| 2011 World Series | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Official 2011 World Series logo | ||||||||||
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| Dates | October 19–28 | |||||||||
| Venue(s) | Busch Stadium (St. Louis) Rangers Ballpark in Arlington (Texas) | |||||||||
| MVP | David Freese (St. Louis) | |||||||||
| Umpires | Jerry Layne (crew chief), Greg Gibson, Alfonso Márquez, Ron Kulpa, Ted Barrett, Gary Cederstrom | |||||||||
| Hall of Famers | Cardinals: Tony La Russa (manager) Rangers: Adrián Beltré | |||||||||
| Broadcast | ||||||||||
| Television | Fox (United States) MLB International (International) | |||||||||
| TV announcers | Joe Buck and Tim McCarver (Fox) Gary Thorne and Rick Sutcliffe (MLB International) | |||||||||
| Radio | ESPN KMOX (STL) KESN (TEX) | |||||||||
| Radio announcers | Dan Shulman, Orel Hershiser and Bobby Valentine (ESPN) Mike Shannon and John Rooney (KMOX) Eric Nadel and Steve Busby (KESN) | |||||||||
| Streaming | ||||||||||
| ALCS | Texas Rangers over Detroit Tigers (4–2) | |||||||||
| NLCS | St. Louis Cardinals over Milwaukee Brewers (4–2) | |||||||||
| World Series program | ||||||||||
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The 2011 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2011 season.[1] The 107th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Texas Rangers and the National League (NL) champion St. Louis Cardinals;[2][3] the Cardinals defeated the Rangers in seven games to win their 11th World Series championship and their second in six seasons.
The Series was noted for its back-and-forth Game 6,[4][5][6] in which the Cardinals erased a two-run deficit in the bottom of the 9th inning, then did it again in the 10th. In both innings, the Rangers were one strike away from their first World Series championship.[7] The Cardinals won the game in the 11th inning on a walk-off home run by David Freese,[8] who was named World Series MVP. The Series was also known for the blowout Game 3, in which Cardinals player Albert Pujols hit three home runs, a World Series feat previously accomplished only by Reggie Jackson and Babe Ruth, and subsequently by Pablo Sandoval in 2012. In 2020, ESPN named the 2011 World Series the fifth greatest of all-time.[9]
The Series began on October 19, earlier than the previous season, so that no games would be played in November.[10] The Cardinals enjoyed home-field advantage for the series because the NL won the 2011 All-Star Game 5–1 on July 12.[11] The 2011 World Series was the first World Series to go all seven games since the 2002 Series.
- ^ "2011 World Series". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
- ^ "Nelson Cruz sets home run record as Rangers return to Series". ESPN. October 15, 2011. Archived from the original on October 18, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
- ^ "Cardinals outslug Brewers to cruise into World Series". ESPN. October 16, 2011. Archived from the original on October 19, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
- ^ "10/27/2011: David Freese home run caps historic World Series Game 6". STLRedbirds.com. September 29, 2021. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
- ^ Knapel, Robert (October 27, 2011). "World Series Game 6: David Freese and Biggest Home Runs in Fall Classic History". Bleacher Report. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
- ^ DiComo, Anthony (October 28, 2011). "'Unbelievable' Game 6 ranks among the best". MLB.com. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
- ^ Knight, Molly (May 19, 2020). "From the archives: Down to his last strike, David Freese became a World Series hero for St. Louis". ESPN. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
- ^ "Remember the 'David Freese Game'? We do". MLB.com. January 18, 2024. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
- ^ Miller, Sam (October 30, 2020). "Ranking every World Series in MLB history". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
- ^ Duncan, Travis (July 27, 2011). "MLB to move up 2011 World Series". Digital Sports Daily. Archived from the original on July 31, 2010. Retrieved October 1, 2011.
- ^ Gilbert, Steve (July 13, 2011). "Royal blast: Prince's homer lifts NL past AL". MLB.com. Retrieved October 18, 2011.