This World Series Was One For The Ages, Folks

David Freese has alot to smile about after earning World Series MVP honors on route to a Cardinals title.

There is a loss of interest in the MLB playoffs when big-market teams get knocked out. When Mariano Rivera doesn’t have the chance to face David Ortiz with a full count and two outs in the bottom of the ninth, when Tim Lincecum can’t fire the fastball past Ryan Howard’s powerful bat. At the beginning of the 2011 season, baseball fans across the country could have announced with confidence that the World Series would feature a couple teams with two of the top three salaries in the league: the Boston Red Sox and the Philadelphia Phillies.

Low and behold, the Red Sox missed the playoffs after a dismal September slump and the Phillies were eliminated in the first round by the National League team that won the title, the St. Louis Cardinals. Their foe, the Texas Rangers, made it back to the Series for the second straight year. So why weren’t sports fans more interested in this October showdown? The lack of recognizable names? The disappointment that their team let them down? Regardless of the reason, I’ll give you a few motives as to why people should have been interested in this series.

This series was full of drama with each game having its own plot line. Game one featured each team’s ace, Chris Carpenter for the Cardinals and C.J. Wilson for the Rangers, yet it was a pinch hit single by the unknown Allen Craig that proved the difference as the Cardinals edged the Rangers. A slicing single that landed inches away from outfielder Nelson Cruz’s glove provided an early lead in the series. In game two, the Rangers mounted a stellar comeback with two runs in the ninth inning to balance the series.

AlbertPujols displayed one of the best World Series performances in game three, going 5 for 6 with three home runs and six RBIs in the Cardinals’ 16-7 romp of the Rangers.
Texas came right back in game four thanks to an outstanding pitching performance by Derek Holland (8.1 innings, 2 hits, 7 Ks). Game five will go down in World Series lore as the “Phone Fiasco” when the bullpen phone in Arlington, Texas decided to not work for the Cardinals and the Rangers came back to secure a 4-2 victory.

And then there was game six: one of the most exciting baseball games to ever occur in which the Cardinals forced a game seven after a 10-9 win in eleven innings.
What made game six so thrilling for those unfortunate many who missed it? How about six lead changes? How about not once, but twice, the Cardinals were down to their final strike before executing yet another game-tying hit? How about the first game six or seven walk-off home run since 1993 and the first walk-off home run with a team down 3-2 in the World Series since Kirby Puckett’s for the Twins in 1991? With all of this happening late into a St. Louis night in October, it set the stage for an epic conclusion on Fridaynight. It was simply one of the greatest World Series in Major League history. Now will people begin to give these two teams some credit?

If not, here are a few more reasons. There are a handful of players who made a name for themselves in the 2011 Postseason and particularly in the World Series. Most noteworthy are David Freese of the Cardinals and Mike Napoli of the Rangers. The 28-year-old Freese recorded the most RBIs ever in a postseason and has placed himself in World Series history after his game six performance. Freese hit a 2-out, 2-strike, 2-run triple in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game and force extra innings, completed his heroism with a leadoff walk-off home run in the eleventh, and initiated the Cardinals late season celebration of shredding the jersey of any deserving player.
Catcher Mike Napoli, who was traded to the Rangers at the beginning of the season also had a phenominal series. Prior to game seven he had collected ten of the Rangers’ twenty-eight RBIs in the World Series and was the offensive hero in game four, hitting a 3-run home run in the sixth inning to ensure the win. His knowledgeable pitch calling behind the plate also provided evidence for him to be considered one of the best catchers in the league.

So listen up, baseball fans: according to the baseball playoff format, we watched the two best teams from each league compete in one of the best World Series in history. The Rangers had a chance to win their first championship in franchise history and the Cardinals padded their place as second in all-time World Series titles with their eleventh. We witnessed the work of two driven and intuitive managers in Texas’ Ron Washington and St. Louis’ Tony La Russa. Washington was part of the success in turning the Rangers into a competitive franchise year in and year out and La Russa is one of the winningest managers in baseball history.

Amidst all the turmoil in the world (and in the NBA negotiations), why not enjoy an American classic: the game of baseball. I know that I will be counting down the days to the start of spring training in February.

After all the drama, the Cardinals won their eleventh World Series title in franchise history. It was a wild ride for a St. Louis team that refused to be defeated, coming back from deficits again and again. Even when the Texas Rangers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead after the top of the first inning in game seven, Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter buckled down to throw five shut out innings and break out players such as, David Freese and Allen Craig, provided the big hits needed. A team that stole the NL wild card birth from the Atlanta Braves who stood 10 ½ games ahead at the end of August has taken the baseball world by storm. Even Cardinals manager Tony La Russa was quoted as saying, “It’s hard to explain how this happened.” (from ESPN.com) However, if my Red Sox couldn’t win it all this year, I’m happy, as a baseball fan, to congratulate the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals, World Series Champions. •