Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show...(the opening lines of David Copperfield as written by Charles Dickens;inspired by MTM). Or at least this ACCOUNT will, perhaps, have a reflection on whether I'm going to be the hero in my own life.
I'm a bitch I'm a lover
I'm a child I'm a mother
I'm a sinner I'm a saint
I do not feel ashamed
I'm your hell I'm your dream
I'm nothing in between
You know, you wouldn't want it any other way~~~"I'm A Bitch I'm A Lover"; Alanis Morissette
I truly don't even know where to start with this one. The thoughts and the memories having to do with events would have the most gifted Skinner Psychoanalyst have their heads spinning. One of the things that September would represent for me, was the cut-off-month of my TRIAL WORK PERIOD(TWP), with the Social Security Administration. The TWP is the nine-month free-for-all, if-you-will, that the SSA allows for those on a benefit program, to work and not suffer any conflicts with their benefits. For those nine months one is pretty much given a blank-check on income accrual. However, at the end of the ninth month, the microscopes and the abacus is brought out and placed on the table. In knowing all of this, I attempt to arrange in the middle of September, to make an appointment with the local SSA office. With the wheels of bureaucracy being what they are, not well-greased, the appointment isn't actually effected until Tuesday 11 October 2011; not good. I do not want to do anything that will put my SSDI in jeopardy to be discontinued. Realizing that getting the Powers-to-Be to be able to sit down with me at the ECBOE, and effect the details of what has to be done to avert a discontinuation of my benefits, will be a tall order.
Even in the lengthy month of this October, I know I am going to have take some unilateral surreptitious actions to dodge this TWP cut-off bullet. The cut-off on a monthly basis is $1000.00. And October, as Fate would have it, is like the longest October in 823 years!! Based on my rate-of-pay @ 20hrs/wk~~~I am IN TROUBLE. In the long term, I need to get my rate-of-pay reduced. I don't want to have the hours-per-week reduced because that will have a counter-productive effect on my family-coverage health-insurance plan. Getting the rate-of-pay reduced, will take weeks---so this is what I started doing, even before my meeting with Paul B. of the SSA did actually take place.
Starting Monday 10 October 2011, and following every week throughout the rest of October, I did as shown: Monday and Wednesday(full-time days), I would punch-in at 08:30AM. Then for lunch, I would punch-out for 13:00PM. When I came back from lunch, I wouldn't punch in. Then, when I left for those days, I never punched-out.
On my Thursday part-time-day, while I was in there for four and one-half hours working, I NEVER punched-in, or punched-out. Total paid work-hours for the week=EIGHT. Because I do not want any nail-biter situation with the SSA, I followed this pattern every week throughout the remainder of October.
The pressure-release-valve development that did materialize from a mid-October meeting with the commissioner of the ECBOE, was that in the third week of October I received word that my rate-of-pay was reduced. The reduction that is now in effect, is such that I should be able to punch the clock for all of the hours I work, hold onto the family health insurance plan, and most importantly, hold onto the bedrock of our household income, my SSDI.
The whole experience with the SSA has been fraught with anxiety. It is an income that I have been paying into, all of my life, but the administration overseeing the funds, treat you as if you are doing something scandalous in seeking and having these monies. This would included the period of time when I was drawing a stipend from AmeriCorps Buffalo when I was doing the volunteer work @ The Belle Center. It is my prayer that this recent development with the rate-of-pay modification will finally give me some peace-of-mind---at least in this segment of my life.
Wednesday 12 October 2011, was a DC current---kind of evening!! It was new, it was challenging, and it was interesting!! Slated in the evening was this pivotal fund-raiser for the Erie County Executive Democratic candidate Mark Poloncarz. It was to take place at The Colter Bay on Delaware Ave in downtown Buffalo, NY. While this was a favorite watering-hole for Robert Preneta a very good boss from my Barnett Brass days, I had never been in this place myself. While it was raining, and challenging, it was as well, appealing. There were lots of people. That can be an asset, as well as a liability. Some people I recognized; others I did not. Thank God for lots of people. For starts---I had to get myself, and my scooter, out of the rain!! Initially, I had to have myself and my scooter ascend two crescent-shaped steps---and then a door threshold to get into the place. And i will add---with no hand-rails present and accounted for. What was sweet was that there were these three guys and these 2 women who just came out---like guardian angels, to help. Between getting the door, keeping me stable as I walker-wrangled and was shoulder-gripped up and through the entrance area, I was pleased to see my scooter was coming up right behind me~~~into Colter Bay!!
Once up and in, I am able to find a suitable staging area for SCOOTER & CO!! I was grateful for those whom stepped in to help, and I took the time to let them know that. Derrick S. was huge in running around getting food & drink for me. After some time it would be persons that I did not even know, who would offer to get me another drink or get me seconds on the banquet edibles. It was as if I was a quarterback calling a play-changing audible at the line-of-scrimmage; 12---19---26; hut, hut!! Somebody would be going wide-left for the food, and somebody would be going wide-right for the drinks!! But~~~wide-right was also going to be a huge undertaking later, when I would have to use the restroom. Typically, the restroom is in 'the-back'. This restroom, along with the restaurant, which is behind the lounge of Colter Bay, rests on a platform. Here again, a guardian-angel of a slighter-framed woman, whom I did not know from Adam, stepped up to the plate to run interference through the crowd for me and my scooter. Once at the platform, she helped me ascend that too, with my walker now in hand. She continued to stay with me with my walker in hand, to make sure I got into the restroom without any problems. And I must admit, it helped my ego immensely as she repeated more than a couple of times that I must possess incredible upper-body-strength.
Once the restroom break was effected, it was getting back to the lounge, and back to conversations. in due course of time the fundraising activity ceased and the crowd, thank God, did begin to thin out. The conversations were by-and-large small talk but a tid-bit from this one woman from City-Hall needs to be entered into this journal. I feel so because the juxtaposition constitutes a parallel-world coincidence. As all adults do, at some point pridefully, children are brought up in conversation. As this woman is providing a chronicle of her children, she comes to mentioning ELEKTRA. I gasped, and did an immediate~~~O M G!! The dramatic reaction was the result of the twist of Fate. It was just the day previous, Tuesday 11 October I was having this discussion about music groups in the 60's that had songs devoted to dance-sensations of the era. And one of my offerings in the discussion had to do with the "Freddie," and a local group that had gained some notoriety with this production effort. I had suggested that the local group name was either the INVICTAS, or the ELECTRAS. The next day, I'm discovering that Elektra is one of the daughters of this woman!!
