Madison Bumgarner grew up in Hickory, North Carolina before being drafted from high school by the San Fransisco Giants in 2007. Seven years later, the pitcher, has become the 2014 World Series MVP having won his third World Series. Bumgarner was one of the key components of another successful playoff run for the San Francisco Giants. The Giants have now won their third World Series title in five years.
Some may call it a dynasty, others may just call them a lucky “band of misfits.”
In a sense, that is exactly what they are. The Giants began their success in 2010 when they beat the Texas Rangers in the World Series. This was the franchise’s first World Series Championship win since 1954 against the New York Yankees. Two years later the Giants swept the Detroit Tigers. Most recently, the Giants remained victorious after beating the Kansas City Royals in seven games.
The Giants playoff run began on October 1st in a Wild Card game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. In the winner-takes-all game, the Giants started Bumgarner against the Pirates ace Edinson Volquez. The Giants went on to shutout the Pirates 8-0 and advance to the National League Division Series. The Giants faced the Washington Nationals in the best of five games. With the help of pitchers Jake Peavy and Yusmeiro Petit, the mighty Giants won the series in three games. Possibly the most memorable moment of this series was the 18 inning battle in Game 2. The game lasted 6 hours and 23 minutes until first baseman Brandon Belt’s homer in the 18th led the Giants to victory.
The Giants advanced to the National League Championship Series against familiar foes, the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals had been mounting an impressive playoff run themselves led by batters Jon Jay, Matt Carpenter, and the promising rookie who died in a car accident during the final round of the World Series, Oscar Taveras. The Cardinals power hitters were backed by ace pitchers John Lackey, Adam Wainright, and Lance Lynn. The Cardinals put up a strong fight against the Giants who were able to oust their foes in four games in the best of seven series. The Giants had endured many battles but they still had one more challenge to face, the Kansas City Royals.
The Royals were writing a “Cinderella Story” of their own. The mediocre team had battled all year for one of the final Wild Card spots to make it to the playoffs. The Royals faced the slumping Oakland Athletics who had bolstered their pitching staff mid-season to prepare for the playoffs. The Royals went on to win 9-8 in extra innings, and win their first eight games of the playoffs. After sweeping the Los Angeles Angles and Baltimore Orioles, the Royals came to face the Giants in the World Series. Both teams gave it everything they had but the Royals pitching seemed to crumble. Royal veteran James Shields started Game 1 and Game 5 only to not bring his A game and let the Giants easily win those pivotal games. The Giants were backed with terrific offensive shows from outfielder Hunter Pence and third baseman Pablo Sandoval.
The Giants went on to be named the 2014 World Series Champions in a thrilling seven game series. The young but already masterful pitcher Bumgarner was the true hero of the impressive run. Madison Bumgarner set numerous postseason records such as most innings pitched in a postseason-52 2/3rds and lowest career World Series ERA (Earned Run Average) of -0.25. The Giants were the deserving and final team standing after an exciting season of baseball. Perhaps the Giants will win in 2016, sticking to their even-year World Series victories starting back in 2010. Until then, the Giants will prepare over the off-season for any team that thinks they can dethrone the mighty San Francisco Giants.