The Greatest, Worst Game Ever Played

Let’s forget about the first six innings, just throw them away. Forget about the errors, the walks, the bad throws, and the mismanaged rosters, because they don’t matter. They simply existed, the way the first half of a bad novel exists solely to get you to the juicy bits.

While we’re at it, let’s think no more about Ron Washington and Tony La Russa, too. Why waste valuable time and energy focusing on men whose decisions wouldn’t have made a difference anyway? For when Baseball decides to toy with those that support it, no mere mortal can stand in its way. After a game that featured with so much anxiety and joy, why spend even a moment focusing on anything but the sublime?

Jumping to the seventh inning then, just after Nick Punto, of all people, tied the game with a bases loaded walk, Adrian Beltre, of the golden glove and unrubbable head, and Nelson Cruz, the current Mr. October, hit back-to-back home runs to give the Rangers a two-run lead. That certainly seemed like it was curtains for the Cards, especially when Ian Kinsler, the 30/30 man, singled in another run to push the game to 7-4.

But in the bottom of the eighth, Allen Craig, the pinch-hitter who couldn’t make an out and was subbing for an injured Holliday, knocked a solo home run to cut the lead to two. It was a little thing, one that could easily be forgotten, but would be immensely important.

For in the bottom of the ninth and with Neftali Feliz and his nearly spotless postseason record on the mound, the Cardinals mounted their unlikely comeback. Ryan Theriot began the inning with a strikeout, Albert Pujols, naturally, followed with a double, and the ageless Lance Berkman drew a four pitch walk. Craig then struck out looking, bringing up David Freese, the hometown boy who had once burnt out and quit baseball. With two outs and two strikes to his name, Freese hit a hard line drive that just snuck over Nelson Cruz’s lunging body, driving in two runs and finding his way to third base. The game was tied and adrenaline was flowing: the baseball season was not quite over.

But again, the Rangers responded quickly and viciously. After an Elvis Andrus groundball single, Josh Hamilton came to the plate. A year removed from an MVP campaign, a groin injury and possible sports hernia had limited Hamilton to taking awkward, arms only swings at the ball all postseason. Most of the time he would be a threat, now he was nothing more than a nuisance, a flea with a baseball bat. But instead of popping up or grounding out or even lacing a lazy blooper for a single, Hamilton’s natural abilities took over and he belted Jason Motte’s 98 mph fastball over the right centerfield wall. For all those who were hoping for another evening of baseball, this was a crushing blow, but a worthy ending point to the Series. Former Drug Addict Pulls Kirk Gibson? It’s a headline that writes itself.

And still the game wouldn’t end. For Daniel Descalso and Jon Jay both singled with their own little, dinky shots. The kind that find their way into a glove more often than not. A pinch-hit sacrifice bunt from Kyle Lohse, and an RBI groundout from Theriot, lead to Albert Pujols’ intentional walk. With a beard on beard matchup for the ages, Lance Berkman singled in Jay and just like that the game was tied again.

After Jake Westbrook was able to keep the Rangers off the board in the top of the eleventh, the game had all makings of the type that would then go seven or eight consecutive scoreless frames. Instead, David Freese, leading off the bottom of the elventh, hit Mark Lowe’s 90 mph changeup to dead center field ending the game. The would be-wouldn’t be-would be hero had struck again, finally ending the game and giving baseball one more evening.

They say every person places themselves in a movie where they are the main character and yet so many players had exciting stories, ones that the Hollywood movie factory could easily churn out, and the game featured a dizzying array of rising and falling action before David Freese’s crushing denouement. So many scrapped blog posts and punny titles left in the wake.

And with that, a team that had no business being in the postseason is now one game away from another championship, cementing their legacy as the moderately-priced Yankees of the Midwest. And the Rangers will try to secure their first ever World Series title in their second straight trip to the big stage.

Baseball has proven that it’s super fun, making tonight’s seventh and undoubtedly final contest all the more depressing.

(Photos via Wikipedia, Barbara Moore)