The World Series that very few folks outside of Missouri and Texas wanted to see turned out to be incredibly entertaining. Congratulations to the St. Louis Cardinals and the Texas Rangers on an outstanding Series and season.

The most memorable moment for me was seeing both, the exhilaration and anticipation on the face of MVP David Freese as he approached home plate after his 11th inning walk off homer to win game six.

If you wondered if Albert Pujols‘ comments all year about not paying attention to his pending free agency were sincere, or that all he cared about was his team’s success were legit, the look on his face for most of the Series left no doubt. He resembled a starving lion in the jungle who was not going to be denied the kill he most wanted. He got it and no one deserves it more than he. He is a tremendous player and person.

However, Pujols may have remained hungry had it not been for the demise of the Rangers’ bullpen. The seven relievers had a combined WHIP of a whopping 2.33 after the same pitchers posted a 1.15 WHIP during the regular season. This does not include starters Colby Lewis and C.J. Wilson who each had one relief appearance in the Series.

These same seven walked 41 while striking out 47 in the Series, for a K to BB ratio of 0.60 to 1. During the season their K to BB ratio was an outstanding 2.79 to 1.

These two stats clearly tell the story as to the deciding factor in the Series.

It was evident the Rangers’ relievers were not versed on the 7 reasons why any athlete lacks consistency. If they were, you would have seen stats put up in the World Series similar to the regular season.

Buddy Biancalana
Co-author, The 7 Secrets of World Class Athletes
www.zonetraining.net

“These guys have discovered something in all sports that is going to have a huge impact wherever it is taught.”  George Brett, Baseball Hall of Fame

Written by Rob Bertrand

Who would have thought that an ALCS and NLCS without any of baseball’s major market teams would be so exciting? Lots of people actually. As much as the Phillies, Yankees and Red Sox bring to the table in terms of fan following and TV ratings, there is a whole other audience that loves the underdog and loathes the teams with infinite amounts of capital to spend on talent. America’s heartland is being well represented with the Brewers, Tigers, Cardinals, and Rangers comprising baseball’s Final Four for the 2011 season. Loaded with talent, these smaller market teams have shown they have what it takes to be a contender.

Everyone knows the names of each team’s top players: Verlander and Cabrera for the Tigers, Pujols and Holliday for the Red Birds, Fielder and Braun for the Brew Crew, Hamilton and Young for the Rangers. But it takes more than just a couple of stars to win, it takes a team. Here is a look at a some other key players from each team that have contributed in big ways to their team’s postseason success in 2011. For those fans that treasure a good cardboard memory, we’ve even included a look at their key rookie baseball cards.

Image via Wikipedia

Texas Rangers

By now every baseball fan knows who Nelson Cruz is but that couldn’t be said before the playoffs started. Despite hitting just .212, he has produced some amazingly timely home runs, (5) total, accounting for 11 RBI. His key cards have gained just as much attention as the player himself, so get them while you can.

Key Rookie Card: 2005 SP Authentic #152 (autographed)

St. Louis Cardinals

A prototypical defensive shortstop and top of the order guy, Rafael Furcal brings a consistent glove and veteran postseason experience to a club that suffered through key injuries and was over 10 games out of the pennant race at the start of September.

Key Rookie Card: 1999 Bowman Chrome #364

Detroit Tigers

Victor Martinez led the AL in batting average with runners in scoring position during the regular season. Opposing pitchers have kept him in check this postseason, with him batting just .194, but again, timely hitting proved to be something Martinez had a knack for.

Key Rookie Card: 2001 Donruss Class of 2001 #258

Milwaukee Brewers

A gifted utility player that contributes to the depth of the team, Jerry Hairston Jr, is adept at multiple positions but feels most at home at second base. Platooning at the position with Rickie Weeks, both brought a strong arm and deft footwork to the keystone position.

Key Rookie Card: 1998 Fleer Tradition Update #U32

taken from Google Images

The following CNBC video discusses the business of baseball, with Larry Baer, San Francisco Giants COO, and CNBC’s Darren Rovell.