Eventually, I had to leave. And yes, it is still raining outside. I must reflect as an anecdote. Maybe it is just that people, good Samaritans if you will, just help because they realize that they in short, can just walk away. I find it confounding though how people who don't even know me from Adam---just JUMP-IN and help. I don't see that at all, the closer to home that I get. As a matter-of-fact, by the time the documentary film director has his cameras zoomed to the master bedroom, one will observe that bed-side-manners---are non-existent.
As I am leaving, a bit of an entourage formulates around me as I walker my way to the door. While the City-Hall woman anchors the door to allow me to grip the handle and "work" the walker with my left-hand, this other woman grabs my left upper arm saying that she will help---her father has 'problems', too.
Once down the stairs, these two guys Greg and James carry my scooter out to me. Then they decide, in the rain, that they are going to make sure I get to my van without incident. I assured them that I "do-this-all-the-time". Lynn again repeats that she has to help her father and therefore is staying with me. So along comes Greg & James. It is a long wet walk from Allen St. to Virginia St. along Delaware Ave. When we get to my van and open the rear gate, I in due course of time take grip of the control-box that has the allows the ramp to hydraulically come out of the back. Lynn removes the control-box from my hand, assuring that she must help; that she does this all the time for her dad. I acquiesce. I mean---everybody is getting wet, so I am not going to argue. Once the scooter is up and in, I profusely thank all three and make my way into the vehicle. And of course, this just wows them!! This is because I have to do that 'power-lift' of my body---to get in.
For an evening that had me interacting with so many different people, and so many of these were for the first time, I felt while driving home, a---Rhapsody In The Rain!!
--{-=@
Hickok
The Promise
Sunday, November 6, 2011
An October To Remember Part IA
Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show...(the opening lines of David Copperfield as written by Charles Dickens;inspired by MTM). Or at least this ACCOUNT will, perhaps, have a reflection on whether I'm going to be the hero in my own life.
All alone am I ever since your goodbye
All alone with just a beat of my heart
People all around but I don't hear a sound
Just the lonely beating of my heart~~~Brenda Lee - All Alone Am I
Bishop Fallon High School
Hall of Fame Dinner~~~
Enjoy the summary!!!
28 October 2011
Bishop Fallon High School HALL of FAME Dinner
is celebrated at Salvatore's Italian Gardens.
When Frank Longo, one of the inductees of this year's Bishop Fallon High School's HALL of FAME Dinner held Friday 28 October 2011, at Salvatore's Italian Gardens, was at the podium making his remarks, at one point he became reflective. He was revealing to those in attendance a conversation he was having with his wife as they were getting themselves ready for the evening's festivities. He found himself pondering aloud; "Honey, did you ever wonder how, in your wildest dreams, that I would have accomplished something like this!?!?!?" To which Frank's wife deadpans; :Longo, you are NOT IN my wildest dreams!!"
Needless to say, everybody had a good laugh~~~and an accompanying applause, to that one.
The other inductees included Ralph Cammarata(posthumously) 1945, Clement Eckert 1952, Charles Tedesco 1959, Father James Fee 62, and Tony Diina 1965. The two inductees, in particular, that I was focused on because they had relevance to me was: Joseph Grifasi 1962, and Paul J LoVello 1967.
Paul LoVello was the anchor of the 1967 Varsity Baseball team. It was important for me to converse with him singularly about some of other players that were part of that varsity squad. They were part of my graduating class of 1969. Included on that roster was 2010 Hall of Fame inductee JImmy Scime, as well as Gary Porter and Kevin Nellany. He was very appreciative of the connection that I reminisced about.
Joseph Grifasi was the 'interesting' selection, this year. Which is probably why they saved him as the last appearance to the podium. He must have been a "card" in grade school at Annunciation, as well as Bishop Fallon, because he was a 'cut-up' on the dais. He had us laughing, with every one of his sentimental one-liners. It was very important for me to introduce myself to Joseph because of the two-pronged connection of Bishop Fallon High School & Annunciation Grade School. In one of his 'imparts', he starts talking about Father O'Leary~~~and 120 Congress Street. My mind is now like an M-80 whose fuse is lit: I'm thinking: it has to be?!?!?
When the festivities are finally concluded, I made my way over to Joseph & some of his other family members. Sure enough!! Joseph Grifasi, and his sister Carol, who was in attendance, are the older siblings to Susan Grifasi, whom I graduated with in 1965, at Annunciation Grade School!! The great-niece of Susan then took some pictures of Carol, myself, and Joseph. We continued the conversation as we reconnected in the lounge area, mentioning a number of Susan's other classmates. He recalled many of the names that I mentioned because he added that they would often be at the Grifasi House , after school. While in the lounge, where there were NO televisions, I was grateful to have gotten a phone call from my son Philip. God bless him; he checks in with me every now and again. We have a number of things in common including the love of baseball. He called to let me know that there was INSANITY in St. Louis, MO!!! The Cardinals are this year's Cinderella sports-story, winning the World Series against the favored Texas Rangers. This truly was a Golden Friday!!
--{-=@
Hickok
The Promise
All alone am I ever since your goodbye
All alone with just a beat of my heart
People all around but I don't hear a sound
Just the lonely beating of my heart~~~Brenda Lee - All Alone Am I
Bishop Fallon High School
Hall of Fame Dinner~~~
Enjoy the summary!!!
28 October 2011
Bishop Fallon High School HALL of FAME Dinner
is celebrated at Salvatore's Italian Gardens.
When Frank Longo, one of the inductees of this year's Bishop Fallon High School's HALL of FAME Dinner held Friday 28 October 2011, at Salvatore's Italian Gardens, was at the podium making his remarks, at one point he became reflective. He was revealing to those in attendance a conversation he was having with his wife as they were getting themselves ready for the evening's festivities. He found himself pondering aloud; "Honey, did you ever wonder how, in your wildest dreams, that I would have accomplished something like this!?!?!?" To which Frank's wife deadpans; :Longo, you are NOT IN my wildest dreams!!"
Needless to say, everybody had a good laugh~~~and an accompanying applause, to that one.
The other inductees included Ralph Cammarata(posthumously) 1945, Clement Eckert 1952, Charles Tedesco 1959, Father James Fee 62, and Tony Diina 1965. The two inductees, in particular, that I was focused on because they had relevance to me was: Joseph Grifasi 1962, and Paul J LoVello 1967.
