No offense to Hideki Matsui... but Mariano Rivera was the MVP

Nobody is denying Hideki Matsui had a great Game 6 of the World Series. Heck he drove in 6 runs by himself.

His two run homer off of Pedro Martinez got the scoring started... and when the Phillies answered with a run of their own, Matsui got the 2 out 2 run single that made it clear the Yankees weren't getting caught.

I still don't think he was the MVP of the World Series.

It's not a bad choice. Picking Phil Hughes would have been bad.

Matsui batting .615... he homered 3 times... he drove in 8 runs in the 6 game series...

All terrific.

He wasn't the MVP of the World Series.

Not to be harsh, but in a 6 game Series, the MVP should probably start more than half the games. (Not always... Dusty Rhodes should have been the MVP of the 1954 World Series... but I digress)

In this post season, every single closer blew a must win game for their team...
except one.

In this World Series, the mantra for both teams was get into their vulnerable bullpen. As Hughes and Chamberlain became less and less reliable, the Phillies would be licking their chops when Girardi pulled the starter.

EXCEPT for one pitcher.

The Phillies went into the later part of the Series not sure who would even pitch the 9th.

And yet basically their strategy seemed to be "Make sure Mariano Rivera doesn't pitch."

If Rivera pitched, the game was over.

That's kinda sorta a cut and dry definition of a Series MVP.

I said this to my dad last night and he replied "Yeah, but doesn't Rivera already have one?"

The answer is yes. He won the 1999 World Series MVP and the 2003 ALCS MVP.

He deserved those. And he deserved this one.

I'm sure Rivera isn't losing sleep over this and Matsui has been a great Yankee and it is easy to forget that this is his first World Series ring (doesn't it seem like he belongs with the Riveras, Posadas, Jeters and Pettittes as guys who have won a few?)

But when Rivera came out in the 8th, the roar of the crowd was that of people who knew the game (and the World Series title) was theirs.

They were right.

Because Rivera, the most valuable player of the series, was in the game.

Dusty Rhodes... Rest In Peace

I would argue that James Lamar "Dusty" Rhodes hit the most underrated home run in baseball history.

The 1954 World Series was supposed to be a cakewalk for the Cleveland Indians. They won 111 games, an AL Record, ended the Yankees 5 year reign as World Champs and took on a seemingly overmatched Giants team.

Now any baseball fan worth their weight in tobacco knows that Willie Mays made the amazing back to home plate catch off of Vic Wertz in Game 1.

But the game went into extra innings and without a Giants win, Mays catch would have been an interesting footnote. (See Endy Chavez)

With 1 out and 2 on in the bottom of the 10th, Durocher sent in Dusty Rhodes... a guy who couldn't play the field and seemed like a limited talent... but had a knack for the big hit off the bench.

He got it. Granted it travelled about half the distance as Vic Wertz's out... but it was enough to be the second Walk Off homer in World Series history. And he did it off of future Hall of Famer Bob Lemon.

The Giants won the opener. And then with the Giants trailing in Game 2, Rhodes came off the bench again and tied the game with a pinch hit single off of Early Wynn, another future Hall of Famer.

In Game 3, Rhodes once again came off of the bench and delivered. This time he singled home a run off of Mike Garcia (not a Hall of Famer, but he was an All Star and a 19 game winner in 1954, so he wasn't exactly a slouch.)

The Giants ran up a 7-0 lead in Game 4 and Rhodes wasn't needed off of the bench, but his final numbers were amazing.

He batted .667 with an OPS of 2.381. He finished the series 4-6 homering twice and driving in 7 runs all together without starting a game.

They didn't give out World Series MVPs in 1954, but no doubt he would have won it.

The Giants haven't won the World Series since 1954, but I know one fan who can recite that roster and the events of the World Series as if it were yesterday.

My dad loved and still loves the 1954 team... and with Rhodes' heroics they were not just footnotes!

If not for Rhodes then the Giants would be looking back at 1933 as their last title.

Rest in peace Dusty.

And don't let anyone up there tell you that was a cheap homer!

In honor of Dusty... watch this great World Series film for the '54 series!