|
"Dream Weaver" and MVP Eckstein lift Cardinals to crown
2006-10-28
Pitcher Jeff Weaver was tossed aside by teams as hopeless. Shortstop David Eckstein's smallish stature hides the leadership and spirit that has made him a valued team player. Both unheralded players enjoyed their moment of glory here Friday as the St. Louis Cardinals captured their first Major League Baseball title since 1982 by defeating Detroit 4-2 here Friday to win the World Series four games to one. Weaver struck out nine and allowed only one earned run on four hits in eight innings, defeating the club which gave him his major league start in 1999 but gave up on him 3 1/2 years later. "It's funny how things work. You couldn't ask for a better scenario, just full circle," Weaver said. "You don't expect things like that to happen. When you have a chance to win against a team you used to play for it's added motivation." Eckstein was named the Most Valuable Player of the Series after batting .364 (6-for-9) and driving in four runs in the final two games for a team whose late-season fade had experts writing them off as a pretender to the throne. "It's a great feeling, the team coming together, playing well together and finding a way to win," Eckstein said. "I was just trying to do what I usually do. I was fortunate and found some holes. "The thing I wanted to make sure to do was not to chase and not try to do too much." The title run reminded the sixth-year veteran of his World Series title run with a surprise Anaheim club in 2002. "No one predicted us then and we got on an unbelievable role. It was the same thing here," he said. "We didn't look to the future. We didn't stay in the past. We stayed in the moment. It was very similar. It's a great feeling." "This club had something to prove, that we could compete with the best in the American League." Weaver was playing for the Los Angeles Angels this season and off to a horrid 3-10 start when he was traded to the Cardinals in June. He wound up making his title dreams come true, just not in the way he expected. "I was hoping to do it in Anaheim but that didn't work out," he said. "I have to thank the Cardinals from bringing me here. I was fortunate to get hot when it counted. It's a dream come true. It's unbelievable. "When you come to a team that believes in you it builds your confidence. Never say die. Just keep working. I'm very fortunate to go out and compete on that stage." The Cardinals became the World Series champion with the worst regular-season record in history after a late-season slide left them 83-78 and barely in the playoffs. But Weaver credits that clutch fight with building championship character. "We struggled a little bit but when our back was against the wall and we made it happen," he said. "In the playoffs you start fresh. That struggle to the end refreshed us once it was all done. We were able to go out there and play in the second season."
| 