Paul LoVello was the anchor of the 1967 Varsity Baseball team. It was important for me to converse with him singularly about some of other players that were part of that varsity squad. They were part of my graduating class of 1969. Included on that roster was 2010 Hall of Fame inductee JImmy Scime, as well as Gary Porter and Kevin Nellany. He was very appreciative of the connection that I reminisced about.
Joseph Grifasi was the 'interesting' selection, this year. Which is probably why they saved him as the last appearance to the podium. He must have been a "card" in grade school at Annunciation, as well as Bishop Fallon, because he was a 'cut-up' on the dais. He had us laughing, with every one of his sentimental one-liners. It was very important for me to introduce myself to Joseph because of the two-pronged connection of Bishop Fallon High School & Annunciation Grade School. In one of his 'imparts', he starts talking about Father O'Leary~~~and 120 Congress Street. My mind is now like an M-80 whose fuse is lit: I'm thinking: it has to be?!?!?
When the festivities are finally concluded, I made my way over to Joseph & some of his other family members. Sure enough!! Joseph Grifasi, and his sister Carol, who was in attendance, are the older siblings to Susan Grifasi, whom I graduated with in 1965, at Annunciation Grade School!! The great-niece of Susan then took some pictures of Carol, myself, and Joseph. We continued the conversation as we reconnected in the lounge area, mentioning a number of Susan's other classmates. He recalled many of the names that I mentioned because he added that they would often be at the Grifasi House , after school. While in the lounge, where there were NO televisions, I was grateful to have gotten a phone call from my son Philip. God bless him; he checks in with me every now and again. We have a number of things in common including the love of baseball. He called to let me know that there was INSANITY in St. Louis, MO!!! The Cardinals are this year's Cinderella sports-story, winning the World Series against the favored Texas Rangers. This truly was a Golden Friday!!
--{-=@
Hickok
The Promise
Saturday, November 5, 2011
An October to Remember~~~Part II
Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show...(the opening lines of David Copperfield as written by Charles Dickens;inspired by MTM). Or at least this ACCOUNT will, perhaps, have a reflection on whether I'm going to be the hero in my own life.
In restless dreams I walked alone, narrow streets of cobblestone
Neath the halo of a streetlamp, I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light, split the night
And touched the sound of silence~~~Simon & Garfunkel; The Sound of Silence
St. Louis is near the epicenter of this Great Country. On 28 October 2011 it was Friday Night Lights!!! ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE COMPLETION OF THE GATEWAY ARCHES did transpire the GREATEST WORLD SERIES since the 1975 World Series between the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Red Sox. On a day that in effect constituted the first Double-Header in World Series history, Cinderella was presented her glass slipper!! The drama that lead up to the Cardinals winning this WORLD SERIES would have Bench/Fisk & Co's theatrics, pale by comparison. Freese-Frame's Gateway Arched home run to center field in Game-Six at 12:39AM EST of Friday, is truly one of MLB's ICONIC MOMENTS!! As David Freese was finished rounding-the-bases of his dramatic 11th inning home run, his team-mates came onto the field and starting tearing his attire off of him. Observers were to wonder if his teammates were going to "lay him bare" on the diamond!!
Below is an Associated Press reporter's account of Game Six:
Cards Come Up Trumps
BEN WALKER
ST. LOUIS— The Associated Press
Published Friday, Oct. 28, 2011 12:48AM EDT
Last updated Friday, Oct. 28, 2011 10:35AM EDT
Twice down to their last strike, the St. Louis Cardinals kept rallying to win one of baseball's greatest thrillers.
David Freese completed a startling night of comebacks with a home run leading off the bottom of the 11th inning to beat Texas 10-9 on Thursday, and suddenly fans all over got something they have waited a long time to see: Game 7 in the World Series.“You had to be here to believe it,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said.
It was as great a game as baseball has ever witnessed, rivaling the Carlton Fisk homer in Game 6 of the 1975 Series and Bill Buckner's error in Game 6 of the 1986 Series.
Great, that is, except for Texas. The Rangers were that close to their first championship.
“I understand it's not over till you get that last out,” Texas manager Ron Washington said. “I was just sitting there praying we got that last out. We didn't get it.”
Next up on Friday night, the first Game 7 in the World Series since the Angels beat San Francisco in 2002.
Freese, the hometown boy who made good, had already written himself into St. Louis lore in Game 6 with a two-strike, two-out, two-run triple in the ninth off Rangers closer Neftali Feliz that made it 7-all.
“Initially I was like 'Are you kidding me? My first AB off Feliz in this situation ever,'“ Freese said. “I just beared down, got a pitch to hit. Initially I thought I hit it pretty good, I thought (right fielder Nelson Cruz) was going to grab it, so just a lot of emotions on that one.”
After banged-up Josh Hamilton hit a two-run homer in the Texas 10th, St. Louis again tied it when Lance Berkman hit a two-out single on a 2-2 pitch from Scott Feldman.
Busch Stadium was still in frenzy when Freese opened the 11th with a leadoff shot over the center field wall off Mark Lowe. Freese thrust his arm in the air as he rounded first base, and the crowd was delirious.
“Just an incredible feeling, seeing all my teammates at the dish waiting for me,” said Freese, whose shirt was torn off during the celebration.
A night that started off terribly for both teams turned terrific for everyone watching.
After it was over, La Russa wasn't willing to announce his starter for Game 7 — many believe it will be ace Chris Carpenter on three days' rest. Matt Harrison is set to start for Texas.
Home teams have won the last eight Game 7s in the World Series, a streak that started with the Cardinals beating Milwaukee in 1982.
Texas trudged off the field as Freese circled the bases after connecting off Lowe, having been so close to that elusive title. Much earlier, team president Nolan Ryan was high-fiving friends in the stands as Adrian Beltre and Nelson Cruz opened the seventh with home runs that helped Texas take a 7-4 lead.
Allen Craig's solo homer in the eighth began the Cardinals' comeback. Jake Westbrook wound up with the win.
Hardly the ending anyone imagined in a game that started out with a bevy of errors and bobbles — none more surprising than the routine popup that Freese simply dropped at third base.
“I'm just glad I had a chance after I looked like an idiot on that popup,” Freese said.
The Cardinals made it 4-all in the sixth when Alexi Ogando relieved starter Colby Lewis and walked Yadier Molina with the bases loaded.
Then came a key play — Napoli and Beltre teamed up to pick off Matt Holliday at third with the bases loaded.