Dated 10/27/10 before the 2010 world Series

Parade photo provided by the author

The Giants’ World Series victory was spectacular!! I had spent the previous day working at the Polling Booth, starting at 6 am until 9 pm. I was utterly exhausted, but I wasn’t going to miss the parade. I kept waking up in the middle of the night trying to avoid my worst nightmare of oversleeping the parade. I would awaken hourly, and look at the clock in horror.

Finally, when I could deal with this no more. I got up, showered and got dressed. It was 6 am, and the BART (subway) trains into San Francisco were already packed with people wearing orange and black. These are my comrades, the people who I suffered with during the long seasons, the seasons of futility and frustration. Yes, I did know that some of these people were “fair weather” fans, and I didn’t care. I was just overjoyed that the team that I had fallen in love with when I was thirteen years old in 1978 had finally won a World Series.

This was one of the most unlikeliest of teams, but they were truly a team, a team that had come together during a very long season. This was a team that the city of San Francisco had fallen in love with, and this was a team that had given us, the fans, the ultimate gift. Whatever, happens in the future at least for 2010 the Giants are the World Series Champions and no one can ever take that away from us. It is also something that the specific players on that team can carry with them not just for the rest of their professional baseball careers, but also for the rest of their lives.

There were two speeches that I absolutely loved. The first one was Duane Kuiper, one of the Giants announcers who said that the Padres, Braves, Phillies, and Rangers were “out of here.” The other speech that I loved was from the Giants announcer Mike Krukow, which was truly special. I do think that he has the ability to keep things in perspective. Krukow told us to think of those people who couldn’t be there. I thought of both sets of my grandparents, and how I would go to Giants games with them, or I would listen to the Giants on the radio or watch them on television at paternal grandparents’ home in San Mateo. I also thought of my friends and those friendships that had been forged over the course of the years made so much better by a shared common love of the Giants.

I was also totally and utterly exhausted! By the time the parade ended at San Francisco City Hall, I had been standing for about six hours. My feet ached in a way that they hadn’t hurt so badly since I had bunion surgery eight years previously (One of my dear friends still calls me Charles Bunion, which cracks me up). It was just a sea of “orange and black” humanity. And, it was very special!!

Occasionally, chants would break out, and there would be a chorus of voices out of the crowd singing “Thank You Giants,” or “Let’s Go, Giants” and it would ripple throughout the crowd. Every once in a while, I would see someone crying, including myself. The tears would flow that one of my lifelong dreams had actually been realized with one of the most unlikely teams. I am sure that this was the case with these other people, as well.

Photo of Charles with proof that this was not a dream!

In the aftermath of the drama of the playoffs and the celebration of the Giants’ World Series victory, it took me a few days to realize that I could let go of the pain and anguish of past years’ disappointments and embrace the joy of 2010. I do know that the composure of next years’ team will be different. Teams do change year-to-year, one of the realities of baseball as a business, but the year of 2010 will always be special for me, and for other Giants fans.

Congratulations to the Giants who have now won World Series Championships in both New York and San Francisco! From the perspective of a non-Giants fan, someone who hasn’t had the priveledge to see them play very often if at all, I’d have to say that I was impressed by the pitching in general on this team. I was especially impressed with Lincecum, now I know why we won 2 consecutive Cy Yong Awards! I was also impressed with rookie Madison Burmgardner and the bullpen. As far as position players go, I love to watch young Posey both behind, in front of (how he handles the pitchers) and at the plate. I was also surprised by the play of Uribe on both sides of the ball and the bat of playoff hero Cody Ross (why the Marlins cut him loose is beyond my comprehension).

For those of you not in town for the parade, here’s a video of the event courtesy of Fox Sports…

For those San Francisco Giants fans who would like a piece of Giants history, the people over at AllPosters.com have put together this collection of 2010 World Series prints that can be framed and purchased. I have picked a few of my favorites below. Clicking on them will bring you to the allposters.com page where you can place your order for the selected print.

San Francisco Giants 2010 World Series Champions Composite

Photo

8 in. x 10 in.

Buy at AllPosters.com

Texas Rangers v. San Francisco Giants, Game 5: Pitcher Tim Lincecum

Photographic Print

Petersen,…

12 in. x 9 in.

Buy at AllPosters.com

Framed Mounted

Lincecum w/trophy

Texas Rangers v. San Francisco Giants, Game 5: Tim Lincecum

Photographic Print

., Pool

9 in. x 12 in.

