|
|
 |
Giants bring first World Series title to San Francisco
|
By Steve Henson
November 1, 2010
Arlington, TX – A sophisticated city by a magnificent bay parched for a baseball championship can pop corks and douse itself in bubbly. The San Francisco Giants won their first World Series since 1954 and first since moving from New York four years later Monday night with a 3-1 Game 5 victory over the Texas Rangers.
Giants shortstop Edgar Renteria, in the twilight of a career highlighted by the winning hit in the 1997 World Series, hit a three-run home run with two out in the seventh inning, and Tim Lincecum and closer Brian Wilson made the lead stand up, the last out coming on a strikeout of Nelson Cruz at 9:30 p.m. CT at Rangers Ballpark. Wilson was embraced by rookie catcher Buster Posey and engulfed by teammates seconds later.
Willie Mays must have let out a joyous “Say hey!” Juan Marichal might have approximated his signature high leg kick. Barry Bonds might have allowed a smile. A proud franchise that has more victories than any other – yes, including the New York Yankees – finally delivered a championship to San Francisco.
Facing Cliff Lee, a pitcher who until this Series had been invincible in two consecutive postseasons, Renteria drove a 2-0 cut fastball over the fence in left-center field, silencing the sellout crowd of 52,045 and scoring Cody Ross and Juan Uribe ahead of him. Renteria, who batted .412 in the Series, was named Most Valuable Player.
The drought included Series losses in 1962, 1989 and 2002. It included the long and storied careers of Willie McCovey, Will Clark, Bobby Bonds and his more celebrated son. It included managers from Bill Rigney, Alvin Dark and Herman Franks in the 1960s to Dusty Baker and Felipe Alou in the 2000s. And it lingered through the Summer of Love, a major earthquake and the turn of a century.
The Giants won on the strength of tremendous young pitching and a collection of mostly short-term rentals around the horn, players manager Bruce Bochy affectionately called “castoffs and misfits.” No Giants player ranked in the top 10 in any significant statistical category during the regular season.
But as San Francisco eliminated the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies en route to the National League pennant, a succession of unlikely postseason heroes emerged: Ross, Uribe, Aubrey Huff, Freddy Sanchez and, finally, Renteria.
Lincecum outdueled Lee for the second time in the Series. If a black cat is bad luck, a black cap is the best luck when worn by Lincecum. Stained and shabby, the same cap has been on Lincecum’s magnificently hairy head since he broke in with the Giants in 2007. He won Cy Young awards in 2008 and 2009 with it, and went eight brilliant innings against the Rangers with it.
A home run by Nelson Cruz in the seventh inning was the only damage against Lincecum, who struck out 10, walked two and allowed three hits. The Rangers never did figure out Giants’ pitching. They were shut out in Games 2 and 4 with young starters Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner getting the wins. And Lincecum beat them in Games 1 and 5.
Josh Hamilton, Vladimir Guerrero and Cruz – the heart of a Texas lineup that had bashed its way past the Tampa Bay Rays and Yankees in the postseason – were a combined 7 for 54 in the Series. Wilson retired those three batters in order in the ninth and a celebration began that reverberated all the way to the West Coast, all the way to San Francisco.
• World Series News Archive Index:
2010, 2009
World Series Tickets
Do you need a pinch hitter with a fantastic swinging arm to help you hunt down your World Series tickets? Contact us or fill out our World Series ticket information request form.
We will hunt down your World Series tickets for you! World Series Souveniers
San Francisco Giants Jerseys
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
