It has been almost four months since Major League Baseball’s champion was crowned, however seems much longer. For sports fans, the presence of professional football, basketball and hockey have distracted us from America’s pastime. These four months have given baseball fans ample time to reflect on the 2010 season. This break from baseball has allowed fans to realize how unique the end result was.
The past season’s champion, the San Francisco Giants, was believed to be an incomplete team after they barely made the playoffs. The team, backed by its bounty of young pitching talent, was thought to be too weak offensively to compete with power teams like the Yankees or Phillies. However, the team’s surge in the late stages of the regular season gave them enough momentum to coast through the playoffs.
The Giants’ success last season is similar to the Florida Marlins of 2003, both teams rode momentum at the end of the regular season to stun more consistent teams in the playoffs. The anchor of that team was also young pitching; Carl Pavano, Dontrelle Willis, and Josh Beckett balanced out the team’s underperforming offense. The Marlins scrounged the National League’s wildcard spot, and rode the wave of momentum to overcome the Yankees in the World Series.
San Francisco’s journey to perfection was very similar to the young Marlins of 2003. After they trailed the San Diego Padres at the end of the season in the NL West division, they managed to come all the way back to stun them in a concluding series. Backed by their star pitchers, Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, the Giants silenced the Padres as they narrowly escaped into the playoffs.
Before the playoffs, the baseball public doubted the Giants. Their offense was not nearly as strong as the majority of other teams. Surely, a team without offense couldn’t win games against the league’s toughest teams.
The Giants proved everybody wrong, as their pitching was nearly perfect. Because of the team’s weak offense, games would become very close in their late stages. Contests were often separated by one run, which called for flawless performances from the bullpen. Even against the powerful weapons of the Phillies, the Giants were able to silence their bats. Backed by their closer, Brian Wilson, the Giants were always able to shut the door on their opponents.
The surprising success of the Giants reflects one of the oldest sayings of baseball. Fans of the game have always heard that pitching is everything. As the Giants were able to show during the 2010, this is very true.
