Biggest Takeaways/Lessons Learned from 2014 World Series Action

The 2014 season came to an end Wednesday night, as the San Francisco Giants defeated the Kansas City Royals in Game 7 of the World Series, 3-2, to claim their third title in the last five years.

Madison Bumgarner further etched his name in baseball history with five scoreless innings out of the bullpen, and he did it on two days’ rest after firing a four-hit shutout in Game 5. In his third trip to the World Series, the 25-year-old Bumgarner went 3-0 and allowed just one earned run in 21 innings. And for the second straight postseason series, the left-hander walked away with MVP honors.

While Bumgarner’s domination of the Royals on three separate occasions deservedly captured all the headlines, the standout performances by players on both teams in the series also offered a preview of Major League Baseball’s next wave of potential stars, including Yordano Ventura, Eric Hosmer and Joe Panik.

With that said, here are the biggest takeaways/lessons learned from the 2014 World Series.

Madison Bumgarner: Greatest Pitcher in World Series History

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No, that’s not an opinion.

Bumgarner was unimaginably good this October, posting a 1.03 ERA, 0.65 WHIP and 45-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 52.2 innings—the most innings ever thrown by a pitcher in the postseason. Overall, the 25-year-old left-hander also won five of his seven outings (six starts, one relief appearance), and he held opposing hitters to a .153 batting average across four playoff series.

However, Bumgarner’s performance in the World Series was something we may never see again.

In Game 1 at Kauffman Stadium, Bumgarner allowed one earned run on three hits in seven innings, walking one batter while striking out five. The Giants won the game, 7-1.

Bumgarner was even more impressive in Game 5 in San Francisco, as he fired a four-hit shutout—his second complete-game shutout of the postseason—with eight strikeouts and guided the Giants to a 5-0 win, giving the team a 3-2 lead in the series.

The dominant outing solidified Bumgarner as the best pitcher in World Series history, period. Roger Schlueter of MLB.com helped put the southpaw’s performance in context:

• At 25 years and 86 days old, Bumgarner is the fourth youngest Giants pitcher ever to hurl a World Series shutout. In 1905, Christy Mathewson was 25 years and 58 days old for his Game 1 shutout, 25 years and 61 days for his Game 3 gem, and 25 years and 63 days old for his Game 5 shutout that clinched the series.

• Bumgarner's Game Score of 87 stands in a tie for the 19th highest in World Series history, and it is the highest since Johnson produced a 91 (three-hit shutout with 11 K's and one walk) in Game 2 in 2001.

• Bumgarner is the ninth pitcher in history to have multiple shutouts in a single postseason, and the first to do so since Josh Beckett in 2003. The others: Mathewson in 1905 (three), Bill Dinneen in 1903 (two), Lew Burdette in 1957 (two), Whitey Ford in 1960 (two), Sandy Koufax in 1965 (two), Orel Hershiser in 1988 (two), and Johnson in 2001 (two).

Prior to Game 7, Giants manager Bruce Bochy said that Bumgarner, on two days’ rest, would be available to work multiple innings out of the bullpen.

“If we do use him, how far he could go, Dave Righetti and myself, we’ll watch him and make sure we take care of him,” Bochy said, via Dan Hayes of CSNBayArea.com. “This is the last game of the year, so it’s easier to push a guy the last game versus doing it twice.”

After using Jeremy Affeldt for 2.1 innings in relief of starter Tim Hudson, Bochy turned to Bumgarner in the bottom of the fifth to protect the Giants’ 3-2 lead. The left-hander responded to the challenge with an absolutely brilliant performance, as he allowed just two hits in five scoreless innings en route to his third win in the series and third championship in the last five years.

Bumgarner was named MVP of the World Series after going 3-0 with a 0.43 ERA in 21 innings.

According to ESPN Stats and Info, Bumgarner is one of three pitchers to have three wins and a sub-0.50 ERA in a World Series, along with Christy Mathewson (1905 Giants) and Harry Brecheen (1946 Cardinals). 

He also became the fourth pitcher to win League Championship Series and World Series MVP in the same postseason, joining Orel Hershiser (1988 Dodgers), Livan Hernandez (1997 Marlins) and Cole Hamels (2008 Phillies).

