An unlikely World Series between the Kansas City Royals and New York Mets; a surprising NLCS appearance by the Chicago Cubs; the Toronto Blue Jays snapping a longstanding playoff drought. It was a memorable 2015 MLB season and here are HNGN's favorite moments.
5. Kyle Schwarber being an absolute BEAST
Schwarber made his MLB debut in 2015 after just 147 games in the minors. He batted .246/.355/.487 with 52 runs scored, 16 home runs and 43 RBI in 69 games with the Cubs this past season and was one of the most impressive rookies anybody saw all year.
But that wasn't all he did. He used his tremendous power to propel the Cubs past the Pittsburgh Pirates in the NL Wild Card Game and the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS. In those five games he batted .538 with three home runs and five RBI.
Check out his moonbeams against both division rivals:
Unreal.
4. The New York Mets making an improbable run to the World Series
The Mets were the talk of the MLB for most of the 2015 season. They surprised us at the trade deadline with multiple acquisitions - all of which significantly improved the club. Nobody expected them to capture the NL East title with the Washington Nationals standing in their way, but they did that (for the first time since 2006) AND reached their first World Series since 2000.
Thanks to masterful pitching from their cast of starters, the Mets were able to defeat Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke in the NLDS en route to their sweep of the Cubs in the NLCS. Daniel Murphy clubbed a homer in seven consecutive postseason games - now an MLB record - and the city of New York was revived by the Mets' postseason heroics.
Despite losing in five games to the Royals, the Fall Classic was an entertaining one and the Mets had a lot of be proud of. Here are the most memorable calls from the team's 2015 season:
3. The Royals winning the World Series
I am by no means a fan of the Royals - actually very far from it - but their success this season cannot be overlooked. They snapped a 30-year postseason drought in 2014 and lost the World Series to the San Francisco Giants, but they built off that run in 2015 by maintaining their status as one of the best clubs in the MLB.
They appeared dead to rights in the ALDS against the Houston Astros. Trailing by four runs in the eighth inning and 2-1 in the series, the Royals rallied against the Astros' bullpen on the road and scored five runs in the eighth and two in the ninth to force a Game 5, which they won in Kansas City.
Their run ended with their first World Series title since 1985. They took down the Toronto Blue Jays, who had the MLB's best offense, in the ALCS as well as the New York Mets, who possessed the best starting pitching in the MLB, in the World Series.
2. The Year of the Rookie
Baseball fans have never seen anything like this. The number of rookies that made an immediate impact in the MLB was absolutely unprecedented. Here's a list of those youngsters that took the league by surprise in 2015:
Mookie Betts, BOS
Rusney Castillo, BOS
Travis Shaw, BOS
Blake Swihart, BOS
Kris Bryant, CHC (NL Rookie of the Year)
Addison Russell, CHC
Kyle Schwarber, CHC
Jorge Soler, CHC
Francisco Lindor, CLE
Carlos Rodon, CWS
Daniel Norris, DET/TOR
Carlos Correa, HOU (AL Rookie of the Year)
Lance McCullers, HOU
Vincent Velasquez, HOU
Joc Pederson, LAD
Corey Seager, LAD
Justin Bour, MIA
J.T. Realmuto, MIA
Byron Buxton, MIN
Eddie Rosario, MIN
Miguel Sano, MIN
Michael Conforto, NYM
Steven Matz, NYM
Kevin Plawecki, NYM
Noah Syndergaard, NYM
Greg Bird, NYY
Luis Severino, NYY
Billy Burns, OAK
Maikel Franco, PHI
Odubel Herrera, PHI
Aaron Nola, PHI
Jung-Ho Kang, PIT
Matt Duffy, SFG
Chris Heston, SFG
Randal Grichuk, STL
Stephen Piscotty, STL
Delino DeShields, TEX
Roberto Osuna, TOR
Aaron Sanchez, TOR
Joe Ross, WAS
Michael Taylor, WAS
Is that list not ridiculous? I bet there are a few I left out, too. Check out this highlight reel for this year's rookies provided by MLB.com.
1. Jose Bautista's epic, GOAT, unforgettable bat flip
If anybody has the audacity to say this wasn't the most incredible moment in the MLB this past season, then you might have to take a good, long hike. Preferably out of town.
This was the biggest hit for the Blue Jays since 1993. The team hadn't come close to sniffing the playoffs ever since their World Series victory 22 years ago. However, the best offense in the MLB helped Toronto capture their first division title, first playoff appearance and first ALCS appearance since the '93 season. It was Bautista's three-run blast that put them in the ALCS, which you can see below:
That was easily the most electrifying play of the 2015 season and the emotions running through Bautista were as genuine and raw as anybody has ever seen in the game of baseball. Some say his bat flip was "controversial" but a) who cares and b) I'd like to see anyone keep their cool in such a high-pressure situation with literally an entire country cheering you on.
Thanks, Jose. This was the best. You're the man. (And I'm a Yankees fan.)
There were obviously countless memorable moments this season that were omitted from this list, but we limited our choices to the top five or else we'd be writing a novel. We hope you enjoyed.
Have a happy and blessed new year.