Buy at AllPosters.com

Framed Mounted

Texas Rangers v. San Francisco Giants, Game 5: (L-R) Brian Wilson #28 and Tim Lincecum #55

Photographic Print

., Pool

12 in. x 9 in.

Buy at AllPosters.com

Framed Mounted

Texas Rangers v. San Francisco Giants, Game 5: Brian Wilson

Photographic Print

Pensinger, Doug

12 in. x 9 in.

Buy at AllPosters.com

Framed Mounted

Texas Rangers v. San Francisco Giants, Game 5: Brian Wilson

Photographic Print

Petersen,…

9 in. x 12 in.

Buy at AllPosters.com

Framed Mounted

Texas Rangers v. San Francisco Giants, Game 5: Buster Posey

Photographic Print

Martinez, Ronald

Buy at AllPosters.com

Texas Rangers v. San Francisco Giants, Game 5: Cody Ross

Photographic Print

Martinez, Ronald

9 in. x 12 in.

Buy at AllPosters.com

Framed Mounted

Texas Rangers v. San Francisco Giants, Game 5: World Series MVP Edgar Renteria

Photographic Print

., Elsa

12 in. x 9 in.

Buy at AllPosters.com

Framed Mounted

Photo taken from Google Images

The San Francisco Giants are the 2010 World Series Champions, the champions of the baseball world. They are the champions for the first time since 1954, and for the first time in San Francisco. Nothing can ever take this away from them. Wow!!! I cannot think of anything that more that can express my feelings of joy and relief. It will take months before the smile comes off my face. Maybe, by Spring Training, but I seriously doubt it. Opening Day, perhaps?!

I have gone through such a wide array of emotions in the last twenty-four hours. I have wept tears of absolute utter joy, and danced under a champagne shower. I have waited for this since I was a thirteen year old boy in 1978. Now, the years of hope and frustration have been washed away by a river of pure joy.

I have seen better Giants teams than the 2010 Giants, but not one with more heart. This is a team that truly relished the absolute joy of winning– together, as a team. This is also the team that so-called experts said wasn’t good enough. “They won’t get past the Braves, the Phillies, the Rangers.” Well, the Giants certainly proved them all wrong. I do take great joy in this, as well.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy once referred to this team during the post-season as a “team of misfits and cast-offs.” I absolutely love the characterization of this team. This is a team without a superstar, and they never needed one. I think that the city of San Francisco and Giants fans embraced this team, because San Francisco, while a spectacular city, is a city of underdogs, misfits and cast-offs. And San Francisco does take pride in this.

The five game World Series against the Teas Rangers was spectacular!! The Giants pitching was fantastic!! The Giants pitching shut down the two most offensive teams in baseball, the Phillies and the Rangers. Giants pitching, lead by Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner, totally stifled the big bats of the Rangers: Josh Hamilton, Vlad Guerrero, and Nelson Cruz. I also did enjoy the television shots of Nolan Ryan looking so profoundly unhappy, like he was eating something unpleasant, along with the former President, George W. Bush. This is a former President, who in eight years, so disliked San Francisco that he never visited here, the first President in over one hundred years not to come to San Francisco.

I just knew that if the Giants could keep the game tied going into the middle innings that the Giants had a great chance to win the game, and the Series. That is exactly what good pitching will do for you. That is exactly how it was for the Giant for their whole play-off run. Bruce Bochy out-managed Bobby Cox, Charlie Manuel, and Ron Washington. Bochy was absolutely brilliant getting every advantage that the Giants needed to win. Bochy got the best match-ups for his hitters and his pitchers.

One of the things that I absolutely love about this team is that all season long, day-by-day, there were different heroes every game. The fifth game of the World Series was no different. To me, the heroes were Tim Lincecum who threw eight innings of one run ball and Edgar Renteria, who hit the three run home run to eventually win the game. There is some speculation that Renteria may retire, and this is a great way to end one’s career. Renteria’s career started in 1997, capped by getting the Series-winning hit in extra innings while with the Florida Marlins. One thing that I absolutely loved was that Aubrey Huff put down a beautiful sacrifice bunt in the seventh inning to help the game-winning rally. Huff not only had never put down a bunt this year, but he had never put one down in his whole major league career. Amazing!! It looked absolutely text book, like the kind of bunt you would have gotten from Brett Butler. It was just a beautifully-executed bunt, and it was an integral part of the Series-winning rally.

