Commentary: A match made in baseball

The 2017 World Series has been regarded as one of the best so far. The Dodgers and the Houston Astros were clearly perfectly matched, as they went all the way to Game 7 before the trophy finally found a home.

The insanity probably reached its peak during Game 5. The two teams played a game of copycat, going back and forth from tied to leading, tied to trailing. The game ended with a 13-12 victory for the Astros after extra innings and a last-minute rally. Apparently, the TV ratings for Game 5 beat “Sunday Night Football.”

The Astros had the best offense. The Dodgers had the best record. It could have gone either way, and according to the devastated lot of fans in L.A., one crucial decision determined the outcome of the final night: the starting pitcher.

All five runs scored by the Astros in Game 7 were made in the first two innings, and all of them were against the Dodgers starting pitcher Yu Darvish. His appearance on the field was according to schedule, but since it was Game 7, all bets were off.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts could have chosen anybody. Ace pitcher Clayton Kershaw pitched four clean innings, but the Dodgers offense failed to catch up. It sparked the question: “Why didn’t you just start with Kershaw?”

Some say the loss was a manager’s mistake, placing the blame on Roberts. Others called out Darvish for a poor performance. The day after the game, Darvish released a statement on Instagram:

“First of all, thank you for the past three months. I couldn’t have finished the season with a new team in another city without the support of the amazing fans, teammates and staff. In just three months, I’ve learned a lot about the city of LA and how the courteous fans kept me going even when I was not in my best condition. The World Series resulted in a dissapointment due to my lack of performance, but I will carry this experience to the future. I am honored to be a part of this organization and play baseball with the support of great fans. Again, thank you very much.”

In the comments, fans praised him for his graciousness, thanking him for playing a tough game and still retaining a “class act.” Others bashed him for his performance.

Does defense win games? The Astros had an outstanding defense, but an even more explosive offense. In Game 2, Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa hit two impressive back-to-back homers to bolster that day’s victory. Hurricane donations soared with T-Mobile’s promise to donate $1 million per home run, and the Dodgers helped with that, too. Many of the players were connected to people who suffered through the devastating hurricanes, including Dodgers outfielder Kike Hernandez, who belted three home runs in Game 5 of the NLCS.

The Astros have been around as a franchise for 55 years, and in all that time, this was their first World Series title. Houston screamed with pride on Wednesday night. After the devastation of Hurricane Harvey, the city itself needed a reason to smile. An Astros victory gave them one. For the Dodgers, there will always be next year.

At the end of the night, there was one more perfect match to bring together. As the team celebrated, fans and reporters surrounded Astros shortstop Carlos Correa. “

Right now, I’m about to take another big step in my life,” he said. He pulled out a ring from his back pocket, got down on one knee, and proposed to his girlfriend on live TV.

Looks like he got more than one win that night.