With one out, Napoli zipped a throw to Beltre, who neatly used his cleat to block the diving Holliday from reaching the base. That also ended Holliday's night with a severely bruised right pinkie. Texas wasn't quite out of trouble as Nick Punto walked to reload the bases. But Derek Holland, the star of Game 4 with shutout ball into the ninth inning, trotted in from the bullpen and retired Jon Jay on a comebacker.
The Rangers looked loose as they took the field for pregame warmups. Cruz playfully kicked a couple of Cardinals gloves strewn on the grass, and smiled at his St. Louis pals.
Once they started, however, both Texas and St. Louis seemed tense, as if they were trying too hard with so much at stake. Either that, or they looked like they were playing in the sloppy weather that forced Wednesday night's postponement.
Exacerbated by the errors, the teams seesawed through the early innings.
Texas did more damage in three batters against Jaime Garcia than it did in seven scoreless innings against him in Game 2, with Hamilton hitting an RBI single in the first.
St. Louis came out swinging at first pitches, and Berkman's two-run homer into the center field bleachers made it 2-1 in the bottom half. Ian Kinsler tied it in the Texas second with an RBI double. Garcia was pulled after the third in his shortest outing since June 2010.
Shaky in the field all year, St. Louis made two errors in a span of four batters in the fourth behind reliever Fernando Salas, equaling its mistake total for the Series.
Holliday failed to take charge on an easy fly ball by Cruz and dropped it for a two-base error. Napoli followed with an opposite-field single to right that hit the chalk line for his 10th RBI of the Series. Salas then sailed Lewis' bunt into center and Napoli turned his left ankle as he went leg into the bag on the play. Napoli was checked, and was OK.
The misplays continued in the Cards fourth when first baseman Michael Young made an errant throw to Lewis covering the base, letting Berkman reach. Molina's RBI grounder made it 3-all.
The next botch belonged to St. Louis. Hamilton lifted a major league popup in the fifth that started foul, drifted fair and was dropped by Freese. Young took advantage with an RBI double for a 4-3 lead.
Notes: Texas was 0 for 11 with two outs and runners in scoring position in the Series until Kinsler's double. ... Berkman hit his first Series home run. He was moved up a spot to cleanup for this game. ... David Eckstein, MVP of the 2006 Series for St. Louis, threw out the first ball. ... 90-year-old Hall of Famer Stan Musial rode in on a golf cart during pregame festivities. ... The crowd of 47,325 was a record for 6-year-old Busch Stadium.
From the CRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR!!! If the CSM is writing about the World Series, you know this has to be~~~extraordinary!!
World Series history: Cardinals over Texas Rangers in 11 is instant classic
Twice the Texas Rangers were within an out of winning the World Series. But the Cardinals came back in dramatic fashion, and David Freese's walk-off in the 11th grabbed a bit of history. There's a new rival for the title of most thrilling Game 6 in World Series history, and new rival for the title of hero.
At the very least, the 11-inning win by the St. Louis Cardinals is an instant classic, one that enters the top tier of postseason epics.
The game twice took the Texas Rangers within one strike of a world championship. It took fans of both teams on an emotional roller coaster. And it is taking the bat and the shredded jersey of David Freese, who homered to win the game and keep Cardinal hopes alive for a Game 7, to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
It was baseball at its white-knuckle, goose-bump finest.
Part comedy of errors, part battle of managerial wits, and no small part a show of performance under pressure.
A recap of the drama: The teams battled to a 4-4 tie by the dawn of the seventh inning, when the Rangers mustered three-run rally. The Cardinals appeared all but doomed when they closed out the eighth inning still two runs down, missing a bases-loaded opportunity.
All the Rangers had to do was have their closer, Neftali Feliz, get three more outs. The first Rangers title ever would be theirs. And Feliz almost accomplished the job. But in the ninth, with two outs and two men on base, Freese tripled to tie the game and send it into extra innings. The Rangers answered with two runs in the top of the 10th.
Again, in the bottom of the inning, the Cardinals came down to their last out. Berkman's single to center field evened up the game yet again, paving the way for an 11th inning after both teams had already worked through most of their available pitchers.
Freese's walk-off home run in the bottom of the inning finished the game. As he struggled to touch home plate amid a swarm of team-mates (one of whom ripped his jersey apart), two things were clear to anybody watching. There would need to be a decisive Game 7. And wow, what a game that was.
So where should this game rest in the baseball pantheon?
Certainly it's up there on a top-hits list, when it comes to multi-act drama in a potentially decisive World Series game. (This wasn't a one-man or one-team show of force, like Don Larsen pitching a perfect game midway through the 1956 World Series.)
That said, let's admit that in baseball's long history, there have been more than a handful of remarkable games that ended or nearly ended the championship series.
It's hard to argue that this one tops the best Game 7s, such as those of 1960 (with Bill Mazeroski's home run for Pittsburgh), 1991 (with Jack Morris's 10-inning shutout for Minnesota), or 1924 (a 12-inning epic). Fans of the game could toss in a number of other favorites.
And what about Carlton Fisk? His 12th-inning home run for the Red Sox in 1975 was another instance of a team fending off doom – in this case the threat that the "Big Red Machine" of Cincinnati would win the Series that night. The Boston catcher famously waved the ball fair, as it veered toward the left-field foul pole in Fenway Park.
To Boston fans and many others, that was unforgettable. To many baseball fans today, Freese's shot holds a candle to it.
The Cardinals' win represents just the third time that a team one out from elimination in the World Series came back to win the game, the Associated Press reports, citing STATS LLC. The New York Mets did it in 1986 (and won the championship in the next game), and the New York Giants did it in 1911, but ended up losing the series.
Indeed, the comparison with Game Six in 1975 reinforces the reminder: The winner of a legendary game isn't always the winner of the Series. The Sox lost to the Reds back then. It remains to be seen what will happen in Game 7 between the Cardinals and Rangers Friday night.
If the Cardinals win, the prominence of this Game 6 will ratchet a notch higher.
The Deciding Game Seven account~~~below, from The Sporting News:
ST. LOUIS—At some point when the Cardinals, their families and friends were romping around Busch Stadium Friday night, Lance Berkman pulled Albert Pujols aside and pleaded, "Come back. Let's do this again."
Though Pujols would not commit, Berkman could not have picked a better time to make his pitch.
The Cardinals had just won Game 7 of the World Series, 6-2 over the Rangers to complete perhaps the most incredible stretch in baseball history.
In the past two months, the Cardinals overcame a 10 1/2-game deficit in the playoff race to win the franchise's 11th World Series championship.