With all that being said, I’ll leave you with Bumgarner’s career numbers in the World Series: 5-0, 0.25 ERA, five walks, 32 strikeouts in 36 innings.

Yordano Ventura Is a Future Ace

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Yordano Ventura would likely take home AL Rookie of the Year honors if not for the emergence of Jose Abreu on the South Side of Chicago. However, that shouldn’t detract from Ventura’s outstanding campaign; he still posted an impressive 3.20 ERA in 30 starts and fanned 159 batters in 183 innings during the regular season.

In the playoffs, Ventura, who owned the highest average fastball velocity (98.23 mph) among all starting pitchers, came out of the bullpen in the AL Wild Card Game and surrendered a two-run dinger to Brandon Moss, but the flame-throwing right-hander bounced back in a big way in the ALDS against the Angels with seven innings of one-run ball.

The 23-year-old gave everyone a scare in Game 2 of the ALCS when he left with shoulder discomfort after allowing four runs in 5.2 innings, but the injury turned out to be nothing serious and didn’t prevent the rookie from taking the mound as scheduled in the World Series.

Starting Game 2 of the Fall Classic, Ventura held the Giants to two runs on eight hits over 5.1 innings, which in turn allowed Kansas City’s offense to get to Jake Peavy in the middle innings and cruise to a 7-2 win.

With the Giants leading the Royals in the series, 3-2, manager Ned Yost showed the utmost faith in Ventura by tabbing him as the Royals’ Game 6 starter.

Having become the first Royals rookie to start a World Series game at any position in Game 2, Ventura topped that mediocre outing by firing seven scoreless frames while allowing only three hits in Game 6—a performance he dedicated to his friend, Oscar Taveras, who recently died in a car accident.

With his Game 6 outing, Ventura became the seventh rookie ever to win an elimination game in the World Series and the first since John Lackey pulled the feat in 2002, per ESPN Stats and Info. He also became the first starter to throw at least seven scoreless innings in a Game 6 or 7 since Josh Beckett in 2003.

“Ace” James Shields is likely to walk this offseason via free agency, but that’s okay; Ventura should have no problem headlining the Royals’ 2015 starting rotation.

Pablo Sandoval Made Some Money

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Pablo Sandoval’s production this year was nearly identical to his 2013 campaign, as the switch-hitting third baseman batted .279/.324/.415 with 16 home runs, 26 doubles and 73 RBI while playing in 157 games. However, his 3.0 WAR and .323 wOBA ranked 11th and 14th, respectively, among all qualified third baseman.

A two-time All-Star and the MVP of the 2012 World Series, Sandoval caught fire against the Cardinals in the NLCS, batting a robust .400/.478/.550 with three doubles and three runs in five games.

The switch-hitting third baseman was even more impressive in the Fall Classic, hitting safely in six of seven games while batting .429 overall in the series, and he also set a new postseason record with 26 hits in October.

On top of that, the 28-year-old has done nothing but rake in three trips to the World Series with San Francisco, highlighted by a .426/.460/.702 batting line, three home runs, four doubles and eight RBI in 12 career World Series contests.

Unfortunately, Sandoval’s days with the Giants might be over, as he’s expected to be the top third baseman in this year’s free-agent market and therefore command a relatively lucrative contract, per MLB Trade Rumors.

Peter Gammons of Gammons Daily believes the Giants will attempt to re-sign Sandoval, but he’s also heard rumors about another team that could be interested in the Panda’s services:

"

General managers from other teams don’t think the Giants will let Pablo Sandoval go, but Sunday one member of their ownership group said there is a swelling thinking that the Red Sox will end up signing The Panda. 'The bigger the stage, the better he plays,' says one Giant official. 'He would love Boston.'

"

Though Sandoval has been more or less consistent from year to year during his time with the Giants, his outstanding track record in the postseason should make him even more valuable to a team looking to win a title in the coming years.

The Real Eric Hosmer Stood Up

Matt Slocum/Associated Press

Things seemed to click for Eric Hosmer upon returning from the disabled list (fractured hand), as the first baseman batted .287/.343/.489 with 12 extra-base hits and 12 RBI in 102 plate appearances over the final 27 games of the regular season.

