2014 World Series
Team (Wins) Managers Season San Francisco Giants (4) Bruce Bochy 88–74, .543, GB: 6 Kansas City Royals (3) Ned Yost 89–73, .549, GB: 1
Dates	October 21–29[1]
Venue(s)	Kauffman Stadium (Kansas City) AT&T Park (San Francisco)
MVP	Madison Bumgarner (San Francisco)
Umpires	Jeff Kellogg (crew chief),Ted Barrett,Jeff Nelson (Games 3–7),Hunter Wendelstedt,Eric Cooper,Jim Reynolds,Jerry Meals (Games 1 & 2)
Broadcast
Television	Fox (United States) MLB International (International)
TV announcers	Joe Buck,Harold Reynolds,Tom Verducci,Ken Rosenthal andErin Andrews (Fox) Gary Thorne andRick Sutcliffe (MLB International)
Radio	ESPN KNBR (SF) KCSP (KC)
Radio announcers	Dan Shulman andAaron Boone (ESPN) Jon Miller,Dave Flemming,Duane Kuiper andMike Krukow (KNBR) Denny Matthews,Ryan Lefebvre andSteve Physioc (KCSP)
ALCS	Kansas City Royals overBaltimore Orioles (4–0)
NLCS	San Francisco Giants overSt. Louis Cardinals (4–1)
World Series program
← 2013 World Series 2015 →

The2014 World Series was thechampionship series ofMajor League Baseball's (MLB)2014 season. The 110th edition of the World Series, it was abest-of-seven playoff between theNational League (NL)championSan Francisco Giants and theAmerican League (AL)championKansas City Royals. The series was played from October 21 to 29. The Giants defeated the Royals four games to three to clinch their third World Series championship in a five-season span (2010–14), and their third overall since the club'smove toSan Francisco from New York.^{[note 1]} It was the Giants' eighth World Series championship in franchise history, and the Giants became the first team in MLB history to win the World Series as a number five seed. The series was also the sixth straight World Series to be won by a team that had missed the playoffs the year before.

The Giants won Game 1 behind a strong pitching performance byMadison Bumgarner while the Royals won Games 2 and 3 as their pitchers limited San Francisco to two runs per game. The Giants won Games 4 and 5, thanks to 11 runs in Game 4 and Bumgarner'scomplete gameshutout in Game 5. Kansas City tied the series in Game 6, shutting out San Francisco and scoring 10 runs, which forced a Game 7. The Giants won the final game, 3–2, thanks to timelyhitting, including thegame-winning RBI byMichael Morse to scorePablo Sandoval. Bumgarner pitched five shutout innings in relief on two days' rest to clinch the championship, claiming the seriesMVP award.

This was the first World Series to feature two teams with fewer than 90 wins since1981, as that year's season was shortened due to a player's strike, and the first in a non-strike season.^[2] Additionally, this was the last World Series to feature two wild card teams until the2023 World Series.

The Royals made their third World Series appearance in franchise history, the others being in1980, when they lost to thePhiladelphia Phillies in six games, and1985, when they defeated theSt. Louis Cardinals in seven games. Furthermore, the Royals ended a stretch of 28 consecutive seasons in which they did not appear in the postseason, thesecond-longest such streak since the MLB postseason was expanded in 1995.

The 4th-seeded Royals entered the 2014 World Series after defeating the 5th-seededOakland Athletics 9–8 in theAL Wild Card game,^[3] sweeping the top-seededLos Angeles Angels of Anaheim in three games in theALDS,^[4] and sweeping the 2nd-seededBaltimore Orioles in four games in theALCS.^[5] They were the first team to enter a World Series with an 8–0 record in that year's postseason and only the second to enter the World Series undefeated in the postseason since the creation of the Wild Card in 1994.^{[note 2]}

The Giants made their third World Series appearance in five years, having defeated theTexas Rangers in the2010 World Series and theDetroit Tigers in the2012 World Series.^[6] This was also their 20th appearance overall, and their sixth appearance since moving to San Francisco from New York City in 1958. The No. 5 seed Giants defeated the No. 4 seedPittsburgh Pirates 8–0 in theNL Wild Card game,^[7] the top-seededWashington Nationals in four games in theNLDS 3 games to 1,^[8] and the 3rd-seededSt. Louis Cardinals in five games in theNLCS four games to one via a walk-off home run^[9] (in the process denying a rematch of the1985 World Series). The World Series was the Giants' second trip to Kauffman Stadium in 2014, as the Royals had swept them in a three-game series on August 8–10. This was the fourth World Series in which the Giants faced a team from theMidwest (1917,1954,2012).