So what did Pujols tell his teammate?
"The same thing I'm going to tell you," Pujols said. "Whatever decision I make is hopefully the best decision for my family and the fans and everybody. To talk about my contract right now is the last thing I'm thinking about. I'm just going to enjoy the moment."
Give the man that much. As he sat at the interview podium with son A.J. along with Chris Carpenter and his two children, Pujols had many moments to soak in.
David Freese was named the World Series MVP. (AP Photo)
There was the late-August players' only meeting that fueled a 22-9 surge that led to clinching the NL wild card on the season's final day.
There was the Game 2 rally from a 4-0 deficit against Cliff Lee and the Phillies and Carpenter's 1-0 masterpiece against Roy Halladay that sent the Cardinals to the NLCS.
There were Pujols' four extra-base hit performance in the NLCS, and his three-homer, five-hit record night in Game 3 of the World Series.
There were nightly hitting heroics from World Series MVP David Freese and Allen Craig, and shutdown performances from the bullpen throughout the NLCS.
And don't forget the comeback of all comebacks in Game 6 of the World Series, when the Cardinals twice were within one strike of being finished, but pulled out a 10-9, 11-inning victory.
"This is what you dream about," manager Tony La Russa said. "It's hard to really imagine it actually happened."
Steering the journey were the two veterans in the interview room, Pujols and Carpenter.
They were among a handful of Cardinals around for the 2006 championship who took extra pleasure in helping all the newcomers become a part of Cardinals' history. This club has some history, too, with its 11 championships second only to the Yankees' 27.
There were plenty of newcomers able to celebrate their first championship, from Berkman to Matt Holliday to Octavio Dotel, Rafael Furcal and 20-year veteran Arthur Rhodes. "To have the opportunity to experience that, with guys that haven't experienced this before that have been around a long time is amazing," Carpenter said.
After years of competing against the Cardinals with the Astros, Berkman had to join the Cardinals to become a champion. The feeling, he said, surpassed his expectations. "Way better," he said as he remained on the field long after the game had ended and the trophy presentation had concluded. "You can't imagine the exhilaration of finally winning, particular in the fashion that we did. It wasn't like we swept four games in four laughers. We had to fight this whole series, this whole postseason."
With as many young players as veterans contributing to the championship has owner Bill DeWitt looking forward to next year.
"The great thing about winning like this with young players is now they have now gone through it," DeWitt said. "They may not have played a lot of years in the big leagues but to have succeeded at this level is a great foundation of future success."
The only hitch, DeWitt sees is the Cardinals being in a new role in 2012. "I feel great about the young players we have. We've re-signed a lot of our veterans who are exceptional players. We feel great about our club in the future.
"We were the underdog in all these series," he said. "But I guess if you're the world champions, you won't be the underdogs."
The architect of the no-longer underdogs roster, GM John Mozeliak, was not quite ready to look at 2012. "We'll enjoy this for 72 hours and then we'll get going," he said.
All of baseball will be watching as the Cardinals try to retain Pujols. Winning a second championship makes it even more difficult to picture Pujols playing elsewhere.
"We never talked about it (during the season)," La Russa said. "Now it's time to start talking about it. The organization is going to try to keep him here and Albert wants to stay here, and best effort, we'll see if it comes off or not."
After this wild ride, seeing Pujols re-up might be the only way to have any more fun than they've had the past two months.
AND~~~From Sporting News as well:
ST. LOUIS— David Freese, the hometown boy made good, is the MVP of the World Series.
Down to their final strike in Game 6, the Cardinals' reluctant hero delivered a tying two-run triple in the ninth inning Thursday night. Freese then did one better: a leadoff homer in the 11th that gave St. Louis a dramatic win over the Rangers and forced the first Game 7 since 2002.
Freese, also the NL championship series MVP, capped his memorable October by hitting a two-run double in the first inning Friday night to tie the Texas Rangers at 2-all. He also drew a pair of walks that helped lead to runs, and the Cardinals held on for a 6-2 win and their 11th championship.
"This means everything," Freese said.
When the final out was made, Freese threw his arms in the air and dashed for the mound, where he joined a happy scrum as confetti floated down from the upper reaches of Busch Stadium.
"This is why you keep battling," Freese said. "Sometimes things don't work out, you get injured, you do stupid stuff, but you try to stay on path. You surround yourself with guys like we have on this team. I'm so glad to be part of this."
Freese batted .348 in the World Series, with seven RBIs, three doubles and one big homer. He's the fourth Cardinals player to win the MVP award, joining Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson in 1964 and '67, catcher Darrell Porter in 1982 and David Eckstein in their 2006 victory over Detroit.
"You learn from all these veterans about how to go about this game," Freese said, "and I wouldn't be here without them."
Freese could just as well be the MVP of the entire postseason.
The kid who grew up in a St. Louis suburb hit a three-run homer in Game 6 of the NLCS against Milwaukee, the first act in his coming out party. His performance in Act 2 against the Rangers made him the sixth player to be MVP of a championship series and the World Series.
Often lost in a high-scoring lineup that includes Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday and Lance Berkman, Freese left his impression on baseball's grandest stage out of necessity.
Holliday struggled most of the series before spraining his right wrist during Game 6, taking him off the roster Friday. Pujols was intentionally walked whenever he was a threat.
That left the offense to Freese, who had given up on baseball after high school, spurning a scholarship offer from Missouri to simply be a college student. He even rebuffed the Tigers' coaches when they called midway through his first semester to find out whether he'd changed his mind.
It wasn't until about a year out of high school that the itch to play finally returned.
David Freese was named the 2011 World Series MVP. (AP Photo)
Freese gave in and enrolled at St. Louis Community College-Meremec, and his play there caught the attention of the coaching staff at South Alabama. Freese blossomed into the Padres' ninth-round draft pick in 2006, and a trade to the Cardinals eventually brought him home.
"If you wrote a story like that — a guy gets traded, comes back to his hometown, he's a hero — if you sent that in the script, it would get thrown back in your face," Commissioner Bud Selig said.
This wasn't a perfect fairy tale, though. That would be too easy.
Freese needed season-ending surgery to repair a torn tendon in his right ankle last year, and he broke his left hand when he was hit by a pitch earlier this season. He was hit by another pitch in August and sustained a concussion.
Each time, he came back better than before.
He was at his best against Texas.
In the World Series opener, with the game tied in the sixth inning, Freese delivered a timely double. He alertly moved to third base on a wild pitch, allowing him to score easily for the eventual winning run on Allen Craig's single to right field.
