Triple Crowned: The San Francisco Giants' Incredible 2014 Championship Season
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by Bay Area News Group
Baseball’s new dynasty is the San Francisco Giants. The Giants captured their third World Series crown in five seasons in 2014—this last one having taken perhaps the most unlikely path. San Francisco finished second in the NL West but advanced to the Wild Card game against Pittsburgh. The Giants stomped the Pirates 8-0, then outlasted the Washington Nationals and the St. Louis Cardinals to set up a Fall Classic showdown with the Kansas City Royals. Packed with insider analysis and outstanding color photography from the Bay Area’s largest newspaper publisher, Triple Crowned takes fans through the Giants’ improbable journey, from Tim Lincecum’s June no-hitter to the Wild Card game in Pittsburgh to the final out against the Royals. This commemorative edition also includes profiles of Madison Bumgarner, Hunter Pence, Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval, and other fan favorites. Bay Area News Group is the largest newspaper publisher in the San Francisco Bay area, with a daily circulation of more than 500,000 copies. Its properties include the San Jose Mercury News , the Contra Costa Times , and the Oakland Tribune . Triple Crowned The San Francisco Giants' Incredible 2014 Championship Season By Joe Funk Triumph Books Copyright © 2014 Bay Area News Group All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-62937-055-2 Contents Introduction by Alex Pavlovic, World Series vs. Kansas City, Road to the Title, National League Wild Card vs. Pittsburgh, National League Division Series vs. Washington, National League Championship Series vs. St. Louis, CHAPTER 1 World Series vs. Kansas City Game 1
October 21, 2014 Giants 7, Royals 1 A Royal Flushing S.F. hands Royals Their First Loss of the 2014 Postseason with a 7-Run Explosion By Alex Pavlovic KANSAS CITY, MO. — The downfall of the ace this postseason has been swift and nearly universal. Clayton Kershaw crouching on the mound in St. Louis. Stephen Strasburg looking on from the visiting dugout at AT&T Park as the Giants sent him home. Adam Wainwright doing the same a round later. And Kansas City Royals ace James "Big Game" Shields looking for a new nickname. And yet here was Madison Bumgarner on Tuesday night, the last ace standing, adding to his legend. The 25-year-old threw seven more stellar innings to lead the Giants to a 7-1 win over the Royals in Game 1 of the World Series. He is 3-0 with a 0.41 ERA in three World Series starts and 3-1 with a 1.40 ERA this October while starting five of the Giants' 11 games and throwing at least seven innings each time. This postseason has humbled one big name after the next, but Bumgarner is better than he has ever been. "There is no bigger stage," right fielder Hunter Pence said. "But he's just Madison Bumgarner." Right now, he's not just Madison Bumgarner. He's the best big-game pitcher in a sport that wears you down over 162 games and then forms your legacy with snapshots taken as the weather cools. The Giants didn't particularly need Bumgarner to be brilliant in Game 1, not with the lineup jumping on Shields. But with the sporting world watching, Bumgarner grabbed hold of another opportunity to send a message. The Royals had not lost this postseason, but Bumgarner limited them to three hits and a lone run that came long after the game was out of hand. He mixed 94 mph fastballs with 67 mph curveballs and made such quick work of the Royals that it wasn't worth comparing him to Shields or his other contemporaries. Bumgarner's main competition this month has been the record book. He threw a record 32-2/3 consecutive scoreless postseason innings on the road before Salvador Perez whacked a fastball into the home bullpen in the seventh. That shot also snapped Bumgarner's run of 21 straight scoreless World Series innings to begin his career, the second-longest streak in history. When the only man ahead of you on a list is Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson (28 innings), you're doing just fine. "I'm not here trying to set records and keep streaks going and whatever, but you do know about it," he said. "A World Series game is not something you exactly forget about." This was the first one here in 29 years, and the city bathed in blue in preparation for the matchup. The Giants took the air out of Kauffman Stadium right away, and they did it using a playbook that was supposed to belong to the Royals. Gregor Blanco hit a leadoff single and alertly sped to second on a long fly ball before scoring on Pablo Sandoval's double. Buster Posey was thrown out at home on the play, but Hunter Pence picked up Posey and third-base coach Tim Flannery immediately, lining a two-run homer to center. A crowd that had roared for an hour leading up to the first inning looked on in silence as Giants tore through the dugout to meet Pence at the top step. Was he aware of the sudden lack of noise? "No, it was really loud in my head," Pence said. Bumgarner made sure the locals would stay seated. He was tested just once, when a Brandon Crawford e
October 21, 2014 Giants 7, Royals 1 A Royal Flushing S.F. hands Royals Their First Loss of the 2014 Postseason with a 7-Run Explosion By Alex Pavlovic KANSAS CITY, MO. — The downfall of the ace this postseason has been swift and nearly universal. Clayton Kershaw crouching on the mound in St. Louis. Stephen Strasburg looking on from the visiting dugout at AT&T Park as the Giants sent him home. Adam Wainwright doing the same a round later. And Kansas City Royals ace James "Big Game" Shields looking for a new nickname. And yet here was Madison Bumgarner on Tuesday night, the last ace standing, adding to his legend. The 25-year-old threw seven more stellar innings to lead the Giants to a 7-1 win over the Royals in Game 1 of the World Series. He is 3-0 with a 0.41 ERA in three World Series starts and 3-1 with a 1.40 ERA this October while starting five of the Giants' 11 games and throwing at least seven innings each time. This postseason has humbled one big name after the next, but Bumgarner is better than he has ever been. "There is no bigger stage," right fielder Hunter Pence said. "But he's just Madison Bumgarner." Right now, he's not just Madison Bumgarner. He's the best big-game pitcher in a sport that wears you down over 162 games and then forms your legacy with snapshots taken as the weather cools. The Giants didn't particularly need Bumgarner to be brilliant in Game 1, not with the lineup jumping on Shields. But with the sporting world watching, Bumgarner grabbed hold of another opportunity to send a message. The Royals had not lost this postseason, but Bumgarner limited them to three hits and a lone run that came long after the game was out of hand. He mixed 94 mph fastballs with 67 mph curveballs and made such quick work of the Royals that it wasn't worth comparing him to Shields or his other contemporaries. Bumgarner's main competition this month has been the record book. He threw a record 32-2/3 consecutive scoreless postseason innings on the road before Salvador Perez whacked a fastball into the home bullpen in the seventh. That shot also snapped Bumgarner's run of 21 straight scoreless World Series innings to begin his career, the second-longest streak in history. When the only man ahead of you on a list is Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson (28 innings), you're doing just fine. "I'm not here trying to set records and keep streaks going and whatever, but you do know about it," he said. "A World Series game is not something you exactly forget about." This was the first one here in 29 years, and the city bathed in blue in preparation for the matchup. The Giants took the air out of Kauffman Stadium right away, and they did it using a playbook that was supposed to belong to the Royals. Gregor Blanco hit a leadoff single and alertly sped to second on a long fly ball before scoring on Pablo Sandoval's double. Buster Posey was thrown out at home on the play, but Hunter Pence picked up Posey and third-base coach Tim Flannery immediately, lining a two-run homer to center. A crowd that had roared for an hour leading up to the first inning looked on in silence as Giants tore through the dugout to meet Pence at the top step. Was he aware of the sudden lack of noise? "No, it was really loud in my head," Pence said. Bumgarner made sure the locals would stay seated. He was tested just once, when a Brandon Crawford e