San Francisco won the series, 4–3.

Both teams sent their respectiveaces to the mound for Game 1:James Shields for the Royals andMadison Bumgarner for the Giants. The Giants scored the first run in the opening inning when aPablo Sandoval double scoredGregor Blanco from second base, althoughBuster Posey was thrown out at home. The next batter,Hunter Pence, hit a home run to center field to give the Giants a three-run lead. The Royals did not threaten until the third inning.Omar Infante reached on an error by Giants' shortstopBrandon Crawford, andMike Moustakas hit a double down the line to move Infante to third. Bumgarner struck out bothAlcides Escobar andNorichika Aoki, but walkedLorenzo Cain to load the bases.Eric Hosmer grounded out to second base on the first pitch to end the threat.

The Giants threatened again in the top of the fourth when Pence doubled, advanced to third on a wild pitch, andBrandon Belt walked.Michael Morse then singled to score the fourth run of the game, which knocked Shields out of the game.Danny Duffy was brought in. After allowing a sacrifice bunt toJuan Pérez, Duffy walked Crawford and Blanco consecutively, bringing the fifth run in for the Giants. He retired the next two batters to end the inning. The score remained 5–0 until the top of the seventh, when Blanco drew another walk.Joe Panik hit a ball to right fielder Aoki, which he misplayed, allowing Blanco to score and Panik to reach third.Tim Collins was brought in and allowed a single to Sandoval after Posey lined out, driving in the seventh and final run for San Francisco.

The Royals scored their only run on aSalvador Pérez home run off Bumgarner in the bottom of the seventh inning, which proved to be the only run given up by Bumgarner in the series. That homer also ended Bumgarner's consecutive scoreless innings streak in the World Series at 21, second only to Giants Hall of FamerChristy Mathewson, who went 28.^[18] Collins andJason Frasor each pitched scoreless innings for the Royals, whileJavier López andHunter Strickland closed out the game for the Giants with scoreless eighth and ninth innings. The loss was Kansas City's first of the 2014 postseason, following eight consecutive wins in theWild Card Game,ALDS andALCS. This also snapped the Royals' franchise postseason winning streak at 11 games dating back to the 1985 World Series.^[19]

Kansas City sent rookieYordano Ventura to the mound in an attempt to even the series. San Francisco countered withJake Peavy. The Giants scored first on a lead-off home run byGregor Blanco. This would turn out to be the last home run the Giants would hit in the series.Alcides Escobar singled to lead off the Royals' half of the first but was thrown out trying to steal second base. The Royals, however, tied up the game on aLorenzo Cain double,Eric Hosmer walk and aBilly Butler single, all with two outs.

The Royals gained the lead in the bottom of the second inning on doubles byOmar Infante and Escobar, but the Giants tied the game on doubles byPablo Sandoval andBrandon Belt. Belt was tagged out attempting to advance to third but was out returning to second whenMichael Morse flied out to right fielderNorichika Aoki, who threw to Ventura, who threw to Infante, thus ending the inning. In the top of the sixth inning, bothBuster Posey andHunter Pence singled, knocking Ventura out of the game.Kelvin Herrera was brought in and got the last two outs to end the inning.

Kansas City regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning as Cain singled to center and Hosmer walked, promptingBruce Bochy to take out Peavy and put inJean Machi. Butler singled to left, which drove in Cain and gave the Royals the lead. He was replaced by pinch runnerTerrance Gore.Javier López was brought in to faceAlex Gordon, whom he retired.Hunter Strickland was then brought in. A wild pitch advanced the runners to second and third.Salvador Pérez hit a double to left center to drive in both runners. Infante then hit a two-run home run to left field, bringing the score to 7–2 Royals. Tensions began to rise as Strickland and Pérez got into a shouting match as Pérez was crossing home plate. Both dugouts cleared but the umpiring crew managed to calm the situation down.Jeremy Affeldt came in and allowed a single toMike Moustakas but then induced adouble play from Escobar to end the inning.

