Illustration by Tanya Bearson
This year’s World Series between the Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Dodgers was filled with suspenseful games and amazing plays, culminating with the first World Series win for the Houston Astros.
The two most notable games in the long series were games two and five. In game two, the teams remained neck and neck until the eleventh inning, when the Astros went ahead in the top of the inning on a two-run home run by George Springer, who had struggled up until this point. Dodgers pinch-hitter Charlie Culberson hit a solo home run in the bottom of the inning to narrow the gap, but the comeback couldn’t be completed, allowing the Astros to even the series at one all. The Dodgers held a strong lead multiple times throughout game five but the Astros were able to recover multiple times until they eventually won thirteen to twelve in extra innings.
Game seven is typically the most tense and exciting of all of the World Series games as the winner of this game is crowned World Series champions. When compared to game two and five of this year’s series, it was a rather slow and uneventful game. The Astros scored five runs early in the first two innings, and the Dodgers only response was a run in the sixth, not putting up much of a fight. Compared to the other games, it was a very low scoring game for the Dodgers, which disappointed fans after they displayed their offensive aptitude in previous games.
Despite the excitement of the games, the series was slightly marred by the controversy of a racist slur and gesture by Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel. In game three, after hitting a homerun off of Dodgers pitcher Yu Darvish, Gurriel was caught on camera lifting the corners of his eyes up in a widely recognized gesture of mockery towards Asians. He also was heard saying the term “chinito” in reference to Darvish, a term that means “china boy” in Gurriel’s home country of Cuba, even though Darvish is of Japanese and Iranian descent. Gurriel publicly apologized, saying he hadn’t meant it to be offensive, and that he was simply celebrating. Nevertheless, the incident received lots of attention in the media. Not only did it remain a controversial aspect of the series, it also damaged Gurriel’s reputation as a likeable rookie from Cuba with a compelling backstory.
In the Bay Area, the natural inclination to root against the Dodgers, the San Francisco Giants’ long standing rival, combined with overwhelming sympathy for the city of Houston in the wake of the devastating hurricane, led to a serious pro-Astros tilt. This meant a large portion of Berkeley and the Bay Area was pleased with the Houston victory.
Despite a dull final game, this year’s World Series was one to remember. Baseball fans face a long winter as they await the arrival of spring training.