The 2015 Major League Baseball season is over, thanks to the Kansas City Royals beating the New York Mets 7-2 in 12 innings Sunday night in Game 5 of the World Series. The Royals did it, in part, like they've been doing it all postseason: With a late comeback. Let's get to the details:
1. The Royals are champions for the first time in 30 years and for the second time ever.
We knew someone was going to quench a championship thirst, with the Mets not having won the World Series since 1986, and the Royals a year before that in '85. It was over in five, but the Series was a lot closer than that. In fact, the Mets were three outs away from making the Royals play Game 6 back at Kauffman Stadium until a two-out rally tied the score. The Mets also lost Game 1 in 14 innings, and with Game 5 going 12, this became noteworthy:
This marks the second World Series ever, joining 1924 (Games 1 and 7) to feature multiple games of at least 12 innings.
— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) November 2, 2015
2. Christian Colon drove in the go-ahead run in his first postseason at-bat of 2015.
They hadn't used him in the playoffs until Game 5, but Colon batted .414 in 33 plate appearances in September, so he had been in a groove -- when he was getting some playing time, anyway. With a runner at third and one out in the 12th, Colon drove a pitch from Addison Reed into left field for an RBI single. It wasn't the first time he has come through in the playoffs; Colon also drove in the tying run in the 12th inning of the AL Wild Card Game in 2014.
Last pinch-hit go-ahead anything in extra innings: Wade Boggs bases-loaded walk vs Steve Avery in '96 G4.
— Doug Kern (@dakern74) November 2, 2015
#Funfact: The Royals drafted Colon three picks before the Mets took Matt Harvey in 2010.
3. Eric Hosmer's daring dash from third tied the score in the ninth, keying another late comeback.
After hitting an RBI double to drive Matt Harvey from the game in the ninth, Hosmer represented the tying run at third base with one out. With Jeurys Familia relieving, Salvador Perez hit a grounder to third, and Hosmer held his position for a moment until David Wright began his throw to first base, and that's when Hosmer took off for home. It would have been a tough play for Lucas Duda, but he gave catcher Travis d'Arnaud no chance to make a tag by making an inaccurate throw. Hosmer was safe and the Royals had rallied late again.
The Royals have scored 15 runs in the eighth inning or later in this World Series. Fifteen runs!
— R.J. White (@rjwhite1) November 2, 2015
And this:
Wow: If #Royals win tonight, they will be 1st team EVER with 3 or more wins in World Series after trailing in 8th or later. (h/t STATS LLC)
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) November 2, 2015
And win, they did.
4. Jeurys Famila became the first person in history to blow three saves in the World Series.
It's not fair, considering Familia's biggest crime was allowing a tying home run to Alex Gordon in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 1. He wasn't perfect in the other blown-save moments, but all he did in the ninth inning of Game 5 was get three outs.
With three outs to go, Harvey was on the verge of becoming the first pitcher since Curt Schilling in Game 5 of the 1993 World Series to throw a shutout facing elimination. Harvey had lobbied manager Terry Collins to stay in the game when it seemed Collins were set to use the bullpen. Collins relented, but when the ninth inning came, Harvey was out after allowing a leadoff walk and an RBI double. A few batters later, the Royals had tied the score.
"I'm going to second-guess myself for a long time," Collins told Fox's Ken Rosenthal afterward.
Harvey threw 111 pitches, and put together one of the great starts in Mets World Series history.
Highest game scores by Mets in the World Series: 80 Seaver 1969 77 Matlack 1973 77 Koosman 1969 75 Harvey 2015 74 Darling 1986
— Dan Hirsch (@DanHirsch) November 2, 2015
6. Harvey can't drive 185.
After throwing eight shutout innings in Game 5, Harvey has accumulated 216 innings this year. Remember down the stretch when Harvey's innings count became an issue in light of his Tommy John elbow ligament surgery history? Harvey's agent, Scott Boras, suggested the Mets were going to have to harshly curb Harvey's workload late in the season once he got to 180-185 innings. It seemed like, more than once, that Harvey was going to take his agent's advice and scale it back. But, not surprisingly, he got caught up in the emotion of the Mets trying to win the World Series, and here we are at 216 innings. Boras, by the way, bought an insurance policy to help mitigate any worry about Harvey incurring a major arm injury before he hits free agency in 2019.
7. The Royals ran wild on Mets' pitchers and catcher Travis d'Arnaud.
Being used as a pinch runner, Jarrod Dyson stole second base in the 12th to make the Royals 4 for 4 in stolen-base attempts in the game against the Mets. Further, the Royals went 7 for 7 in the series. The Mets did not catch a runner stealing since late in the regular season.
8. The Royals are the first team since the 1988-89 Athletics to win the World Series the year after losing it.
9. Salvador Perez was named the Series MVP.
"Camarito!" Perez exclaimed when receiving his prize, a Chevy Camaro.
Perez hit .364 with an .846 OPS, driving in two runs and playing excellent defense behind the plate, visibly helping to keep Edinson Volquez cool on an emotional night for the pitcher. The catcher joins Bret Saberhagen as the only Royals to be named World Series MVP.