Herrera returned for the seventh inning. He struck outTravis Ishikawa but allowed consecutive walks toBrandon Crawford and Blanco. He then retired the last two batters to end the Giants's seventh.Tim Lincecum pitched1+2⁄3 innings for the Giants, but left the game due to an injury andSantiago Casilla faced Lincecum's last batter in the eighth.Wade Davis pitched a perfect eighth, andGreg Holland struck out the side in the ninth to end the game and secure the victory for the Royals.

The series shifted to San Francisco for Game 3.Tim Hudson started his first career World Series game, as did Royals' starterJeremy Guthrie. The Royals scored first whenAlcides Escobar doubled to lead off the game and came around to score on groundouts byAlex Gordon andLorenzo Cain. Kansas City mounted a rally whenMike Moustakas singled andOmar Infante walked, but Hudson ended the threat by inducing a lineout and a double play. Both pitchers settled down until the sixth inning.

The Royals started another threat in the top of the sixth inning. Escobar singled with one out. Gordon then doubled to center field to score Escobar and increase the Royals' lead. Cain grounded to third for the second out, andBruce Bochy brought in southpawJavier Lopez to face the left-hand hittingEric Hosmer. Hosmer battled an eleven pitch at-bat with Lopez until finally singling to center to score Gordon for what would end up being the game-winning RBI. Lopez retired Moustakas to end the inning.

The Giants responded with two runs in the bottom of the inning.Brandon Crawford singled andMichael Morse doubled, scoring Crawford, and causing the Royals to replace Guthrie withKelvin Herrera. Herrera walkedGregor Blanco to put runners on first and second. AfterJoe Panik grounded out to advance the runners to second and third,Buster Posey then hit an RBI groundout scoring Morse and cutting the Giants' deficit to one.Pablo Sandoval then grounded out to Hosmer to end the inning.

Sergio Romo pitched a scoreless seventh for the Giants. Herrera walkedHunter Pence to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning, but struck outBrandon Belt.Brandon Finnegan was then brought in for the Royals, which also made him the first rookie pitcher to pitch in theCollege World Series and the World Series in the same year. He retired the last two batters to end the seventh.

Romo struck out the first batter of the eighth inning.Jeremy Affeldt came in for the Giants and retired Gordon and Cain.Wade Davis retired the side in order in the bottom of the eighth. Affeldt retired the first two batters of the ninth.Santiago Casilla came in and retired the last batter.Greg Holland was brought in to save the game for the Royals. He retired the middle of the Giants lineup in order and saved the game for the Royals, giving them a 2–1 series lead.

This was only the second World Series loss at home for the Giants sinceAT&T Park opened in 2000, and the first since Game 3 of the2002 Series. Holland saved his record-tying seventh game of the playoffs, tyingJohn Wetteland,Robb Nen,Troy Percival,Brad Lidge, andKoji Uehara for most ever in a single postseason.^[22]

The Giants sentRyan Vogelsong to the mound, while the Royals sentJason Vargas. The Giants scored in the bottom of the first inning whenGregor Blanco walked, advanced to second on a wild pitch, stole third base, and scored on a fielder's choice off the bat ofHunter Pence.

The Royals countered in the top of the third inning where they batted around.Alcides Escobar singled with one out, but was eliminated as a runner whenAlex Gordon grounded into a forceout for the second out of the inning. Gordon then stole second base and consecutive infield singles byLorenzo Cain andEric Hosmer brought Gordon home to tie the game.Mike Moustakas then walked to load up the bases.Omar Infante singled to center to score Cain and Hosmer to give the Royals a 3–1 lead.Salvador Pérez followed with another single to score Moustakas and knock Vogelsong out of the game.Jean Machi came in and walkedJarrod Dyson, but struck out the pitcher with the bases loaded to end the threat.

The Giants scored a run in the bottom of the inning when pinch hitterMatt Duffy singled, advanced to second on a groundout, and scored on a single to left field byBuster Posey.Yusmeiro Petit pitched three scoreless innings starting with the fourth to keep the Royals off the board.

After the Royals failed to do anything with a lead-off double from Hosmer in the top of the 5th, the Giants tied the game in the bottom of the inning.Joe Panik started the inning with a double to right center, which knocked Vargas out of the game.Jason Frasor was brought in. A groundout moved Panik to third, and he scored on a single to center by Pence.Danny Duffy replaced Frasor in the game.Pablo Sandoval singled andBrandon Belt walked to load the bases.Juan Pérez hit a sinking liner to center, but it was caught by a diving Jarrod Dyson. Pence tagged up at third and scored the tying run. Duffy struck outBrandon Crawford to end the inning.

