The St. Louis Cardinals won their 11th World Series in game 7 on Friday beating the Texas Rangers 6-2 .
After setting a franchise record with 96 wins this year and drawing a single-season high of 2,946,949 fans, it’s hard to believe the Rangers let the World Series title slip through their gloves. In the American League West, they even held the lead for the last 85
games of the regular season.
“That’s the way baseball goes,” Rangers manager Ron Washington told ESPN.
But in reality, the Rangers lost the World Series during game 6 on Thursday night when they gave up a pair of two-run leads and failed to show up in game 7. Rangers fans knew the team was done. They were one strike away from the championship.
“It’s more disappointing [than last year],” Michael Young, the Texas Rangers designated hitter, told ESPN. “We were closer.”
Washington told ESPN, “If there’s one thing that happened in this World Series that I’ll look back on is being so close, just having one pitch to be made and one out to be gotten,
and it could have been a different story.”
While the Rangers taste the bitter reality of losing the World Series two times in a row,
the Cardinals have much to celebrate.
They should thank David Freese, their third baseman, who was named the World Series MVP and Chris Carpenter, the Cardinals starting pitcher, who was starting on a mere three day’s rest.
Freese was able to double in two runs in the bottom of the first to tie the game and Carpenter, after a shaky start, got his rhythm back in order to beat the Rangers.
“I was hoping to have an opportunity to go ahead and pitch in that game and fortunately it worked out,” Carpenter told ESPN. “It started off a little rough in the first. But I was able to collect myself, make some pitches and our guys did an awesome job to battle back.”
The Cardinals could also thank the Rangers for being one strike away from the
championship, and not being able to get it. The Cardinals were able to hold onto game 6 and then in game 7. They pulled away in the lead to beat the Rangers.
“It had to be destiny,” Cardinals center fielder Skip Schumaker, told ESPN. “There’s no other way to explain it.”
Schumaker is probably right with that statement, considering most baseball fans expected to see them beat during the playoffs. No one expected them to make it to the World Series, let alone win it all.
“We’re supposed to be home, watching the World Series,” Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols, told ESPN, “And now, we’re world champions.”
Something truly magical happened at the end of the World Series during game 6 and game 7. The Rangers are left to shake their heads and wonder how they let the championship get away from them and the Cardinals are left to enjoy their victory.
After game 7, Mark McGuire, the Cardinals hitting coach, told ESPN, “We had to win tonight because it doesn’t become history unless you finish it off.”
And the Cardinals certainly made history.
