Published 10:54 pm, Thursday, October 16, 2014
History descended once more on Third and King streets, home of the triumphant Giants.
An unlikely hero supplied the unlikely result Thursday night. Little-known midseason addition Travis Ishikawa blasted a bottom-of-the-ninth, walk-off home run into the October night, providing the difference in a 6-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals and sending the Giants to the World Series for the third time in five years.
The epic blast etches Ishikawa's name in Giants lore. And like with all history, there's the official version - and the unofficial version.
The official version: After another thrilling postseason victory over the Cardinals at AT&T Park, the Giants won the National League pennant, earning the team's sixth berth in the World Series since moving west in 1958.
The unofficial version: Holy Hunter Pence, kids! The Giants are going back to the World Series! With this team? And they're playing the Kansas City Royals? What are the odds of that?
Well, we can provide that information. On the day before the postseason began, betting services placed odds on every playoff team and possible combination of results to win the Series.
The Giants were 9-1 longshots to win it all, ahead of only the Royals, who came in at 10-1. In terms of pairings, every conceivable outcome was deemed more likely. You could have gotten 25-1 odds on the Giants and Royals making the World Series - if you were crazy.
But here it is, the oddest of pairings on the largest of baseball stages. Giants vs. Royals, in a best-of-seven series pitting the underdogs of yesteryear with the longshots of this year.
'That's baseball,' said a Champagne-sodden Brandon Crawford in the Giants' crazed clubhouse after the game. 'The favorites don't always win. That's how it's worked out in baseball for the past few seasons.'
The Giants, of course, can attest to that, having won improbable championships in 2010 and 2012. And now the Royals will try to pry the Cinderella slipper from the Giants' foot. If you have any sympathy for the underdog, this Series will deliver.
Of course, it wasn't an easy road to the unbelievable. Game 5 of the National League Championship Series went back and forth, with both teams taking leads and relinquishing them before Ishikawa's dramatic blast sailed over the right-field wall, sending the crowd into apoplectics.
A sea of orange towels waved amid the roar, as the faithful exulted in this team's unlikely romp. Remember, the Giants were wild-card participants in baseball's postseason. They won only 88 games in the regular season, fewer than any other playoff participant. They weren't supposed to make it this far. That team from Southern California was the heavy favorite.
And guess who else shouldn't be here? The Royals. They won 89 games over the course of the long baseball season, making this the first Fall Classic in major league history that will pit two teams that won less than 90 games in a regular unshortened season.
If anything, this Odd Couple Series underscores the superiority of baseball, in terms of producing compelling stories. This kind of thing just doesn't happen in the NBA or the NFL, where the powerhouse teams almost always overcome.
In this case, the Giants will actually take the role of the established team, with the higher payroll and the recent postseason success. And that'll be a new shirt for them to try on.
The Royals, on the other hand, have captured the hearts of baseball fans coast to coast. This is a team that last won a championship in 1985. They hadn't been back to the playoffs since, representing the longest current stretch in all major sports.
But once the Royals got in this year, they took advantage. They knocked out the A's in a one-game, extra-inning wild card game and have won eight straight postseason games, and 11 straight if you go back to the 1985 Series. One more win, and the Royals will tie the 1927 Yankees, widely considered the best team ever, with the most consecutive postseason wins in history.
Kansas City has gone made for the Royals, led by the team's best-known celebrity fan, comedian Paul Rudd. It will be hostile territory for the Giants.
Clearly, the world's gone mad. But the Giants weren't ready to consider the probabilities, or the improbabilities, Thursday night.
The clubhouse erupted into one of the most spirited victory celebrations in memory, and there have been quite a few in recent years.
Team leader Buster Posey stood to the side, exhorting starting pitcher Tim Hudson to take center stage and give a speech.
'Get up there, Huddy!' Posey yelled.
And up he went. The 16-year veteran had never gone this far in the playoffs. Never tasted Champagne so sweet.
'I've waited 16 years for this World Series!' Hudson screamed. 'Let's go get it!'
Team preacher Hunter Pence was right behind him: 'I've seen everybody show up in this postseason! And we ain't done yet!'
The room went nuts and a group of rich ballplayers became giddy kids before our eyes. Say what you will about professional sports, and all that ails them. This little piece of history was sincere.
Sincerely fun.
Al Saracevic is The San Francisco Chronicle's sports editor. E-mail: asaracevic@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @AlSaracevic
Posted by Unknown on Thursday, October 16, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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