San Francisco gained the lead in the bottom of the sixth.Brandon Finnegan replaced Duffy. Pinch hitterJoaquín Árias and Blanco both singled to lead off the inning. Panik bunted to move the runners over to second and third. Finnegan intentionally walked Posey to load the bases and set up a force play at any base.Hunter Pence hit the ball to shortstop Escobar, who threw home for the forceout. However, Sandoval singled to center to score Blanco and Posey, giving the Giants a two-run lead. Belt hit another single to center which scored Pence to score the third run of the inning. Pérez grounded out to end the inning.

Jeremy Affeldt pitched a scoreless seventh for the Giants. Finnegan started the Giants' seventh by allowing an infield single to Crawford and a walk to pinch-hitterMichael Morse.Tim Collins was then brought in. He fielded a bunt ground ball by Blanco, but threw the ball away, allowing Crawford to score. Panik then hit a double to center field to score both Morse and Blanco. After Posey grounded out, Pence doubled to left field, scoring Panik, and giving the Giants' their eleventh and final run of the game.

Sergio Romo pitched a scoreless eighth for the Giants, as did Collins for the Royals.Hunter Strickland allowed a double to Gordon in the ninth inning, but he did not score, as Hosmer grounded out to end the game.^[24]

Madison Bumgarner became the first pitcher to record acomplete gameshutout in a World Series game sinceJosh Beckett did so for theFlorida Marlins in Game 6 of the2003 World Series,^[26] and the first Giants pitcher to accomplish the feat sinceJack Sanford in Game 2 of the1962 World Series.^[27] Bumgarner only allowed four hits, recorded eight strikeouts and no walks. When Bumgarner did allow a hit, he shut down the Royals after that by coming up with six of his eight strikeouts immediately after allowing a hit.^[28] The only time that the Giants' pitcher allowed the Royals to get intoscoring position wasOmar Infante's one-out double in the fifth inning, but Bumgarner then struck out the next two Kansas City batters.

This was the third straight game in which neither team hit a home run, the first such occurrence in a World Series since1948.^[29][30] The Giants opened the scoring in the second, starting withHunter Pence's single andBrandon Belt's bunt base hit. AfterTravis Ishikawa flied out to center to advance both runners,Brandon Crawford grounded out to second, with Pence scoring. Crawford then recorded an RBI single to right in the fourth, allowingPablo Sandoval to score from second base to give San Francisco a 2–0 lead. Kansas City starterJames Shields was relieved byKelvin Herrera after pitching six innings. Herrera kept the score at 2–0 in the seventh. But in the eighth, Sandoval and Pence led off with back-to-back singles, and Herrera was then relieved byWade Davis.Juan Pérez hit a one-out double, scoring Sandoval and Pence, with Pérez reaching third base on a throwing error by Royals shortstopAlcides Escobar. Pérez had learned of his friendOscar Taveras having died in the middle of the game and broke down in tears. He dedicated the double to Oscar, posting a tweet. Crawford then recorded his third RBI of the game with a single to left to score Pérez to make it 5–0.

The Royals scored seven runs in the second inning en route to a 10–0 win and forcing a Game 7. In memory of his recently deceased friendOscar Taveras, Kansas City starterYordano Ventura pitched seven innings, allowing only three Giants hits.^[32]

Royals hitters knocked out starterJake Peavy after1+1⁄3 innings. AfterAlex Gordon andSalvador Pérez led off the second with back-to-back singles,Mike Moustakas hit an RBI double to score Gordon. AfterOmar Infante struck out for the first out with runners on second and third,Alcides Escobar reached base safely on an infield hit, where first basemanBrandon Belt hesitated to make sure Pérez didn't try to head home, which allowed Escobar to slide safely to first. Now with the bases loaded,Nori Aoki recorded an RBI single to score Pérez, which ended Peavy's night.Yusmeiro Petit replaced Peavy on the mound, and allowed a single byLorenzo Cain, and doubles byEric Hosmer andBilly Butler that scored five more Kansas City runs made the score 7–0. Cain then hit an RBI ground rule double in the third, Escobar an RBI double in the fifth, and Moustakas a home run in the seventh,^[33] his fifth homer of the postseason, which brokeWillie Aikens' franchise record of 4 home runs in a single postseason.^[34]

External videos
Game 7 Full replay on the MLB's official YouTube channel

Although Giants starterTim Hudson failed to make it past the bottom of the second inning after giving up two runs, relieverJeremy Affeldt and series MVPMadison Bumgarner shut out the Kansas City offense the rest of the game, as the Giants held on for a tense 3–2 victory.

