And is there any other? What an astonishing performance- that they held on to that one run lead the entire sports population including myself has to have bar shaped bruises across the posterior from bouncing up and down on the edge of the seat. I cannot think of a time when the series MVP was more clearly defined as it was last night in Madison Bumgarner. What can one say about his performance through the season, and certainly the post season that hasn’t already been said? And humble? What a gracious young man, who seems to have taken a number of leaves from Buster Posey’s book. I can’t help but include some kind of cliché about the graceful courtliness of the South, made manifest in the demeanor of these supremely talented young men.
Contrast this, sadly, with the hash Fox made of its post game coverage. Mind you, I think Joe Buck is likewise a class act, and enjoy him as much as the greats of my youth, Curt Gowdy most prominently among them. But the color commentators? Where’s Joe Garagiola when you need him? And the trophy presentation? How crass! An extraordinary performance by an extraordinary group of men, tarnished by a tawdry ceremony MC’d by an inept announcer in a cheesy little room. Come on Fox- spend some money. And what about that boob from Chevrolet, babbling on about the glories of the latest thing to roll off the line, and forcing into the hands of a confused looking Madison the keys to a new car. A Price is Right moment, clearly out of place.
Well, I suppose the afterwards were at best comic relief, but certainly a come down and dissonant with the precision and ultimate glory of the scene we’d witnessed for the preceding three hours. I suppose all of us, including the players, can laugh off the post game, but for me, next spring can’t come soon enough.