San Francisco: Your 2014 World Series Champions

Kansas City put up a great fight, but MadBum was simply too much for the American League champions (Jamie Squire / Getty Images)

Heading into the postseason, no one gave the Royals a chance. Kansas City hadn't won a World Series since 1987, and most people assumed they wouldn't even come close to winning one in 2014. Nonetheless, against all odds, the Royals clawed back into games that appeared to be all but over, not only reaching the World Series, but forcing a Game 7 on Wednesday night.

However, despite their persistence, Kansas City couldn't overcome the Giants' unstoppable force -- Madison Bumgarner.

The Giants ace led his team to yet another World Series title, dominating nearly every batter he faced throughout the postseason. San Francisco has won three titles in the past five years, but I think we can all agree that this was the most compelling series among the three.

With two outs in the bottom of the 9th, it looked like Kansas City would go down one-two-three to end the ballgame. Then, Alex Gordon happened. After a base hit into left field and a subpar display of fielding, Royals fans screamed at the top of their lungs as Gordon stood at third, representing the tying run in a 3-2 ballgame. 

But, like I said, Bumgarner came up big for San Francisco. With a substantial amount of pressure weighing on the lefty's shoulders, he stayed calm and forced Salvador Perez to pop it up into foul territory -- it was all over.

Even with just two days of rest, Bumgarner went out there and did more Madison Bumgarner things. During the 2014 postseason, Bumgarner allowed just 6 earned runs through 52.2 innings of work, posting a marvelous ERA of 1.03. The ace left opposing hitters scratching their heads as they took the dreaded walk back to the dugout, hoping the teammate behind them could finally make something happen. (They couldn't, by the way.)

Bumgarner was awarded the World Series MVP Award, an honor that the left-hander certainly deserved.

The Royals have suffered a 28-year World Series drought, and they'll now have to make it through another dry season.