After a scoreless first inning, the Giants struck first in the top of the second inning.Pablo Sandoval reached on a hit by pitch andHunter Pence andBrandon Belt each singled to load the bases with nobody out.Michael Morse hit a sacrifice fly to right that scored Sandoval and moved Pence to third.Brandon Crawford followed with another sacrifice fly to center that scored Pence, giving the Giants a 2–0 lead.

The Royals struck back in the bottom of the second.Billy Butler produced a single followed by anAlex Gordon double, managing to score Butler from first.Salvador Pérez was hit by a pitch from Hudson on the knee, which put Pérez on first.Mike Moustakas advanced Gordon to third and then the Royals tied the game on a sacrifice fly byOmar Infante. AfterAlcides Escobar singled to put two men on with two outs, managerBruce Bochy brought in Affeldt, who retiredNori Aoki to end the threat.

Affeldt pitched a scoreless third inning, with defensive help by Giants rookie second basemanJoe Panik on a key double play. With a runner on first and no outs, Panik made a diving stop on a ball hit up the middle byEric Hosmer and then flipped the ball from his glove while still on the ground to Crawford at second base, who quickly threw over to Belt at first. Hosmer made a diving slide into first instead of running through the bag. Although first base umpireEric Cooper initially ruled that Hosmer was safe, Giants manager Bochy challenged the umpire's call. After a nearly three-minute video review, the call was overturned. That play became the first successful challenge by a manager in a World Series.^[36]

In the top of the fourth inning, Sandoval reached on an infield single and moved to third after Pence singled and Belt flied out to left. ManagerNed Yost brought inKelvin Herrera to face Morse, but Morse fought off an 0–2 pitch and looped a broken-bat single to right field to score Sandoval, giving the Giants a 3–2 lead. After Affeldt pitched a scoreless bottom of the fourth, the Giants brought in Bumgarner on two days' rest to protect their one-run lead in the fifth. Bumgarner promptly gave up a single to Infante who then made it to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Escobar. Aoki then hit what appeared to be a game-tying double toward the left field corner. But left fielderJuan Pérez, who was playing closer to the left field line than usual, made a running catch only a few feet from foul territory. Bumgarner then struck outLorenzo Cain to end the inning.^[37]

After allowing the single to Infante in the fifth inning, Bumgarner retired 14 batters in a row. The game ended in dramatic fashion when, with two outs, Gordon of the Royals lined an 87 mph (140 km/h) slider to left center field. Center fielderGregor Blanco misplayed the ball, and it rolled to the wall. Left fielder Pérez had trouble grabbing the ball, which allowed Gordon to reach third base as the potential tying run, on a base hit and error combination. (After the game, there was much discussion among fans and statisticians about the decision by third base coach,Mike Jirschele, not to wave Gordon home in an attempt to tie the game.)^[38][39] With the tying run 90 feet (27 m) away and the winning run at the plate, Bumgarner threw six pitches to Pérez, inducing a foul pop fly caught by Sandoval to end the game, series, and baseball season.^[40] Bumgarner was initially credited with thewin, which would have given him a 3–0 record in the series, the first sinceRandy Johnson in the2001 World Series. However, following deliberation among the official scorers, it was decided that Affeldt by rule was entitled to the win.^[41]

This win made the Giants the first visiting team since the1979 Pittsburgh Pirates to win Game 7 of the World Series,^[42] continuing their trend of clinching World Series titles while on the road, having done so atGlobe Life Park in Arlington in2010 andComerica Park in2012. To date, the Giants have not clinched a World Series at AT&T (now Oracle) Park, but they hosted Game 7 atCandlestick Park in1962, which theNew York Yankees won, and theOakland Athletics completed a four-game sweep by winning Games 3 and 4 at Candlestick in1989. With the win, the Giants' postseason record againstAmerican League Central teams improved to 4–2, and they have officially beaten every AL Central team in the World Series except theChicago White Sox.

