazek said. "There was no one in the stands. It was definitely pouring rain. We were like,'Oh, well, there is nothing to do, so let's eat ice cream.'"

There is a soft ice cream machine in the food storage room of the Fenway Visitors Club. For Josh Tomlin, the rescuer, this brings back memories of traveling with his father to the Dairy Queen when he grew up in Texas.

'This is just a cool little thing that can divert your attention from other things. Go there to get your ice cream cone, you are a kid again.

Josh Tomlin, Atlanta rescuer and ice cream lover.

"It's perfect," he said. "It has a little chocolate side, a vanilla side, and a swirl in the middle."

The 162 baseball season, excluding the playoffs, is very long. Players often look for some little fun to break the monotony: drinks on the team plane, silly songs at the party, and even rare home-cooked meals. Who doesn't like ice cream?

Soon after returning to Atlanta, Mazek said he and his teammates started teasing Calvin Minasian, who oversees the Truist Park clubhouse, saying that his Boston opponents are better at his job. Why didn't Minasian, they acupuncture and purchase soft ice cream machines for them?

Minasian knew that he could not order such equipment without permission. Tomlin, 37, said the players discussed a few things and instructed 32-year-old star first baseman Freddie Freeman, the team’s longtime leader and the 2020 National League Most Valuable Player, to submit their case To general manager Alex Ansopoulos.

Ansopoulos said that his first reaction was joking and he didn't want to keep up. "We will let all these people smash ice cream, oh man, they will all have 400 pounds," he said as he told himself. But when Ansopoulos saw that the players were not joking, he approved him to buy an ice cream machine for the first time in 10 years as the general manager.

"I think this relationship is a partnership," Ansopoulos said. "We are not anyone’s parents. So I can make jokes about things like this, but these people are adults. They have a responsibility. Especially Freddy takes care of themselves very much. But this is what they really want. This is A two-way street, right? As a club, we keep asking these people: "Can you help us solve this problem?" "Or'Can you help us solve this problem?'"

Requests can range from participating in charity and marketing activities to helping review potential roster increases. For example, a week before Atlanta traded Cleveland outfielder Eddie Rosario, Ansopoulos called infielder Eyel Adrianza, who was Rosario’s former teammate in Minnesota to express him the opinion of. Rosario has since grown into the star of October.

Ansopoulos said: "If they have a strong feeling about something, obviously within a reasonable range, then of course they can," but he joked, "if they say,'Hey, we want five ice cream machines, A cotton candy machine, we want this and that,'Of course not."

The players say they understand the boundaries.

"Everyone thinks that we are eating chicken breasts and vegetables every second of every day," Mazek said. "I mean, we have. We have to take care of our bodies. But everyone likes ice cream."

The machine arrived in the second week of June, when the team set a season-low record in five games under 0.500. When Ansopoulos finally saw it, he took a picture and sent a text message to Freeman. Freeman replied: "2-0!!!" Freeman said that since the machine started, this one The team has won several games in a row.

The joke between GM and the star quickly turned into a joke. "We will soon become a softball team," Anthopoulos once said. "Anything that wins the Orient!!!" Freeman replied, referring to the division of the team.

A few days later, Freeman texted Ansopoulos, telling him that they are now 3-1 with ice cream. He also posted a photo of himself having a drink. Ansopoulos later joked to Freeman that if the team won the division championship, he would install a machine in Freeman's home.

"If you tell me that I have to spend my own money to buy an ice cream machine to win NL East, I will do that," Ansopoulos said.

On September 30th, Atlanta won the scoring zone championship for the fourth consecutive time, overcoming the injuries of outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. and other star players, and winning 56-37. , At least to a certain extent, is driven by hard hits and soft serve. Freeman also started this season at a slow pace, but after a summer tear, he averaged 0.300 points and 31 home runs, which also coincided with the arrival of some kind of dessert.

(So ​​far, Freeman has refused to accept the personal machine provided by Ansopoulos for two reasons: "I watched how the chef in the club cleaned it, and I thought,'I'm fine, man'" and "I No need for my son to just pull down and eat ice cream.")

"Everyone thinks we eat chicken breasts and vegetables every second of every day. I mean, we have. We have to take care of our bodies. But everyone loves ice cream.

Tyler Matzek, Atlanta rescuer and root beer floating expert.

Now a beloved clubhouse installation, this machine has always been the centerpiece of a season full of fond memories. Freeman’s 5-year-old eldest son Charlie and Tomlin had a tradition that began shortly after it arrived: after every home win, Tomlin would give Charlie a small cup of ice cream, and Charlie would only take a bite. The children of several other players also enter the clubhouse after winning at home and enjoy the same treatment.

Before each home game, the 27-year-old Camargo said that he would "try a taste" for himself. Matzek is another outstanding figure in the playoffs. He likes making root beer floats. Everyone likes ice cream, even Ansopoulos and his son, and of course Freeman.

"You see Freddie there, sitting cross-legged in front of his locker before the game. He is chewing ice cream cones. It's funny," Tomlin said. "That guy is one of the best baseball players in the world. He is eating ice cream cones over there."

Although the Braves machine only has one flavor (vanilla), Tomlin praised Minasian for creating a sundae bar: chocolate and caramel sauce, sprinkles, and a small plastic bowl shaped like a helmet.

"It's just a cool little thing that can make you forget other things," he said. "Go there to get your ice cream cone, you are a kid again."

As the team's season changes, the legend of this machine is increasing. When the soft serve came, the Warriors did not look like contenders in the playoffs, and now they are participating in the World Series. Matzek said: "I only know that we have an ice cream machine, and we are starting to play better."

"Obviously, you need good players," Ansopoulos said, "but I do think you should have an environment where people are happy to go to work every day, whether you are a baseball player or an office executive."

With three victories over Houston, Atlanta will celebrate its first championship since 1995. If this happens, champagne, beer and, yes, soft serve will flow.