World Series, Game 6

Two nights ago, I returned home from a school event just in time to flip on the World Series in the 9th inning. I had been checking the score on my way home, and just wanted get home in enough time to see the Texas Rangers celebrate their first World Series victory. I flipped on the TV, poured myself a nice glass of whiskey, and sat down in my favorite chair, expecting to be in bed in the next 15 minutes….

What happened next was impossible to fathom. The Cardinals down to their last strike in the 9th, tied the game with one swing of the bat by a guy I’ve never even heard of until this World Series, David Freese. The game went to extra innings, and almost immediately, Josh Hamilton answered with a homerun that instantly quieted the St Louis crowd. Simultaneously, Tony LaRussa, the manager of the Cardinals, dropped his head and shoulders in a way that seemed to suggest he didn’t think his team had an answer for Texas this time. But they did. Once again, down to their last strike, this time it was Lance Berkman who kept the Cardinals season alive, taking advantage of a weird defensive positioning by the Rangers and dropping a hit in to tie the game and send it to yet another inning. (I think it was at this point that my roommate came out, confused at the sounds of me screaming at the TV and the nonstop chimes of text messages of friends watching around the country). And when the Rangers failed to score in the 11th, and David Freese, the hometown hero, leading off for the Cardinals, it was pretty obvious what had to happen. Freese took the ball out to the deepest part of the yard, while Joe Buck simply stated “We’ll see you tomorrow night.”

It was arguably the greatest World Series game ever played, which in my opinion, automatically makes it the greatest baseball game ever played. I didn’t even have a dog in the fight, yet for those 2 hours, I was more invested in this baseball game than any other game I’ve ever watched.

I’ve attempted to collect a few “artifacts” from the game that I think might inform my thesis moving forward. Posts to follow…