Morning Marquee: San Francisco wins World Series; Madison Bumgarner MVP

The 2014 World Series turned out to be as good as anyone could have expected. In the end, the San Francisco Giants won for the third time in five years. And they did it on the back of what has to be considered the greatest Series performances for a pitcher in history.

The Kansas City Royals trailed by only one as Bruce Bochy turned to Madison Bumgarner in the fifth, pitching on two days rest. The expectation was he could give the Giants two or three good innings. As usual, he exceeded expectation. MadBum allowed a single to the first hitter he faced, then retired 14 straight batters. Alex Gordon singled in the ninth, which Gregor Blanco misplayed as it rolled to the wall. Gordon ended up on third, with Salvador Perez at the plate.

With the tying run at third, Bumgarner seemed unfazed, as he forced the slugger to pop out to Pablo Sandoval–who had a stellar game of his own–to clinch their third title in five years. The final numbers for the MVP-one earned run in 21 innings, 0.43 ERA. That’s how you earn a ‘unanimous’ MVP.

Sandoval went 3-for-3, was hit by a pitch, and scored two of the three runs. Michael Morse knocked in two runs, and had the key hit in the fourth with a single to score Nori Aoki to give the Giant the 3-2 lead.

Other than a questionable decision to sacrifice bunt in the fifth by manager Ned Yost for the Royals, the game was about as well played as it could be. In the end, the Giants won is the same fashion as they won the previous two. Timely hitting, great defense, and oh yeah, Madison Bumgarner.

The Chicago Cubs were the early talk of the media before the start of Game 7, as it was revealed by multiple sources that Joe Maddon was near reaching a deal with the Cubs to become their new skipper. MLB prefers no news to be announced during the Series, so the focus remains on the game itself. It’s unknown where the leak came from, but it will of course it will be looked into.

With the hiring appearing to be imminent, what happens to Rick Renteria? While this may be a “business” decision, it still has personal consequences.

Here are some of the headlines from yesterday:

‘Giants complete epic journey: capture 2014 World Series’ – Around the Foghorn

‘Madison Bumgarner, Giants win third title in five years’ – Call to the Pen

‘REPORT: Joe Maddon will become the next Cubs’ manager’ – Cubbies Crib

‘Cubbies Crib talks Joe Maddon with Rays Colored Glasses’ – Cubbies Crib

‘With Joe Maddon in for the Cubs, what about Rick Renteria?’ – Cubbies Crib