St Louis Cardinals defeated Texas Rangers 6-2 to clinch the Major League Baseball World Series on Saturday, their 11th title, which set off huge celebrations on Sunday and Monday.
The Cardinals had trailed in the seven-game series 3-2, before hitting back by winning the final two matches to clinch the crown.
Chris Carpenter was the star of game seven, while David Freese claimed the honour of the World Series MVP for his part in his side’s success.
Freese was greeted by huge numbers of fans on Sunday afternoon chanting “MVP, MVP, MVP” and he said: “Wow, we’ve come full circle. We did this same thing on opening day. This was way more than I imagined. Way more. I’m out of words.”
Freese continued: “I had one dream and that was to be in this position. To win a World Series with the best group of guys, this is amazing.”
Carpenter added: “We had so much fun together, these guys are amazing and I will never forget it.”
Meanwhile, St Louis’ departing coach Tony La Russa said it was a great success for the entire franchise.
“One of the best feelings we had as a team was to see the people in the organisation without a uniform enjoying the fun. If every one of our guys hadn’t of contributed, we wouldn’t be here. It was really a perfectly blended team. This was very special,” he said.
La Russa also announced his retirement on Monday after the win, stating: “I think this just feels like it’s time to end it. Other than some of the personal attachments, I feel good. I feel good that this is the right decision.”
Cardinals principal owner Bill DeWitt Jr. admitted it would be a huge task to replace La Russa, while there’s also the challenge of retaining star man Albert Pujols who could leave as a free agent.
“We’re not going to find a Tony La Russa out there, given his career and what he’s accomplished, what he’s meant to the Cardinals,” he said. “It’ll be different, no question about it.”
However, DeWitt still wanted to savour the moment and added: “This 11th Cardinals world championship will always be remembered as one of baseball’s greatest achievements.”
