World Series 2014: Most Impressive Performances from Giants vs. Royals Battle

The San Francisco Giants won the World Series in a hard-fought battle against the Kansas City Royals, but there were some individual performances that stood above the rest.

As a team, the Giants can now be considered a dynasty after winning three titles in five seasons. Meanwhile, the Royals will be remembered for one of the most exciting postseason runs in history. For two weeks, they could seemingly do no wrong.

While both sides had great group efforts, these players really deserve the recognition for outstanding showings in the seven-game series.

Lorenzo Cain, Royals

Although he was not as impressive in the World Series as in the American League Championship Series, Lorenzo Cain was still the Royals' best position player against the Giants.

The center fielder finished the series with a .308 batting average and three multihit games. He was especially clutch in Game 6, getting on base four times and driving home three runs in a 10-0 win.

While the 28-year-old outfielder had never really gotten a chance to be an everyday player before this season, Cain showed he can be a quality hitter with a great approach at the plate.

Amazingly, Cain did more than just hit the ball in the postseason. He also flashed the leather with some of the best fielding from anyone in October. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports made this revelation earlier in the week:

ESPN's Buster Olney was also impressed in the outfielder's all-around game:

A month ago, Cain was not a player who was well-known outside of Kansas City. He is now on the brink of stardom thanks to an excellent run throughout the playoffs and in the World Series.

Wade Davis, Royals

Down 3-2 going into Game 6, Ned Yost wanted to rely on the players who had got him to that point: the elite bullpen trio of Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland.

According to Bleacher Report's Scott Miller, the Royals manager had this to say Tuesday:

While the extra bullpen arms were not needed in Game 6, Yost certainly backed up Jeremy Guthrie with his best pitchers in Game 7. After the starter was knocked out in the fourth inning, Herrera and Davis combined for 4.2 shutout innings out of the bullpen. The inherited baserunner who scored against Herrera was the only mark against the duo.

Although the Royals could not get anything going offensively for the rest of the game, these strong performances kept the team in the game, just like they have all postseason.

Davis was especially impressive in the World Series, allowing just three hits and no earned runs in five innings. He finished the postseason with just one earned run allowed in 14.1 innings.

This was a continuation of a great season where he posted a 1.00 ERA as an eighth-inning specialist. Considering he was a middling starter for most of his career, this had to be surprising for everyone involved.

Still, Davis has turned his career around and should now be considered one of the top relievers in baseball going forward.

Pablo Sandoval, Giants

All postseason, the Giants were able to rely on Pablo Sandoval to come through in big moments. In reality, he came through in all moments—his 26 postseason hits were the most in MLB history.

The third baseman was especially big in the final game. He went 3-for-3 with a hit by pitch and two runs. Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports joked about how well he was swinging the bat:

Sandoval finished the series with a .429 batting average, which would usually be good enough for an MVP award if not for a certain incredible pitching effort that also took place.

The interesting thing going forward is what will happen to Sandoval now that he is a free agent. Many speculate that he will get a big contract somewhere, but Peter King of Sports Illustrated thinks he should stay in San Francisco:

No matter what happens, both the team and the player will remember the past few years fondly and especially this 2014 title.

Madison Bumgarner, Giants

Was there any doubt he would be on this list?

Not only did Madison Bumgarner have the best performance in this World Series, he had one of the best efforts ever seen in baseball history. After getting a win in Game 1, he returned with a complete-game shutout in Game 5. If this wasn't enough, he came in as a reliever in Game 7 on just two days' rest to pitch five more shutout innings.

ESPN's Bill Simmons was one of many impressed with the Giants pitcher:

Of course, more people had the mindset of ESPN The Magazine:

ESPN Stats & Info puts Bumgarner's performance against those in history:

Not many have done or will do what the 25-year-old starter did in this World Series, which is what makes it so memorable. He was outstanding throughout the playoffs and really the main reason the Giants were able to celebrate a championship.

No matter what happens in the future, San Francisco can feel comfortable any time Bumgarner steps to the mound in the postseason.

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