Riley, 24, was a quarterback as a freshman and sophomore at DeSoto Central High School in Southaven, Miss. in the first four games of the World Series.īut in Southeastern Conference country, Atlanta baseball fans starved for a title can thank the demands of high school football for pushing Riley, a slugging third baseman, toward the diamond. He drove home the winning run with a single in the bottom of the ninth in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series against Los Angeles and was batting. (107) and total bases (313), third in hits (179), sixth in batting average (.303) and 10th in homers (33).
It’s no wonder: In just his third major league season - and his first in which he was an everyday player for a full, 162-game year - Riley ranked second in the National League in R.B.I. In the regular-season stretch and again in October, Austin Riley heard plenty of “M.V.P.! M.V.P.!” chants at Truist Park. So it makes sense that the team’s newest star was an all-state punter in high school. ATLANTA - When Atlanta seized a three-games-to-one lead over Houston, the team had plenty of hang time while attempting to win its first World Series since 1995.
