In a World Series featuring two teams starving for a championship after almost 30 years of famine apiece, the Kansas City Royals would ultimately outlast the New York Mets in five games to earn the title that's alluded them both for so long.
When the Royals return to Kansas City, they'll be greeted by a fanbase that was so ferocious in its passion for the team that Major League Baseball was forced to cancel 65 million All-Star Game votes this year, per Yahoo's Jeff Passan.
That level of fan participation is symbolic of the top-to-bottom contributions the Royals received en route to their championship. Kansas City's stalwart catcher, Salvador Perez, played up to his lofty potential and was rewarded with the distinction of World Series MVP. But the likes of Christian Colon, who hadn't recorded a postseason at-bat until the one in which he drove in the game-winning run, were equally instrumental in the Royals' title run.
This enthralling, albeit relatively short, World Series must sustain us until pitchers and catchers report in February. So let's start with some of the biggest moments, highlights and storylines from the five games it took Kansas City and New York to determine a champion.
Moments
Edinson Volquez Pitches Following Father's Death
The biggest off-the-field controversy of the 2015 World Series was set into motion before the first pitch of Game 1.
Edinson Volquez, the Royals' starting pitcher for the series opener, suffered a tremendous personal loss in the hours leading up to the game. His father, Daniel, died at the age of 63. But no one seemed to knew if Volquez was aware of that fact during his start.
ESPN's Enrique Rojas reported that Volquez learned of his father's death on his way to Kauffman Stadium before Game 1. The New York Times' David Waldstein offered a contradicting report.
According to the Royals, Roandy Volquez, the pitcher’s wife, told General Manager Dayton Moore what had happened and asked him not to tell her husband until after he had finished pitching the biggest game of his career, his first World Series start. The team then asked the broadcasters on Fox not to announce the news, because Volquez routinely goes into the clubhouse between innings, and the broadcasts of the game are usually on.
Whether or not he pitched with a heavy heart in Game 1, Volquez turned in six innings and allowed three runs before turning it over to the bullpen for the remainder of what would be a 14-frame affair.
Volquez returned to the mound to start Game 5, where he wrote his father's initials in the dirt before tossing six innings and allowing just one run in the series-clinching Royals victory.
Salvador Perez Wins MVP
When the stat first hits your ears, it's a little shocking. Salvador Perez is the first catcher to earn World Series MVP honors since 1992, when the Toronto Blue Jays' Pat Borders won.
You reach back into the not-so-distant pass and remember the San Francisco Giants' three recent championships, all of which featured Buster Posey behind the plate. The New York Yankees have won five titles since 1992, but Jorge Posada was the MVP of none. Yadier Molina caught both of the St. Louis Cardinals' two World Series crowns, but other players were deemed more valuable.
All of that is to help frame how unlikely it is that Perez, a 25-year-old catcher on a team that saw heroic performances from up and down the roster, earned the MVP award in unanimous fashion.
But Perez certainly earned his hardware. He hit .364 against the Mets, including the single in the 12th inning of Game 5 that would put pinch runner Jarrod Dyson on base before being driven in by Christian Colon's game-winning hit.
Perez is a fan favorite, as evidenced by the record-breaking number of All-Star Game votes he received. But he's perhaps even more beloved in his own clubhouse. That was no more evident than when Royals manager Ned Yost told the Kansas City Star's Rustin Dodd that, even though Dyson scored the winning run, he regretted removing Perez from the game.
"I think if I had one regret during the whole playoffs," Yost said, "(It) was I had to pinch run for Sal there in that inning. But it opened up the door for us to score five. I really wish that Sal could have been out there to jump in (Wade Davis's) arms when we got that final out."
The Royals aren't done contending. Their core is young, with Perez serving as the nucleus for that group. Their bullpen is loaded, and their off-beat, put-the-ball-in-play tactics seem to work.
This is the first World Series MVP award for a catcher since 1992, but Perez could potentially prevent another drought that long.
Highlights
Alex Gordon sends Game 1 to extra innings with a home run to straight-away center field.
Daniel Murphy commits an error that serves to jump start the Royals' rally in Game 4.
Eric Hosmer scores the game-tying run in Game 5 on a possibly reckless but certainly effective dash from third to home.
Colon singles in his first postseason at-bat to drive in the run that would put Kansas City up for good.
Storylines
Royals Find Daniel Murphy and Jeurys Familia Off-Switches
Before a pitch was even thrown in the World Series, Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy had already put together one of the greatest postseasons in history. New York's closer, Jeurys Familia, brought a 0.00 ERA through 9.2 innings of work into the series.
Both Mets came careening down to Earth against the Royals.
Murphy hit seven home runs in New York's playoff run before facing the Royals, including a stretch of six consecutive games with a homer. He was being mentioned in the same breath as Babe Ruth in terms of postseason heroics, and it was justified. But he didn't go yard once against Kansas City and would finish 3-for-20 at the plate in the series.
Familia was unequivocally dominant in his late-inning role for the Mets in the the National League Division Series and National League Championship Series. He earned a perfect ERA and a 0.92 WHIP in eight appearances prior to the World Series. During that stretch, he recorded five saves, converting every save opportunity presented to him.
Against Kansas City, Familia crumbled. He blew all three of his save opportunities in the series.
Kansas City Comebacks
For a series that saw the Royals limit the Mets to just one win, New York had several games seemingly in hand before several late-inning circus acts from Kansas City.
In Game 1, the Royals trailed 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth inning. Alex Gordon sent the game to extra innings with a home run blast to dead center field. Five innings later, in the 14th, an Eric Hosmer sacrifice fly with the bases loaded scored the winning run.
In Game 4, with the Mets threatening to tie the series at a two games apiece, Kansas City faced a 3-2 eight-inning deficit. Then Murphy's lackluster showing at the plate leaked into his performance at second base. He whiffed on a ground ball to put Hosmer on base, and Perez and Mike Moustakas would complete the comeback with a pair of RBI singles to give the Royals their ultimate 5-3 advantage.
And in Game 5, New York held a 2-0 lead in the ninth inning. After successfully lobbying to remain in the game, Matt Harvey gave up the first of Kansas City's two game-tying runs. And the second came courtesy of some enormously aggressive base running by Hosmer, who scored from third after an errant throw on a ground ball that never left the infield.
Based on the optics of the Royals' 4-1 margin of victory in the series, their title was never in doubt. But throughout the five-game epic, it very much was.
Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci called Kansas City "the greatest October comeback team ever." And it's nearly impossible to counter that assertion.
"It’s a team that just looks for a little crack," Yost said, per Verducci. "If we find a little crack, they’re going to make something happen. It’s amazing how they do that. And they do that in a number of ways. But the most important thing is they put the ball in play."
Putting the ball in play was Kansas City's controversial mantra all year. But now, with Yost's tactics vindicated, the only controversy that remains is the country's decimated champagne reserves following the Royals' celebration.
*All stats courtesy of MLB.com
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
- Login to post comments