Madison Bumgarner Wins 2014 World Series MVP Award

San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner made a relief appearance for the ages Wednesday, closing out the 2014 Fall Classic as his club defeated the Kansas City Royals by a score of 3-2 in a classic Game 7.

Coming off of short rest and a complete-game shutout in Game 5, Bumgarner dealt five more scoreless innings, yielding just two hits and striking out four with zero walks as the Giants took the series 4-3. 

Fox Sports announced Bumgarner would receive the award:

Ken Davidoff of the New York Post notes that Bumgarner would eventually wind up with a save for his extended effort:

The Giants' official Twitter account captured Bumgarner accepting his hardware:

SportsCenter observed how Bumgarner's World Series performance stood in stark contrast to his teammates' efforts:

MLB Network notes where Bumgarner ranks historically:

Grantland's Bill Simmons felt Bumgarner's performance was unprecedented from what he'd seen:

ESPN's Don Van Natta Jr. and HuffPost Sports documented some of what Bumgarner had to say afterward:

Fatigue evidently wasn't a factor for the San Francisco superstar, and his razor-sharp focus mixed with a cold, calculated and competitive countenance served him well. Royals batters were mystified all night and couldn't generate any of the magic that had carried them to this deep point of the MLB playoffs.

NFL Network's Andrew Siciliano raised a suggestion in light of just how good Bumgarner was in the World Series:

Longtime MLB reporter Peter Gammons gave high praise as well:

Bumgarner carried the Giants to the Commissioner's Trophy, and he may have to pull a ton of weight in the pitching rotation next season. The 25-year-old star will at least have help from Matt Cain's impending return, but San Francisco needs both to be at their best to have a real shot at repeating.

For now, the Giants can revel in their third World Series crown in five years, and Bumgarner can rightly be celebrated as a postseason legend.

If New York Yankees great Reggie Jackson garnered the deserved name "Mr. October," perhaps the "Mr. World Series" moniker would suit Bumgarner.

That creates a lot of hype and expectations for Bumgarner to live up to for the rest of his career. However, he was dealt a near-impossible task to deliver San Francisco a championship on Wednesday after winning two prior starts in the 2014 Fall Classic.

Bumgarner was up for the challenge, and he should be equally apt to uphold an already amazing legacy.