Madison Bumgarner Runs Away With World Series MVP After Iconic Game 7 Performance
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It was no secret that Bruce Bochy was going to turn to his ace on two-days rest in Game 7 of the World Series. It was just a matter of how many innings Madison Bumgarner would pitch.
The on fire ace made it clear that he would be available for as many innings as Bochy needed him, and he certainly wasn’t kidding. Bumgarner entered the game in the fifth inning with a one-run lead, and after a lead off hit, he never looked back. The LHP quickly found his groove and regained his shutout form from Game 5.
Initially it was thought that he would throw two or possibly three innings, but once Bochy saw that his ace was locked in, there were no calls to the pen. Sure, it was a little bit of gamble to keep him out there in the 9th. But when you consider that historically, no one has ever been good as Bumgarner in the World Series (lowest ERA with 20-plus innings pitched), it was a smart gamble.
You can make a case for Hunter Pence and Pablo Sandoval as the World Series MVP. Both guys played fantastic baseball. But it’s been clear from the start of the postseason that Bumgarner is on another planet. He’s been on a planet that few have ever reached, and that most will never reach. He was the only choice for WS MVP.
Not only were his two starts amazing, he capped it all off with a five-inning save of sorts, even though he officially notched his third win of the 2014 Fall Classic.
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