Freese scored the Cardinals' only run in a 2-1 loss in Game 2, and then drove in a pair of runs in a 16-7 victory in Game 3 — a performance that will be forever overshadowed by Pujols' three homers.
Nobody could overshadow Freese in Game 6.
After committing a critical error when an easy popup bounced out of his glove, Freese more than made up for it with his bat. Down to his final strike, his two-run triple in the ninth forced extra innings. In the 11th, he joined Bill Mazeroski, Carlton Fisk, Kirby Puckett and Joe Carter as the only players to hit a game-winning homer in Game 6 or later of a Fall Classic.
That's pretty select company.
Much like the company he'll enjoy as MVP of the World Series.
"I've had plenty of days in my life where I'd thought, you know, I wouldn't even be close to being a big leaguer," Freese said. "I'm here because of everyone around me. They put so much trust in me to accomplish, not just baseball, but stuff in life. To do this, I'm just full of joy.
--{-=@
Hickok
The Promise
In restless dreams I walked alone, narrow streets of cobblestone
Neath the halo of a streetlamp, I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light, split the night
And touched the sound of silence~~~Simon & Garfunkel; The Sound of Silence
St. Louis is near the epicenter of this Great Country. On 28 October 2011 it was Friday Night Lights!!! ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE COMPLETION OF THE GATEWAY ARCHES did transpire the GREATEST WORLD SERIES since the 1975 World Series between the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Red Sox. On a day that in effect constituted the first Double-Header in World Series history, Cinderella was presented her glass slipper!! The drama that lead up to the Cardinals winning this WORLD SERIES would have Bench/Fisk & Co's theatrics, pale by comparison. Freese-Frame's Gateway Arched home run to center field in Game-Six at 12:39AM EST of Friday, is truly one of MLB's ICONIC MOMENTS!! As David Freese was finished rounding-the-bases of his dramatic 11th inning home run, his team-mates came onto the field and starting tearing his attire off of him. Observers were to wonder if his teammates were going to "lay him bare" on the diamond!!
Below is an Associated Press reporter's account of Game Six:
Cards Come Up Trumps
BEN WALKER
ST. LOUIS— The Associated Press
Published Friday, Oct. 28, 2011 12:48AM EDT
Last updated Friday, Oct. 28, 2011 10:35AM EDT
Twice down to their last strike, the St. Louis Cardinals kept rallying to win one of baseball's greatest thrillers.
David Freese completed a startling night of comebacks with a home run leading off the bottom of the 11th inning to beat Texas 10-9 on Thursday, and suddenly fans all over got something they have waited a long time to see: Game 7 in the World Series.“You had to be here to believe it,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said.
It was as great a game as baseball has ever witnessed, rivaling the Carlton Fisk homer in Game 6 of the 1975 Series and Bill Buckner's error in Game 6 of the 1986 Series.
Great, that is, except for Texas. The Rangers were that close to their first championship.
“I understand it's not over till you get that last out,” Texas manager Ron Washington said. “I was just sitting there praying we got that last out. We didn't get it.”
Next up on Friday night, the first Game 7 in the World Series since the Angels beat San Francisco in 2002.
Freese, the hometown boy who made good, had already written himself into St. Louis lore in Game 6 with a two-strike, two-out, two-run triple in the ninth off Rangers closer Neftali Feliz that made it 7-all.
“Initially I was like 'Are you kidding me? My first AB off Feliz in this situation ever,'“ Freese said. “I just beared down, got a pitch to hit. Initially I thought I hit it pretty good, I thought (right fielder Nelson Cruz) was going to grab it, so just a lot of emotions on that one.”
After banged-up Josh Hamilton hit a two-run homer in the Texas 10th, St. Louis again tied it when Lance Berkman hit a two-out single on a 2-2 pitch from Scott Feldman.
Busch Stadium was still in frenzy when Freese opened the 11th with a leadoff shot over the center field wall off Mark Lowe. Freese thrust his arm in the air as he rounded first base, and the crowd was delirious.
“Just an incredible feeling, seeing all my teammates at the dish waiting for me,” said Freese, whose shirt was torn off during the celebration.
A night that started off terribly for both teams turned terrific for everyone watching.
After it was over, La Russa wasn't willing to announce his starter for Game 7 — many believe it will be ace Chris Carpenter on three days' rest. Matt Harrison is set to start for Texas.
Home teams have won the last eight Game 7s in the World Series, a streak that started with the Cardinals beating Milwaukee in 1982.
Texas trudged off the field as Freese circled the bases after connecting off Lowe, having been so close to that elusive title. Much earlier, team president Nolan Ryan was high-fiving friends in the stands as Adrian Beltre and Nelson Cruz opened the seventh with home runs that helped Texas take a 7-4 lead.
Allen Craig's solo homer in the eighth began the Cardinals' comeback. Jake Westbrook wound up with the win.
Hardly the ending anyone imagined in a game that started out with a bevy of errors and bobbles — none more surprising than the routine popup that Freese simply dropped at third base.
“I'm just glad I had a chance after I looked like an idiot on that popup,” Freese said.
The Cardinals made it 4-all in the sixth when Alexi Ogando relieved starter Colby Lewis and walked Yadier Molina with the bases loaded.
Then came a key play — Napoli and Beltre teamed up to pick off Matt Holliday at third with the bases loaded.
With one out, Napoli zipped a throw to Beltre, who neatly used his cleat to block the diving Holliday from reaching the base. That also ended Holliday's night with a severely bruised right pinkie. Texas wasn't quite out of trouble as Nick Punto walked to reload the bases. But Derek Holland, the star of Game 4 with shutout ball into the ninth inning, trotted in from the bullpen and retired Jon Jay on a comebacker.
The Rangers looked loose as they took the field for pregame warmups. Cruz playfully kicked a couple of Cardinals gloves strewn on the grass, and smiled at his St. Louis pals.
Once they started, however, both Texas and St. Louis seemed tense, as if they were trying too hard with so much at stake. Either that, or they looked like they were playing in the sloppy weather that forced Wednesday night's postponement.
Exacerbated by the errors, the teams seesawed through the early innings.
Texas did more damage in three batters against Jaime Garcia than it did in seven scoreless innings against him in Game 2, with Hamilton hitting an RBI single in the first.
St. Louis came out swinging at first pitches, and Berkman's two-run homer into the center field bleachers made it 2-1 in the bottom half. Ian Kinsler tied it in the Texas second with an RBI double. Garcia was pulled after the third in his shortest outing since June 2010.
