The Cards That Did Not Fold

By Nick Ostiller

As a long-time baseball fan, I couldn't help but watch in awe as the St. Louis Cardinals completed their surreal run to glory last Friday by beating the Texas Rangers in Game 7 of the World Series. Although these Cardinals were not from Arizona, they sure rose out of the ashes more times than your traditional Phoenix. This team was unlike any other I had seen before. A team with more fight and resilience? I had seen none. Not until the 2011 Cardinals came along and shocked the baseball world.

They weren't even supposed to make the playoffs, and quite frankly looked dead in the water. With five weeks left in the regular season, the Cardinals were 10 1/2 games out of a playoff spot and going nowhere fast. However, with nothing to lose, they won 21 of their final 31 games, and somehow squeaked into the playoffs on the very last night of the season.

The Cardinals' frantic run to the postseason was impressive, but many, myself included, believed their magic was about to run out. Waiting for them in the first round of the playoffs were the Phillies, the team with baseball's best record during the regular season. Down 2-1 in the best-of-five series,  St. Louis promptly beat two of the Phillies' best pitchers in consecutive games to advance. These were the 2011 Cardinals.

Next they faced the Milwaukee Brewers. There was already bad blood between the two teams. Back when St. Louis was down for the count in early September, a Brewers' player had taunted the Cardinals via Twitter: "...I hope those crying birds (enjoy) watching the (Brewers) in the Playoffs!!!" That tweet no doubt lingered in the minds of the Cardinals. They used the insult as motivation to beat the Brewers, who were wrong to think they had seen the last of St. Louis.

The Cardinals were of course heavy underdogs in the World Series, having had no business making the playoffs in the first place. Even for the red-hot Cardinals, the Rangers were proving to be a tall order. Down three games to two in the best-of-seven series, St. Louis was losing by two runs going into the last inning of Game 6. They were three outs away from elimination. But these were the 2011 Cardinals. Down to their last strike — twice — the "cardiac Cardinals" rallied to tie the game in both the ninth and 10th innings before a walk-off home run in the 11th sent the series to a deciding Game 7.

No  other team in history had won it all after being 10 1/2 games out of a playoff spot as late as Aug. 24. But if their run to baseball's brink was any indication, it was clear that these Cardinals weren't just any "other team." After overcoming an early deficit in Game 7, they went on to make easy work of the devastated Rangers to win the World Series. This result was improbable, and the way they got there seemed impossible. But these were the 2011 Cardinals.

Nick Ostiller is a sophomore communication major and editor of the Sports section.