2014 World Series(4–3):San Francisco Giants (NL) beatKansas City Royals (AL)

In all but one of the seven games, the team that scored first went on to win; the exception was in Game 2. As of the 2019 World Series, the team that scores first in the final game of a World Series has won 64% of the time, as the Giants did in 2014.^[43]

Fox broadcast the series in theUnited States (simulcast inCanada onSportsnet), withplay-by-play announcerJoe Buck calling the action along withcolor analystsHarold Reynolds andTom Verducci andfield reportersKen Rosenthal andErin Andrews. This was the first World Series telecast for Reynolds and Verducci, who replaced longtime Fox analystTim McCarver after the latter's retirement from the network following the2013 World Series.^[44]Kevin Burkhardt hosted the pre-game and post-game shows with analystsGabe Kapler,Frank Thomas, andNick Swisher;David Ortiz joined them for Games 1 and 2.

Fox Deportes offered a Spanish-language telecast of the series, with Pablo Alsina, Duaner Sánchez, and José Tolentino commentating.MLB International televised the series outside the U.S. and Canada, withGary Thorne andRick Sutcliffe announcing.^[45]

The World Series started on a Tuesday for the first time since 1990, instead of a Wednesday as in previous years.^{[46][47][note 3]}

The 2014 World Series averaged a nationalNielsen rating of 8.3/14, making it the second-worst rated World Series in Major League Baseball history (after the2012 series).^[48] Through six games, the series was averaging 7.4, which would have made it the worst-rated World Series, but Game 7 produced a respectable 13.7 to bolster the series average enough to avoid the notorious distinction.^{[note 4]}

The 2014 World Series set records for lowest-rated Games 1, 4, 5, 6, and 7 in World Series history. The previous Game 7 in World Series history occurred in 2011, when theSt. Louis Cardinals andTexas Rangers produced a 14.7 rating, a full 1.0 over 2014's Game 7.

This was the fifth consecutive World Series (and the sixth in seven years) to earn a national rating under 10.0.^{[note 5]}

ESPN Radio aired the series, withDan Shulman on play-by-play andAaron Boone handling color commentary.Marc Kestecher anchored pre- and post-game coverage for the network along withJon Sciambi,Chris Singleton and Peter Pascarelli.ESPN Deportes Radio offered a Spanish-language broadcast, withEduardo Ortega announcing along with Renato Bermúdez, Armando Talavera and José Francisco Rivera.^[50]

Locally, the series was broadcast on the teams'flagship radio stations with their respective announcing crews. In San Francisco,KNBR aired the games in English (withJon Miller,Duane Kuiper,Mike Krukow andDave Flemming announcing),^[51] whileKTRB broadcast in Spanish (with Erwin Higueros andTito Fuentes announcing). In Kansas City,KCSP broadcast the games (withDenny Matthews andRyan Lefebvre announcing). Due to contractual obligations, the affiliate stations on the teams' radio networks had to carry the ESPN Radio feed of the games,^[52] although the local broadcasts were also available onSirius andXM satellite radio and to Gameday Audio subscribers atMLB.com. In Kansas City,WHB carried the ESPN Radio feed in direct competition with KCSP's broadcast.

This was the second World Series in history in which twowild card teams faced each other, the first being the2002 World Series between the Giants and theAnaheim Angels.^{[note 6]} It was the first World Series to involve a team (let alone two) that played in the additionalwild card game instituted in 2012.^[53] Consequently, by winning, the Giants set the record for most victories in a single postseason with 12. This was also only the second World Series since2002 to go to seven games.^{[note 7]} Additionally, this was the first World Series in which both teams played in aplay-in game^{[note 8]} since theDivision Series was added in 1994. It was also the first time in World Series history (after the advent of the 162-game schedule) that the opponents both had fewer than 90 wins in the regular season.^{[note 9]} It was the first Series in history in which at least five games were decided by five or more runs.^[54] It was the third World Series to end in Game 7 with the tying run on third base, after1946 and1962.^[55]

The Giants became the first road team to win Game 7 of the World Series since the1979Pirates, ending a string of nine straight home team victories in the deciding game.^[56] The Giants were also the first team to come back to win Game 7 after losing Game 6 since the1997Marlins as well as the first road team to do since the1975Reds.^[57] It was the Giants' first ever Game 7 victory in a best-of-seven World Series.^{[note 10]} The victory wrapped up the Giants' third championship in five seasons, a feat accomplished only once previously by a National League team since theSt. Louis Cardinals in1942,1944, and1946. The Giants became the fifth franchise to win at least three titles in five years (or fewer), joining theAthletics,Cardinals,Red Sox, andYankees.^[58][59][60] ManagerBruce Bochy became the tenth manager in MLB history to win three championships, with the previous nine all inducted into theHall of Fame.^{[note 11][61][62]}

