The San Francisco Giants have won Major League Baseball's World Series for the first time since 1954, when the team was based in New York City. The National League champion Giants beat the American League champion Texas Rangers in Game 5 of the best-of-seven series to clinch baseball's 2010 overall title, four-games-to-one.
The San Francisco Giants beat the Texas Rangers, 3-1 Monday in Arlington, Texas to win the World Series, ending one of the longest championship droughts in baseball history - 56 years.
Giants manager Bruce Bochy said it is a great feeling to finally win a World Series title. "I have been fortunate to be in this game [of baseball] and manage for quite awhile," he says, "and I have never been to this point. It is what you dream about.''
Texas was favored by many heading into the World Series. San Francisco first baseman Aubrey Huff said the Giants proved the critics wrong. "This staff, this bullpen [pitching staff] did not get the credit it deserved to start these playoffs," he said. "We were underdogs the whole way, and all the experts out their picked us last. Just goes to show what they know, man. Heart, great pitching, defense, and timely hits - and that is what we did."
Great pitching in a season dubbed, "The Year of the Pitcher," came from starter Tim Lincecum who struck out 10 batters and allowed only one run and three hits in eight innings before star reliever Brian Wilson pitched a scoreless ninth inning to close it out.
Lincecum said winning the World Series is indescribable.
"I do not really know how to pick what emotion to go with right now. It is like, what are we thinking about next year, the excitement and the things that can happen, talking about what we did this year, the right moves that we made. We just did all the right things," Lincecum said.
Lincecum beat opposing pitcher Cliff Lee in the final game. The Giants hurler also topped the Texas ace last Wednesday in the series opener. Lee came into the World Series with seven wins and no losses during the playoffs.
Game five's timely hitting came courtesy of the Series Most Valuable Player, Edgar Rentaria, whose three-run home run in the seventh inning was all the scoring San Francisco needed.
Bochy said winning the World Series was a team effort, led by Rentaria. "I know how bad Edgar wanted it. It was not too long ago, we had a little talk, and he said, 'I just want to go out and win another World Series.' I could not be prouder for him. It is pretty incredible what he is done in his career," he said.
Rentaria also had the winning hit in the 1997 World Series when he played for the Florida Marlins.
Nelson Cruz drove in the Rangers' only run on a solo homer off Lincecum in the bottom of the seventh inning. Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington says the Giants starting pitchers silenced his team's big bats. "They drove our offense, and good pitching stopped hitting. In this series, their pitching certainly stood up, and that - that was the difference right there," Washington said.
The Texas Rangers were making their first World Series appearance in the 50-year history of the franchise.
This is the sixth World Series title in Giants' history, and their first since the franchise moved west to San Francisco, California from New York in 1958.
San Francisco Giants Win World Series
