Top five moments of the 2014 MLB season

Going yard in The Carillon office/Brady Lang

Manager meltdowns make everything more fun

The long and arduous MLB season is finally over. The San Francisco Giants slipped by the Cinderella Kansas City Royals in seven games, with the Royals only 90 feet away from extending their season. Instead, we have the Giants winning their third championship in five years, and cementing their place among the greatest teams in this century. What I’m here to do, is look back on the entire MLB season and give you my five best moments from another tumultuous year.

5. Derek Jeter Walks Away from Baseball

            I guess I have to give one spot to the Captain, albeit begrudgingly. Derek Jeter is no doubt one of the best players in the last couple of decades to ever play the sport, and for the most part, deserved all the adoration that he got. I’m just not personally a fan of him hijacking an entire season, but to each their own. Jeter’s Yankees didn’t exactly set the world on fire, finishing the year 84-78, and they even missed the playoffs. Jeter himself only hit .256 with four home runs, but that’s beside the point. Jeter was one of the great people in the game of baseball, and he will be greatly missed… However personally, I’m going to miss Paul Konerko even more.

4. Mike Redmond gets ejected and goes nuts

            There’s nothing like a classic manager meltdown, and I feel that Marlins manager Mike Redmond had the best one of the year. If my lip-reading classes have served me well like I think they have, his first response is the classic one-two combo of, “What the f**k is that? This is f*****g bullshit!” Next we have classic manager meltdown reaction #2, when he goes off in the umpire’s face, spittle flying everywhere, capped off with another classic from the manager blow up handbook, when he starts kicking dirt for no reason. Clearly, Mr. Redmond was channeling his inner Lou Piniella on this occasion.

3. Clayton Kershaw is the Best Pitcher in the World

            This was definitely the year of the pitcher, but when it comes to the regular season, no one could touch Dodger’s ace Clayton Kershaw. To no one’s surprise, Kershaw ran through the entire National League to the tune of a 21-3 record, and a sparkling 1.77 ERA (earned run average). At this point, Kershaw is on his way to being considered one of the greatest pitchers of all-time, not just of this era.

2. The Royals Come Within 90 Feet of a World Series

Our Cinderella story of the year in any sport, the normally pathetic Kansas City Royals dominated en route to their first World Series appearance in 29 years. It was only until they ran into the juggernaut that is the San Francisco Giants did they go down. Nevertheless, you can’t ignore how great of story it was to see one of the smaller market teams in the MLB have such great success.

1. MadBum Mows Down Everyone

            If it wasn’t for Madison Bumgarner, the Kansas City Royals would still probably be celebrating their World Series win to this day. I’ve never seen a pitcher so effortlessly dominate a playoff series, and Bumgarner’s success hadn’t been seen since the days when the likes of Babe Ruth and Ted Williams were playing in the early 1900s. 21 innings pitched vs. the Royals in the World Series, just a 0.65 ERA, two wins and a save. Kershaw might own the regular season, but Bumgarner is the man in the postseason.