One of the main reasons so many people love October is due to the unforgettable moments it has provided over the years of playoff baseball. From Bill Mazeroski to Edgar Renteria to the newest member of the club, Mike Napoli, this World Series has given us a number of lasting images to remember the 2011 season by. Entering the series, people were questioning how great it would be. After all, there was no Red Sox, Yankees or Phillies present, just two teams with some of the most passionate fan bases in baseball. For those who doubted the potential of this match-up, well they have been proven quite wrong thus far with 5 back-and-forth games. Starting with chess master Tony La Russa in Game 1 to Mike Napoli hitting the tie-breaking double last night, these 5 games have been truly enjoyable for baseball fans to watch. The saga continued last night, as mentioned with Napoli's double that may have been set up by one of the most bizarre stories you will ever hear. The phone in the Cardinals bullpen was having issues working and the only name they could hear over the phone was "Rzepczynski". Granted, Marc Rzepczynski has played a huge role in getting the Cardinals to this point, but rest assured, he was not who La Russa wanted in the game to face the right-handed hitting, red-hot Napoli in a key situation with the game hanging in the balance.
Whatever the case may be, the Texas Rangers now sit just one game away from capturing the first World Series in franchise history. For a team that for so long, always had the bats, but never enough pitching is oh so close to champagne showers in the clubhouse. To get to this point, the Rangers have had their fair share of heroes deliver in the clutch this postseason. Raise your hand if you had Mike Napoli with 9 RBIs in 5 games this series. Okay, thought so, the point is, winning a World Series is truly a collective team effort. A team's star players, as good as they may be, are not capable of carrying the team over 162 games and to a World Series title. How many people had heard of Derek Holland prior to Game 4 when he came up big in the biggest start of his young career. Guys such as Napoli and Holland are who people will remember when the book is closed on the 2011 World Series. If the Cardinals win, people will remember unsung heroes such as David Freese and Jason Motte making their mark on this season and cementing their place in World Series lore forever.
For now, it is time to sit back and enjoy potentially the last game of the baseball season tomorrow night before the countdown to pitchers and catchers begins.
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