Earlier in the postseason, both teams extended their record streaks of victories in postseason elimination games to seven in their respective wild card games.^{[note 12]} The Royals extended their streak to eight games with their victory in Game 6.^[63] With their victory in Game 7, the Giants also extended their streak to eight games and consequently ended the Royals streak. The Giants extended their streak of postseason series wins to ten, extending the National League record, a streak surpassed only by theNew York Yankees from 1998 to 2001 (11 consecutive series wins).^[64]

Madison Bumgarner pitched 21 innings in the 2014 World Series and allowed just one run, giving him a series ERA of just 0.43,^[65] the lowest sinceSandy Koufax's 0.38 ERA in the1965 World Series.^[66] In the World Series, Bumgarner pitched more than one-third of the 61 innings thrown by the Giants.^[58][67] Bumgarner set a new World Series record for lowest career ERA with 0.25 (minimum 25 innings pitched), bestingJack Billingham's 0.36 career ERA.^[68] Bumgarner's52+2⁄3 innings pitched in the postseason set a new record, surpassingCurt Schilling's48+1⁄3 innings pitched in 2001.^[69]

Additionally, Bumgarner is the last pitcher to throw a complete game shutout in a World Series, to date. The following year,Johnny Cueto would throw a complete game for the Royals in theWorld Series, but allowed a run in the process.

The final at-bat of the series represented a rare "golden pitch" situation — the 12th in baseball history, and the first since2001 — by which either team could theoretically win the World Series on the next pitch.^[70] AfterAlex Gordon's two-out triple in the bottom of the 9th,Salvador Perez represented both the championship-winning run and the championship-losing out. Perez faced six golden pitches before fouling out to end the series.

Despite rainy weather, hundreds of thousands of fans turned out for the Giants' victory parade in San Francisco on October 31, 2014.^[71]

The Giants missed the playoffs in the2015 season with an 84–78 record. They returned to the postseason in2016 in hopes of adding a fourth championship in seven seasons, but they would lose in theNLDS to the eventual World Series championChicago Cubs, officially ending their dynasty. They returned to the postseason in2021 after winning a franchise record 107 games, but were defeated in theNLDS by their archrival in theLos Angeles Dodgers. Outside of their surprise 2021 season, the Giants entered a period of dormancy from 2017-2025.

The Royals carried over their momentum from the previous fall, winning theAmerican League Centralthe very next season. This was Kansas City's first division title since1985, when they won theAmerican League West. Their 95–67 record was the best in the American League, and the Royals' best since1980.^[72] Kansas City would go on to return to theWorld Series, where they defeated theNew York Mets four games to one, making them the first team since the1989 Oakland Athletics to win the World Series after losing one the previous year.^[73]

Years later, the two cities developed an inter conference rivalry in theNational Football League. TheKansas City Chiefs beat theSan Francisco 49ers inSuper Bowl LIV, 31–20, in 2020.^[74] Four years later, the Chiefs would again best the 49ers in an OT-thriller inSuper Bowl LVIII.

With the Giants being the first visiting team to win Game 7 since 1979 (the home team having a 9–0 record in the interim), this began a streak of visiting teams winning Game 7 of the World Series, next with theChicago Cubs in2016, theHouston Astros in2017, theWashington Nationals in2019, and theLos Angeles Dodgers in2025 all winning on the road.^[75]

This was the last World Series to feature two wild card teams until the2023 World Series.

This would be the final World Series whereBud Selig was the commissioner of baseball. Selig would step down in January 2015 and was replaced by current commissionerRob Manfred.

• 2014 Japan Series
• 2014 Korean Series

External videos
2014 World Series Game 7 (Giants vs. Royals) onYouTube

• 2014 World Series atBaseball Almanac
• 2014 World Series atBaseball-Reference.com
• The 2014 Post-Season Games (box scores and play-by-play) atRetrosheet
• "Madison Bumgarner's Epic World Series Finish Deserves a Deep Rewind".SB Nation. May 18, 2018 – viaYouTube.

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• October 2014 sports events in the United States
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