MVPearce

Remember how before game one, I wrote: "One thing you should expect: the unexpected. A player will step out of anonymity and make his mark sometime over the next week or so."
That man proved to be Steve Pearce.
A righthanded platoon hitter, a journeyman who joined the Red Sox in a mid-season trade, Pearce has played for seven big league clubs over the past dozen seasons. He's even made history, as the only player ever to play for all five AL East franchises.
Yet he stepped up, delivering, arguably, the two most important hits as the Red Sox claimed their fourth World Series title in 15 seasons. Saturday night, his 8th inning homer of Kenley Jansen tied the game (and erased the last lead the Dodgers would have in the series), which Boston went onto win 9-6.
He topped that performance Sunday, sending a Clayton Kershaw pitch into the left field seats with Andrew Benintendi on 1st -- a dagger that gave the Sox a two-run lead three batters into the game. He then bookended the scoring with an 8th inning blast off Pedro Baez.
Three homers in the last two games as the Red Sox kicked it into a higher gear and pulled away from the Dodgers. That earned the 35 year old series MVP honors.
108 game winners during the regular seasons, the Sox locked down their championship by winning all three post-season rounds on the road. They finished off the Yankees in the Bronx, the Astros in Houston and the Dodgers in their house.
The Red Sox can get ready to hang a new banner on that emtpy panel outside Fenway Park.
(My image of Pearce came from April 21st, 2018 while he was still a Blue Jay.)

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