Bumgarner Or Bust: Giants Wins World Series

By Cheval John

The Kansas City Royals had always found a way to win when everything looked bleak.

They rallied to win the Wild Card playoff game against the Oakland Athletics.

They swept their way into the World Series.

They battled their way to a Game 7 against the San Francisco Giants with history seemingly on their side (home team have won Game 7s since 1980 9-0).

However, it was not meant to be as the Royals ran into a buzz saw in Madison Bumgarner and lost 3-2.

It really was not a question of if Bumgarner was going to pitch in the game, but when.

The key factor was that the Giants had to score enough runs to give Bumgarner the opportunity to pitch a masterpiece.

Tim Hudson, who became the oldest pitcher ever to start a World Series game, only lasted 1 2/3 innings that was the catalyst in the Royals tying the game at 2.

The Giants did not panic because of a spectacular play by Joe Panik that prevented the Royals from breaking the game wide open in the bottom of the third.

With a runner on first and no outs, Eric Osmet hit a sharp grounder to right field that seemed to be a base hit.

However, Panik made a diving stop, had the presence of mind to flip the ball out of the glove to short stop Brandon Crawford, who stepped on the bag and then tried to throw out Osmet, who seemingly beat the throw.

But Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy challenged the call and the replay official confirmed that Osmet was out and as a result, the call was overturn.

That huge call changed everything as the Giants took the lead 3-2 in the top of the fifth inning on a RBI single by Michael Morse.

From there, Bumgarner entered the game in relief and that was when a person sensed that the end was near for the Royals.

Bumgarner retired 11 of the 12 batters and was one out away from the greatest clutch performance ever before the Royals made things very interesting.

With two outs in the ninth inning, Alex Gordon hit a single to left field and the ball got away from Gregor Blanco that allowed Gordon to reach third.

Kansas City could not tie the game as Salvador Perez hit a fly ball in foul territory that allowed Pablo Sandoval to catch it for the final out and gave the Giants their third World Series Championship in five years.

The Giants have showed their team unity and persistent spirit despite facing the odds in winning a Game 7 of the World Series.

If it was not for Bumgarner’s dominant performance in the World Series, the Royals would have won it for the second time in their history.

About Cheval John

Cheval John is the Founder and CEO of Vallano Media, LLC, a marketing agency which helps small to mid-sized businesses use social media correctly to build a loyal following and in the process become more profitable. Cheval is also the host of "What's The Word?" a podcast about finding out what inspires people to choose their respective careers and how social media impacted their lives and business. He is the author of two books including the Amazon Best-Seller, "8 Lessons Every Podcaster Needs To Learn." He has spoken at Social Media Week Lima in Ohio and at Social Media Day Houston 2017 about topics around live streaming and podcasting. Cheval has been featured in media outlets including Ebony Magazine, Social Media Today and Forbes. He was named a Houston Top 25 Social Media Power Influencer (2016 and 2017) and a Twitter Top 50 Influencer by Onalytica in 2018.

We Welcome Your Comments