When most TV shows and movies are in the editing room, producers have some idea of the story that they want to tell and are able to portray that story throughout the course of the show. With live sports, there is a story being told everyday, albeit one that is not controlled by editors or producers. Everyday of the baseball season is a part of a six month marathon show, and with every episode, twists that are unforeseen to the whole world are added to the story. Players emerge as superheroes. Triumph and tragedy blossom.
The epic of the regular season is often overshadowed by the epilogue that is provided by the playoffs, and ultimately the World Series. Each postseason takes on a distinctly different flavor from the one before it. Cinderella stories, curses, dominance and despair often compose this unique story. This year, the playoffs have given rise to two vaguely similar yet wildly different glory stories, those of the Giants and the Royals.
In San Francisco, fans are hardly new to the idea of postseason dominance. For 2 of the past 4 years, the Giants have emerged victorious at the end of October led by a cast of homegrown talent and timely imports. The Giants have fallen from their October glory in each of the following seasons but have emerged from the ashes twice, seemingly caught in a cycle of glory and disaster. Although the Giants are no strangers to the postseason, their is a different type of story surrounding the team this year. After barely making the playoffs, they have dominated the offences of the Pirates, Nationals and Cardinals, allowing only 24 earned runs in 98 innings (a 2.20 ERA). Their MVP has been Madison Bumgarner, a player who has matured over the Giants incredible five-year journey from a rookie fourth-starter who had yet to gain the trust of many to a playoff machine, an ace who has pitched almost a third of the Giants total innings. His supporting staff, three equally competent albeit less dominant starters, an electric bullpen and an offence that provided just enough support to win, have helped the Giants reach a third consecutive World Series in an even year.
Halfway across the country, a Cinderella of a very different kind has arisen from the city that nobody is sure exactly where it is (Kansas? Missouri?), one almost 30 years in the making. The Royals have become yet another poster child for the team that rises from obscurity just the year before to make the playoffs. However, unlike so many of these teams that have fizzled out once they faced the pressure of the playoffs, the Royals have excelled under the October competition, blazing through the competition and going undefeated on their way to the World Series. Although it's been close and they have pulled out many one-run games, it is the way in which the Royals wins that make their run so exciting. In the age of the long ball, the Royals have won by playing small ball, relying on bunting and speed to keep games close until they win them in the most dramatic fashion possible. Wonder Twins Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas have both brought their fare share of dramatics, finally showing the potential that the baseball community has seen in them for years.
The story is unfinished. The final chapter is yet to be told. Nobody knows how the tale will end, but we all hope that it is a fitting end to a crazy postseason.
~TBC
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