I watched the game at my neighbor, Diane’s house where we jumped up and down when Renteria hit a three run home run, and when Brian Wilson struck out the last hitter of the game, Nelson Cruz. We ran outside splashed champagne on ourselves, and howled at the moon.

I receive a call from one of my childhood friends, Lincoln Mitchell, who had introduced me to baseball. He was calling from out of the country (Georgia), and had been watching it on Armed Forces Television. Lincoln conferenced in his brother, Jonathan, and we babbled at each other, talking about the game, the Series, and our years of fan-dom.

After that I returned calls to friends who knew of my passion for the Giants and how long I had waited for this magical moment. Then, I headed into San Francisco to join in the revelry. San Francisco was a mad house, totally insane, especially at Powell and Market Streets, where the police lined the streets.

Another one of my childhood friends, John Maschino, was in town visiting from San Diego. John and I had the bizarre pleasure of watching Jonathan Sanchez throw the first no-hitter in thirty-three years for the Giants, a year ago July, while we had both muttered that we weren’t thrilled about seeing Sanchez pitch. We were able to get together and walk around downtown San Francisco. Finally, we were able to find a liquor store to get a bottle of champagne. I couldn’t help, but laugh to myself as a cop car drove by, the police officer leaned out the window to make sure that the champagne bottle was still closed. We waited until the police drove off to open the bottle, toast each other, and pour it on each other. It was a long time coming. John, Lincoln and I had also gone to Game 5 of the 1989 NLCS when the Giants won their first pennant in twenty-seven years.

The subway BART ride back to the East Bay was filled with fun and frivolity, as the BART car passengers sang and cheered. Several of the younger fans asked me how long I had been waiting for this. I choked up and replied, “since I was thirteen years old in 1978.

I have reflected about all the Giants teams and players that I’ve seen, and all the history. Believe me, when I started writing this blog in March and April, I never in my absolute wildest dreams ever expected that this team, the 2010 Giants would win the World Series Championship. I am so glad that my years of faith, devotion and hope have finally paid off. And, I get my one last true dream to become a reality. I get to see to parade come down Market Street to Civic Center celebrating a World Series Championship.

No Answer for Tim Lincecum (Photo by Icon SMI)

In the wake of the surprising but deserving San Francisco Giants winning the World Series came word that numerous riots broke out on the city streets. Is there any plausible reason for this adolescent behavior? What have fans become? Why, after a big victory in sports do fans have to act like idiots (Here’s a link to the scene)? If this were an isolated incident it would be better tolerated, but rioting has become the norm.

“Hey, my team won so I have the right to pull you out of your car and beat you, then set the block on fire.”

This trend is disgusting but not surprising as witnessed by the boorish actions of fans in the stands at nearly any sporting event. It has gotten out of hand. Why should so few spoil it for so many? What has our society become? Can’t we just relish the moment without having to witness careless acts of stupidity?

As for the Series itself, the adage that good pitching beats good hitting was never so prevalent as in this post-season.  We watched Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner and to a lesser extent, Jonathan Sanchez simply dominate good hitting teams.

The Braves were first to bear witness to this. While not necessarily an offensive heavyweight, they were nonetheless helpless at the plate.

Next came the Phillies who have a better lineup yet were turned into a steady parade of zombies traipsing to and from the dugout. They were so locked up, tied up, confused, and dazed that not even Houdini could help them.

Then came the real test. The Texas Rangers led the American League in nearly every offensive category yet during the Series the only thing that was offensive were their feeble attempts at hitting. How many times did we observe Rangers’ batters swing at pitches in the dirt, outside the zone, above the zone and anywhere else but in the zone? It was sheer frustration that caused this as if they were thinking “If you’re not going to give a pitch in the zone, I’m going to swing anyway, damnit!” It was like having a complete lineup of Vladimir Guerreros’.

This Giants team was an idyllic makeup of other teams’ rejects and wonderful rookies. The starting seven fielders in nearly all the games were players General Manager Brian Sabean picked up at the recycling center:

Aubrey Huff signed late in the offseason because he could not get a decent offer.

