Home plate is 409 feet away from the center-field fence. The batter's eye is 40 feet high. Baseballs are never hit by players beyond it.
With the game in doubt and a title on the line, Yordan was the one to do it.
His sixth-inning home run, against the left-handed reliever brought in exclusively to retire him, traveled 450 feet to straightaway center field, clearing the towering batter's eye, scoring three runs and propelling the Houston Astros to a 4-1, title.
The Astros, one of the most dominant teams of this era, have won the World Series for the first time in two years. The World Series Most Valuable Player was the same award that Jeremy Pena won in the ALCS.
A strong case could have been made for Framber Valdez, who pitched a gem in the 6th game of the series, shutting down thePhillies. Kyle Schwarber hit a home run on a sixth-inning leadoff home run for thePhillies. The decisive blow came moments later.
The concern about arm fatigue was erased by the dominance of Zack Wheeler. With two on and one out in the bottom of the sixth, Rob Thomson turned the game over to Jose Alvarado, who was looking at the left-on- left situation.
In his last 10 games, the 25-year-old had gone without a home run or a hit. He hit the second-longest World Series home run of the Statcast era, a two-run shot in the fifth game. It was his third home run of the playoffs, all of which came while the Astros were in front. In the playoffs, no other player had ever hit two of those in a row.
The Astros' dominant back-endReliever retired the Philadelphia's hitters with ease over the next three frames.
The Astros have won two titles in the last six years, but this is the first that won't cause a stir.
The Astros were able to keep winning. They overcame a slow start to reach the American League Championship Series and then lost in the World Series to the Atlanta Braves.
Carlos Correa left via free agency, following in the footsteps of Cole and Springer. The Astros continued to thrive despite the departure of the superstars.
The American League's best hitter became arguably the sport's best hitter after he was acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers, as well as the best pitcher and the best base runner.
Stars shone around them. As a 39-year-old coming off Tommy John surgery, Justin Verlander pitched like a Cy Young favorite, as Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve did at their respective positions. The Astros didn't face much competition in the American League West. They finished the regular season with a 106-56 record, winning the division by 16 games, then winning their first seven games of the playoffs to eliminate the SeattleMariners and the New York Yankees.
The Astros had a difficult time against the team that won 19 fewer games. The Astros responded to the test.
The Astros won the first game of the series, but thePhillies won the second game to take the series. The Astros rebounded to win back-to-back road games in a hostile environment, riding a combined no-hitter in Game 4 and a collective effort, highlighted by a ninth-inning catch, in Game
The bullpen shut it down after the big hit by Alvarez in the sixth game.
The Astros' most recent victory is needed to affirm the superiority of the franchise, which was marked by a cheating scandal. It came in front of the fans who supported them while the rest of the country hated them.
Many of their peers found the Astros' win-at-all-costs mentality to be egregious. The sudden firing of two of their most influential people, the loss of two first- and second-round picks, and the animosity of an entire sport are some of the ways they overcame.
Their manager was also able to overcome. After being hired shortly after Major League Baseball's investigation into the Astros' sign-stealing practices concluded, Dusty Baker has finally won his first World Series championship as a manager, a crucial milestone for what is certain to become a Hall of Fame career.
In 1981 Baker was an outfielder for the Dodgers and he only won one championship. He took 12 different teams to the playoffs and won 2,093 regular-season games.
Important decisions will be made by the Astros. James Click was hired as the general manager less than a week after Baker was hired. Sources said that Click has not seen eye-to-eye with Astros owner Jim Crane on some baseball-related decisions. The resolution on both should come soon.
The Astros will be happy.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
