6ix Baggers — №81: It Had To Be George.
A dramatic game 7. An all hands on deck showdown. Powered with unlikely arms in the bullpen. A three run shot to drive Toronto into the World Series. The World Series is here.
Dear Drink Carters and those who have jumped onto the bandwagon.
When the moment mattered most, George Springer delivered. As if all his contract suddenly paid off, all at once, in one singular and dramatic moment. It was always going to be Springer. It kind of had to be.
With the ALCS Game 7 pressure mounting, the Blue Jays playing behind and and his team’s World Series dreams hanging in the balance, Springer stepped into the box.
He crushed a three-run home run that sent his squad back to baseball’s biggest stage for the first time 32 seasons. It was vintage Springer: ice in his veins, power in his swing and an uncanny ability to rise when October’s spotlight burns brightest.
Now he’s heading back to the World Series, where he’s made a habit of turning into a postseason legend. Springer doesn’t just play in the Fall Classic—he dominates it. In 2017 against the Dodgers he hit 5 home runs in the Series. Now, when they hit Los Angeles next week he will get the biggest boos of anyone.
One of the best things I read about Springer was this post from Corey Schneider, “Somewhere in New England tonight, there’s an NEPSAC MVP plaque that reads:
2008: George Springer
2009: Corey Schneider
One of us has made $170M and is a World Series MVP. The other just searched “fun easy pumpkin carving ideas” and needs to foam roll. Life is a highway.”
That’s a story that is almost too good to be true.
Here’s the bad news. There’s going to have to be some sort of miracle if I’m going to be getting an actual World Series ticket. I tried. I got into the waiting room and somehow ended up deep in the queue right off the bat.
Yeah, there was no way anything was going to be available at that end of the stick. Although it looked like some fans were another 200,000 spots behind me. The prices on the secondary market are absolutely insane.
The prices are so insane (like a General Admission Ticket - you know where you don’t get a seat - and you pay $1,067) that Doug Ford has temporarily stopped bashing Crown Royal and started talking about the problems with tickets. This creator, Captain Cammy breaks it all down.
If you think narratives from the game are something. Ford is now considering new legislation to put a cap on resale ticket prices. Of course, it was his government that scrapped anti-scalping laws in 2018. Of course it was.
This is what October dreams are made of.
In one corner: Shohei Ohtani, the two-way superstar who snubs the Jays for a contract and who is now unleashing his full arsenal as both a dominant starter, leading the Dodgers’ unhittable rotation, and the presumptive MVP who also crushed 3 homers in his last game while striking out 10 on their quest for back-to-back titles.
In the other: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., fresh off signing a massive $500 million extension and putting the entire postseason on his back, carrying Toronto to their first Fall Classic in over three decades while winning the ALCS MVP Award.
Two generational talents.
Two MVP-caliber superstars.
One who signed in LA. The other who signed in Toronto.
One championship on the line.
When these two collide under the bright lights of the World Series in Toronto, someone’s legend grows even bigger.
This is the matchup the baseball world has been waiting for. Let the battle begin.
Walkoffs
A few more quick fastballs for you to enjoy until our next edition.
Need to watch some highlights from 32 years ago?
The thing that is most unrecognizable is that the Stadium looks so much different now.
More Sports Interviews Should take place over food
The quality on this is outrageous. But the idea of Tommy Lasorda doing interviews with a spread of food is about as iconic as it gets.
Ad History: Score Baseball (1994)
This 1993 Score Baseball card ad is incredible while giving out lessons in economics. Although they are no McDonalds Jays trading cards. 45 cents?
Ad History: The Blue Jays Locker Room (1986)
It’s kind of wild that 39 years ago the Jays Locker Room was rocking merch like this? Being fan back then must have been much harder.
The last out
The design of these World Series VHS tapes is iconic.
See you next week for The Drink Cart’s Wednesday and Friday editions and who knows, maybe another World Series Edition before the Fall Classic closes out.