Hosmer’s late-season success led to a breakout performance in the postseason, as the 25-year-old led the Royals in most offensive categories, including hits (20), batting average (.351), OPS (.983), walks (nine) and RBI (12).

Hosmer got off to a slow start in the World Series, as he went just 1-for-10 with one RBI and one run scored over the first three games. However, that one hit was a big one, an RBI single on the 11th pitch of the at-bat in Game 3 against left-hander Javier Lopez, and he then stayed hot Saturday in Game 4 by going 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI.

After going a combined 3-for-9 with a double and two RBI between Games 5 and 6, Hosmer entered the winner-take-all Game 7 with a chance to claim the series’ MVP award with another strong performance (and provided the Royals won). Unfortunately, neither of those things happened, as the 25-year-old first baseman went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and hit into a ground-ball double play early in the game.

Make no doubt about it: The 2014 postseason was Eric Hosmer’s coming-out party, but 2015 will be the year he officially breaks out.

Expect big things from the Royals first baseman next season.

Bruce Bochy: Hall of Fame Manager

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Manager Bruce Bochy has guided the Giants to four pennants and three World Series titles in the last five years, while the team owns a 436-374 overall regular-season record during that time.

Say what you want about a manager's ability to influence his team’s success, but there's no denying that Bochy has played a part in the Giants' emergence as a perennial World Series contender in the past half-decade.

After Bochy picked up his 1,600th career managerial win in early September, B/R National MLB Columnist Scott Miller argued that the 20-year skipper deserves to be enshrined in Cooperstown.

Following Ishikawa's walk-off home run in Game 5 of the NLCS, veteran starter Jake Peavy shared a similar opinion on Bochy and his Hall of Fame-worthy career, via Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com:

"

I know it sounds like a broken record, but the man's special. I said it in the middle of the season: You can write up his Hall of Fame plaque right now, believe me. This man is such a great leader. It spills over to everyone. His coaching staff is unbelievable. Their belief system, it spills over into here.

"

With the Giants win in Game 7 of the World Series, Bochy became the 10th manager to win three World Series. The other nine are all in the Hall of Fame. Meanwhile, Bochy and Connie Mack are the only managers to win three titles in a five-year span for a team other than the Yankees, per ESPN Stats and Info.

In his press conference following Game 7, Bochy acknowledged the significance of winning three titles with basically the same group of guys, per MLB.com:

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You know, I'm numb, really through all of this. You're so blessed or fortunate to get in the World Series and to get one, it just doesn't happen that often. To look at this and see that we won three times, I mean, I'm amazed with what these guys did and the fact that we have won three times in five years. It's not that easy. But when you have a group of warriors like we have, I mean, they continue to just amaze you. They were relentless.

"

Bochy won’t be retiring anytime soon, especially after the Giants’ success this year, but when he does, the 20-year skipper should have a spot waiting for him in Cooperstown.

Joe Panik Is for Real

Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

After taking over as San Francisco’s everyday second baseman, Joe Panik posted an impressive .305/.343/.368 batting line to go along with 10 doubles, two triples, one home run and 18 RBI over 287 plate appearances. 

Panik also carved out an important role in the top third of the lineup, batting .303/.333/.361 with 21 runs scored in 37 games as the team’s two-hole hitter and also raked against same-side pitching to the tune of .373/.381/.458 in 84 plate appearances.

Though Panik batted only .222/.276/.370 in 27 at-bats during the World Series, the rookie second baseman still impressed with his patient approach and knack for making hard contact from line to line. The 24-year-old also showed some unexpected pop, when three of his six hits went for extra bases (two triples, one double), and he even tallied his second career home run in the NLCS.

Panik’s slick defense at the keystone throughout the postseason was another pleasant surprise, as the rookie showed off above-average range in all directions, demonstrated an innate feel for the position and made challenging plays with relative ease.

There aren’t any metrics capable of quantifying Panik’s defensive impact in the Fall Classic, but a quick search of MLB.com’s video archive from the series produces seven different highlights. That being said, none are better than the spectacular double play he started in Game 7.

After Panik’s strong finish during the regular season and subsequent postseason success, it’s safe to say the Giants have found their second baseman of the future.