Shaky in the field all year, St. Louis made two errors in a span of four batters in the fourth behind reliever Fernando Salas, equaling its mistake total for the Series.
Holliday failed to take charge on an easy fly ball by Cruz and dropped it for a two-base error. Napoli followed with an opposite-field single to right that hit the chalk line for his 10th RBI of the Series. Salas then sailed Lewis' bunt into center and Napoli turned his left ankle as he went leg into the bag on the play. Napoli was checked, and was OK.
The misplays continued in the Cards fourth when first baseman Michael Young made an errant throw to Lewis covering the base, letting Berkman reach. Molina's RBI grounder made it 3-all.
The next botch belonged to St. Louis. Hamilton lifted a major league popup in the fifth that started foul, drifted fair and was dropped by Freese. Young took advantage with an RBI double for a 4-3 lead.
Notes: Texas was 0 for 11 with two outs and runners in scoring position in the Series until Kinsler's double. ... Berkman hit his first Series home run. He was moved up a spot to cleanup for this game. ... David Eckstein, MVP of the 2006 Series for St. Louis, threw out the first ball. ... 90-year-old Hall of Famer Stan Musial rode in on a golf cart during pregame festivities. ... The crowd of 47,325 was a record for 6-year-old Busch Stadium.
From the CRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR!!! If the CSM is writing about the World Series, you know this has to be~~~extraordinary!!
World Series history: Cardinals over Texas Rangers in 11 is instant classic
Twice the Texas Rangers were within an out of winning the World Series. But the Cardinals came back in dramatic fashion, and David Freese's walk-off in the 11th grabbed a bit of history. There's a new rival for the title of most thrilling Game 6 in World Series history, and new rival for the title of hero.
At the very least, the 11-inning win by the St. Louis Cardinals is an instant classic, one that enters the top tier of postseason epics.
The game twice took the Texas Rangers within one strike of a world championship. It took fans of both teams on an emotional roller coaster. And it is taking the bat and the shredded jersey of David Freese, who homered to win the game and keep Cardinal hopes alive for a Game 7, to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
It was baseball at its white-knuckle, goose-bump finest.
Part comedy of errors, part battle of managerial wits, and no small part a show of performance under pressure.
A recap of the drama: The teams battled to a 4-4 tie by the dawn of the seventh inning, when the Rangers mustered three-run rally. The Cardinals appeared all but doomed when they closed out the eighth inning still two runs down, missing a bases-loaded opportunity.
All the Rangers had to do was have their closer, Neftali Feliz, get three more outs. The first Rangers title ever would be theirs. And Feliz almost accomplished the job. But in the ninth, with two outs and two men on base, Freese tripled to tie the game and send it into extra innings. The Rangers answered with two runs in the top of the 10th.
Again, in the bottom of the inning, the Cardinals came down to their last out. Berkman's single to center field evened up the game yet again, paving the way for an 11th inning after both teams had already worked through most of their available pitchers.
Freese's walk-off home run in the bottom of the inning finished the game. As he struggled to touch home plate amid a swarm of team-mates (one of whom ripped his jersey apart), two things were clear to anybody watching. There would need to be a decisive Game 7. And wow, what a game that was.
So where should this game rest in the baseball pantheon?
Certainly it's up there on a top-hits list, when it comes to multi-act drama in a potentially decisive World Series game. (This wasn't a one-man or one-team show of force, like Don Larsen pitching a perfect game midway through the 1956 World Series.)
That said, let's admit that in baseball's long history, there have been more than a handful of remarkable games that ended or nearly ended the championship series.
It's hard to argue that this one tops the best Game 7s, such as those of 1960 (with Bill Mazeroski's home run for Pittsburgh), 1991 (with Jack Morris's 10-inning shutout for Minnesota), or 1924 (a 12-inning epic). Fans of the game could toss in a number of other favorites.
And what about Carlton Fisk? His 12th-inning home run for the Red Sox in 1975 was another instance of a team fending off doom – in this case the threat that the "Big Red Machine" of Cincinnati would win the Series that night. The Boston catcher famously waved the ball fair, as it veered toward the left-field foul pole in Fenway Park.
To Boston fans and many others, that was unforgettable. To many baseball fans today, Freese's shot holds a candle to it.
The Cardinals' win represents just the third time that a team one out from elimination in the World Series came back to win the game, the Associated Press reports, citing STATS LLC. The New York Mets did it in 1986 (and won the championship in the next game), and the New York Giants did it in 1911, but ended up losing the series.
Indeed, the comparison with Game Six in 1975 reinforces the reminder: The winner of a legendary game isn't always the winner of the Series. The Sox lost to the Reds back then. It remains to be seen what will happen in Game 7 between the Cardinals and Rangers Friday night.
If the Cardinals win, the prominence of this Game 6 will ratchet a notch higher.
The Deciding Game Seven account~~~below, from The Sporting News:
ST. LOUIS—At some point when the Cardinals, their families and friends were romping around Busch Stadium Friday night, Lance Berkman pulled Albert Pujols aside and pleaded, "Come back. Let's do this again."
Though Pujols would not commit, Berkman could not have picked a better time to make his pitch.
The Cardinals had just won Game 7 of the World Series, 6-2 over the Rangers to complete perhaps the most incredible stretch in baseball history.
In the past two months, the Cardinals overcame a 10 1/2-game deficit in the playoff race to win the franchise's 11th World Series championship.
So what did Pujols tell his teammate?
"The same thing I'm going to tell you," Pujols said. "Whatever decision I make is hopefully the best decision for my family and the fans and everybody. To talk about my contract right now is the last thing I'm thinking about. I'm just going to enjoy the moment."
Give the man that much. As he sat at the interview podium with son A.J. along with Chris Carpenter and his two children, Pujols had many moments to soak in.
David Freese was named the World Series MVP. (AP Photo)
There was the late-August players' only meeting that fueled a 22-9 surge that led to clinching the NL wild card on the season's final day.
There was the Game 2 rally from a 4-0 deficit against Cliff Lee and the Phillies and Carpenter's 1-0 masterpiece against Roy Halladay that sent the Cardinals to the NLCS.
There were Pujols' four extra-base hit performance in the NLCS, and his three-homer, five-hit record night in Game 3 of the World Series.
There were nightly hitting heroics from World Series MVP David Freese and Allen Craig, and shutdown performances from the bullpen throughout the NLCS.
