San Francisco Giants Take World Championship Title Once Again
Wednesday night the San Francisco Giants won game 7 of the World Series, beating the Kansas City Royals 3-2 and becoming World Champions for the 8th time. It was a great series with memorable moments, exceptional plays, and outstanding individual performances. It was the second World Series to feature two wild card teams and the first in which both teams were required to win a one-game playoff in order to advance to the Division Series. So what did it mean for each of the teams involved?
Let’s start with the Kansas City Royals. The Royals were the biggest underdogs heading into the postseason. They had no superstars on the roster, a payroll below the league average, and had some of the lowest numbers in the game. However, the young team became the team to root for. It was almost as if everyone without a team in the playoffs were pulling for the Royals to come out on top.
The Royals did not disappoint. They swept their way to the World Series after overcoming a 4-run deficit in the American League Wild Card Game. The young team became the first team in baseball history to start the postseason 8-0. not bad for a team that some felt did not belong in the playoffs. The Royals continued to fight for 7 games against the Giants but fell just a bit short.
So what does this mean? For a team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 1985, it was quite the run. More impressively was how they did it. The Royals front office put together a team with an average age of 28.6 and a payroll of only $92 million. The team hit a major league worst 95 home runs. But they still won. They did it with speed on the base pads and good young pitching proving that a team can win without signing huge contacts. The fact that this team in particular was World Series worthy could change the way general managers put together teams in the future.
The Royals fell short however, which left the World Champion San Francisco Giants. The Giants success brings up some great talking points. First of all, Madison Bumgarner was awarded the honor of Most Valuable Player in the series, by giving baseball one of the most dominating pitching performances of all-time. Bumgarner won game 1 of the series on the road giving the Giants a nice advantage off the bat. He was back in game 5 with a complete game, 4-hit shutout of the Royals, putting the Giants on the verge of clinching the series. But he still wasn’t done. In a tight game 7, Bumgarner came out of the bullpen in the fifth to pitch 5 scoreless innings and close out the series for the Giants. With 2 wins, a save, and an all-time best 0.43 ERA, Bumgarner was the clear MVP for San Francisco in the 2014 World Series.
The win was San Francisco’s’ third world series in five years which asks the question of whether or not this Giants team is considered a dynasty. Three out of five is impressive, but it would be a little too soon to call them a dynasty. Just compare them to the New York Yankees dynasty of the late nineties. The Yankees were champs four out of five years including three straight titles from 1998-2000. In ‘97 when they lost in the playoffs, and the years shortly after their 2000 title, they were still world series contenders and a team that was feared by opponents. That’s what we call a dynasty.
The 2014 World Series was a great thrill ride and reminds us all why we love sports. With the NFL season heating up, and the NBA and NHL seasons in bloom, come to Village Pourhouse for all of the intense action.