SAN FRANCISCO — A sellout crowd didn’t immediately leave the park after Game 5 of the 2014 World Series. Madison Bumgarner had just thrown a 119-pitch shutout, and the fans stood in front of their seats, chanting “MVP” and waving orange rally towels as Bumgarner twice stopped and tipped his cap during an interview for the national TV broadcast.
Nobody knew what was coming three nights later, and it didn’t matter. What Bumgarner had already accomplished was historic, and even the Kansas City Royals, a loss from elimination, could recognize that.
As Bumgarner finished his final on-field interview, Royals manager Ned Yost and a PR representative crossed the field so they could enter AT&T Park’s interview room through the home dugout.