by Stephen Jones
I’m not one for museum pieces,
For immediate elevation
To baseball’s Mt. Olympus,
But the way Mr. Bumgarner
Delivered the goods
On short rest, without a thought —
That does make me stop.
I applaud
Sheer will, tenacity and skill —
And maybe a performance
Tour d’force.
Indeed!
I was almost as delighted by the Giants’ victory as I would have been had it been a Yankees’ win. As for Madison Bumgarner, his performance was nothing short of Koufaxian—if I can coin a phrase.
True, the Royals fell just 90 feet short of tying up the game (or possibly winning the game and Series, given that Perez was fully capable of hitting a homer and had already done so once in an earlier game), but even after the botched play by the Giants’ centerfielder and leftfielder which resulted in Gordon getting to third, Bumgarner remained cool, calm and collected and did his thing.
When Sandoval caught the final out in foul territory along the 3B line, did anybody else flash back to Charlie Hayes catching the final out for the Yanks in the 1996 World Series?