Freddy Sanchez was a payroll markdown from the Pirates.

MVP Edgar Renteria

Edgar Renteria. The Series’s MVP was playing on his fifth team in the last seven years. Were it not for Kung Fu Panda’s bat going into hibernation, he may not have played at all.

Juan Uribe was signed as a free agent in 2009 for stopgap purposes until a younger player in the system (Emmanuel Burris?) could take over. He hit 24 HR drove in 85 and played three positions.

Pat Burrell. Cut by the Rays, the Giants signed him put him in the lineup where he hit 14 HR’s. Never mind that he did a good imitation of Matt Reynolds in the Series, his acquisition was key in the pennant drive.

Andres Torres. He, who spent 12 seasons in the minors before Bruce Bochy apparently noticed some intangible that other organizations overlooked.

Cody Ross. Why on earth did the Marlins waive him? Well, it’s the Marlins. No one was hotter at the plate during the playoffs than Ross.

Combined with home-grown Buster Posey, the aforementioned pitchers, and “Fear the Beard” Brian Wilson, the Giants 2010 season was truly extraordinary.

Who thought that their two highest paid players Barry Zito and Aaron Rowand would be a non-factor?

C’mon, who picked the Giants to even win their division much less the Series?

This was a joyful ending to another great season of baseball regardless of the actions of a few morons.

Ace SP Tim Lincecum photo by Icon SMI

This must have been a close series MVP race between Renteria and Lincecum! If Renteria actually does retire, what a way to go!

I was also impressed with the post season play of rookie catcher Buster Posey and OF Cody Ross who was a waiver wire pick up! The Giants pitching was just outstanding and in the end, they just beat the silent Ranger bats.

I would have liked this series to have gone 7 games and I am surprised that the first few games weren’t closer, but in the end, I think this series was better for baseball than a Phillies/Yankees rematch!

Here’s some video from on the Giants 2010 World Series victory!

And here are the Giants World Series stats brought to you by Baseball-Reference.com

<br /> Report Created on <a href=”http://www.baseball-reference.com/” mce_href=”http://www.baseball-reference.com/”>Baseball-Reference.com</a><br />

The Giants eliminated the Phillies in six games to win the 2010 National League Championship to go on to the World Series to play the Texas Rangers. I must state that I did get tired and annoyed with the announcers Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, who frequently derided the Giants, and couldn’t believe that the Giants could beat the the powerful Phillies.
The Giants did beat the Phillies with vim, vigor, and veracity. The Giants out-pitched the Phillies when they had to, and out-hit them when they needed to. Giants manager Bruce Bochy did out-manage Phillies manager Charlie Manuel to get the Giants successful match-ups throughout the the whole six game series. I don’t think that I’ve seen a more brilliant job of play-off managing and player execution than I saw in the NLCS.
I do think that this Giants team has made an arrangement with Bay Area cardiologists to make sure that the hearts of Giants fans are working and functioning, mine included. There has never been a better example of this than in Game 6 of the NLCS. Jonathan Sanchez gave up two first inning runs, and melted down in the third inning with an altercation with Chase Utley. (Sanchez and Utley did have previous history.) The Giants bullpen of Jeremy Affeldt, Madison Bumgardner, Javier Lopez, Tim Lincecum and Brian Wilson shut down the Phillies the rest of the game, and did not allow them a run, while stranding multiple Phillies base runners. The Giants got the runs that they needed to win on a base hit by Aubrey Huff, an error by Phillies third baseman Placido Polanco, and an opposite field home run by Juan Uribe, just enough to win.

After seven months of Giants baseball, I am still expecting this Giants team to crash, and it hasn’t happened yet. I thought that after the Giants lost Game 5 at AT & T Park that the Giants might go back to Philadelphia and phold (fold). It happened in 1987, and in 2002, but it didn’t happen here, and not with this team.
Now, the Giants are picked by the national media to lose to the Rangers. They are the underdogs. I have come to accept and relish the underdog status of the Giants, along with the constant “torture.” I have also started to think that there just might be a big orange and black parade down Market Street ( and not for Halloween) to end at the Civic Center in San Francisco, and I might actually get to see it.
As I said at the start of this season….Dare to dream….so close and yet, so far away.

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