World Series 2011: Lance Berkman Is Most Deserving Player of World Series Ring

I’m still a bit of a youngster when it comes to this stuff. When I say that Game 6 was the greatest World Series game I’ve ever seen, it’s obvious I don’t have many games to compare it to. But after multiple players, coaches and members of the media shared my same thoughts, I could tell, this was something special.

Someone who I have had the chance to see take a few swings over my years, is Cardinals outfielder Lance Berkman. And although I wouldn’t want to take anything away whatsoever from David Freese, who clearly was the hero of the night without question, Freese would never have swung a bat in the 11^th inning had it not been for Berkman’s game-tying hit in the 10^th.

Berkman has always found success on a diamond from a very young age. Berkman made his Little League All-Star team every single year, and that talent developed even deeper through high school, followed by playing for Wayne Graham at Rice.

Lance was drafted in the first round by the Houston Astros in 1997 and got his first taste of the majors towards the end of 1999. In May of 2000, Lance was back in an MLB lineup and he would become a staple there for years to come.

A six-time All-Star, Lance has achieved many things throughout his career: playoff berths, switch-hitting records, walk-off hits and outstanding offensive years. The only thing to elude Berkman? A World Series ring.

This is Berkman’s second World Series, his Astros were swept by the White Sox in 2005. It’s clear that this time around, the 35-year-old is aware he may not have too many more chances and he wants to make the most out of this one.

Lance has had an extremely respectable series, and is hitting over .400 coming into tonight’s Game 7. Even when the other Cardinals can’t seem to get things going, Lance’s bat has seemed to stay hot. Out of the six games played so far, he has been on base two or more times in five of them. In the Game 4 loss, Berkman accounted for the only two Cardinal hits the entire game.

Even then, baseball doesn’t even come close to the most important thing in his life. Lance is a very religious man; for him, God comes before everything else. He is happily married with four daughters, and is always visible throughout the community doing work.

I have had the privilege of interviewing Berkman for a former writing job I held with the city newspaper and really got to see what he’s all about. He loves God, he loves his family, he loves his community and he loves the game he plays.

The Texas Rangers are a young and talented group. If you think this is the last time you will see them in October, you are sadly mistaken.

The Cardinals, on the other hand, may be about to hit a bit of a dry spell. They just picked up an option on a pitcher who didn’t throw one baseball the entire year, the cornerstone of the franchise may be bolting for the door once the offseason arrives and the talent is starting to get a little bit on the sunset side rather than the sunrise.

I’m not saying next year they will be a terrible team; I’m just saying that as far as World Series runs go, the road appears that it will become more difficult for them next year. This may be St. Louis' last chance to pick up a title before they go into a couple years of rebuilding with younger talent, a “couple years” that some Cardinal veterans may not have left in the tank.

Out of every player on that field tonight, I feel nobody deserves a ring on their finger more than Lance Berkman. He’s earned it.

Brandon Wheeland is a college student attending Texas A&M University at Galveston. Contact him via e-mail at [e-mail] or follow him on Twitter @BrandonWheeland