The “Fall Classic” lived up to the drama as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Texas Rangers 6-2 in Game 7 to win the 2011 World Series.While all of the games were good ones, there is one that will stand out as the defining moment in the series.
Game 6. Baseball fans everywhere will be talking about Game 6 for a long time to come.Pushed to the brink, the Cardinals kept saving themselves from elimination.Texas had the lead five times and was twice within one strike of victory.The Rangers were already peeking inside the champagne cases stacked in their locker room. But the Cards would simply not give up and won that pivotal game 10–9 in 11 innings.
The Cardinals owned the momentum going into the deciding Game 7. After winning Game 6 in dramatic fashion, Game 7 seemed like only an afterthought.
St. Louis outscored Texas 38–30 runs to win the series.This is the Cardinal’s 11th World Series title with only the New York Yankees having won more titles with 27.Teams winning Game 1 at home have an 11-series winning streak.
The Rangers were one game and one strike away from celebrating their first World Series title in the franchise’s 51-year history.The American League champions are the first team to lose two straight series since Atlanta in 1991 and 1992.
Because of a Game 6 rainout, St. Louis pitcher Chris Carpenter had an extra day of rest and was ready to start Game 7. He threw seven good innings and the winning pitcher was 4–0 in the postseason.
Albert Pujols has led the Cardinals twice in five years to the World Series. The three-time MVP slugged three home runs in Game 3 putting on the greatest hitting show in postseason history.He is now a free agent and with his phone constantly ringing, the Cardinals will have to dig deep in their pocket book to keep him on board.
MVP David Freese is the feel-good story of this year’s series.He grew up in St. Louis and dreamed of playing in the World Series for the Cardinals.He got off track and was arrested twice for drunk driving.Freese took the party lifestyle out of his life and found a healthy routine that worked.He hit a triple in the ninth inning of Game 6 tying the score and a walk-off home run in the 11th inning.Freese was given a key to the city.
Outfielder Lance Berk- man played for the Houston Astros from 1999 to 2010.The Astros and Cardinals are division rivals, and Berkman did not like the Cardinals at all and referred to them as irritating.He was playing for the Astros when they were swept by the Chicago White Sox in the 2005 World Series.Berkman was named this year’s National League Comeback Player of the Year.He hit a two-out, two-strike double in the ninth inning of Game 6 to tie and go into extra innings.
And then you have Ranger Derek Holland’s spectacular pitching performance in Game 4. The fuzzy upper-lipped carefree “kid” brought fun and joy to the game.
The 2011 World Series is over and we can only hope that next year’s “Fall Classic” lives up to the expectations that will be remembered from this year.