And don't forget the comeback of all comebacks in Game 6 of the World Series, when the Cardinals twice were within one strike of being finished, but pulled out a 10-9, 11-inning victory.
"This is what you dream about," manager Tony La Russa said. "It's hard to really imagine it actually happened."
Steering the journey were the two veterans in the interview room, Pujols and Carpenter.
They were among a handful of Cardinals around for the 2006 championship who took extra pleasure in helping all the newcomers become a part of Cardinals' history. This club has some history, too, with its 11 championships second only to the Yankees' 27.
There were plenty of newcomers able to celebrate their first championship, from Berkman to Matt Holliday to Octavio Dotel, Rafael Furcal and 20-year veteran Arthur Rhodes. "To have the opportunity to experience that, with guys that haven't experienced this before that have been around a long time is amazing," Carpenter said.
After years of competing against the Cardinals with the Astros, Berkman had to join the Cardinals to become a champion. The feeling, he said, surpassed his expectations. "Way better," he said as he remained on the field long after the game had ended and the trophy presentation had concluded. "You can't imagine the exhilaration of finally winning, particular in the fashion that we did. It wasn't like we swept four games in four laughers. We had to fight this whole series, this whole postseason."
With as many young players as veterans contributing to the championship has owner Bill DeWitt looking forward to next year.
"The great thing about winning like this with young players is now they have now gone through it," DeWitt said. "They may not have played a lot of years in the big leagues but to have succeeded at this level is a great foundation of future success."
The only hitch, DeWitt sees is the Cardinals being in a new role in 2012. "I feel great about the young players we have. We've re-signed a lot of our veterans who are exceptional players. We feel great about our club in the future.
"We were the underdog in all these series," he said. "But I guess if you're the world champions, you won't be the underdogs."
The architect of the no-longer underdogs roster, GM John Mozeliak, was not quite ready to look at 2012. "We'll enjoy this for 72 hours and then we'll get going," he said.
All of baseball will be watching as the Cardinals try to retain Pujols. Winning a second championship makes it even more difficult to picture Pujols playing elsewhere.
"We never talked about it (during the season)," La Russa said. "Now it's time to start talking about it. The organization is going to try to keep him here and Albert wants to stay here, and best effort, we'll see if it comes off or not."
After this wild ride, seeing Pujols re-up might be the only way to have any more fun than they've had the past two months.
AND~~~From Sporting News as well:
ST. LOUIS— David Freese, the hometown boy made good, is the MVP of the World Series.
Down to their final strike in Game 6, the Cardinals' reluctant hero delivered a tying two-run triple in the ninth inning Thursday night. Freese then did one better: a leadoff homer in the 11th that gave St. Louis a dramatic win over the Rangers and forced the first Game 7 since 2002.
Freese, also the NL championship series MVP, capped his memorable October by hitting a two-run double in the first inning Friday night to tie the Texas Rangers at 2-all. He also drew a pair of walks that helped lead to runs, and the Cardinals held on for a 6-2 win and their 11th championship.
"This means everything," Freese said.
When the final out was made, Freese threw his arms in the air and dashed for the mound, where he joined a happy scrum as confetti floated down from the upper reaches of Busch Stadium.
"This is why you keep battling," Freese said. "Sometimes things don't work out, you get injured, you do stupid stuff, but you try to stay on path. You surround yourself with guys like we have on this team. I'm so glad to be part of this."
Freese batted .348 in the World Series, with seven RBIs, three doubles and one big homer. He's the fourth Cardinals player to win the MVP award, joining Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson in 1964 and '67, catcher Darrell Porter in 1982 and David Eckstein in their 2006 victory over Detroit.
"You learn from all these veterans about how to go about this game," Freese said, "and I wouldn't be here without them."
Freese could just as well be the MVP of the entire postseason.
The kid who grew up in a St. Louis suburb hit a three-run homer in Game 6 of the NLCS against Milwaukee, the first act in his coming out party. His performance in Act 2 against the Rangers made him the sixth player to be MVP of a championship series and the World Series.
Often lost in a high-scoring lineup that includes Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday and Lance Berkman, Freese left his impression on baseball's grandest stage out of necessity.
Holliday struggled most of the series before spraining his right wrist during Game 6, taking him off the roster Friday. Pujols was intentionally walked whenever he was a threat.
That left the offense to Freese, who had given up on baseball after high school, spurning a scholarship offer from Missouri to simply be a college student. He even rebuffed the Tigers' coaches when they called midway through his first semester to find out whether he'd changed his mind.
It wasn't until about a year out of high school that the itch to play finally returned.
David Freese was named the 2011 World Series MVP. (AP Photo)
Freese gave in and enrolled at St. Louis Community College-Meremec, and his play there caught the attention of the coaching staff at South Alabama. Freese blossomed into the Padres' ninth-round draft pick in 2006, and a trade to the Cardinals eventually brought him home.
"If you wrote a story like that — a guy gets traded, comes back to his hometown, he's a hero — if you sent that in the script, it would get thrown back in your face," Commissioner Bud Selig said.
This wasn't a perfect fairy tale, though. That would be too easy.
Freese needed season-ending surgery to repair a torn tendon in his right ankle last year, and he broke his left hand when he was hit by a pitch earlier this season. He was hit by another pitch in August and sustained a concussion.
Each time, he came back better than before.
He was at his best against Texas.
In the World Series opener, with the game tied in the sixth inning, Freese delivered a timely double. He alertly moved to third base on a wild pitch, allowing him to score easily for the eventual winning run on Allen Craig's single to right field.
Freese scored the Cardinals' only run in a 2-1 loss in Game 2, and then drove in a pair of runs in a 16-7 victory in Game 3 — a performance that will be forever overshadowed by Pujols' three homers.
Nobody could overshadow Freese in Game 6.
After committing a critical error when an easy popup bounced out of his glove, Freese more than made up for it with his bat. Down to his final strike, his two-run triple in the ninth forced extra innings. In the 11th, he joined Bill Mazeroski, Carlton Fisk, Kirby Puckett and Joe Carter as the only players to hit a game-winning homer in Game 6 or later of a Fall Classic.
That's pretty select company.
Much like the company he'll enjoy as MVP of the World Series.
"I've had plenty of days in my life where I'd thought, you know, I wouldn't even be close to being a big leaguer," Freese said. "I'm here because of everyone around me. They put so much trust in me to accomplish, not just baseball, but stuff in life. To do this, I'm just full of joy.
--{-=@
Hickok
The Promise
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