Pulling up the Sox

The way the Boston Red Sox clinched the World Series this past week is almost too corny to be true.

Sadly, there’s no way around it: the will to win triumphed over raw talent.

It goes against the raw analytics and detailed statistics that have elevated baseball to new levels over the past 20 years. Nobody who combs through performances and trends wants to hear about players hitting well when the need is greatest or teams finding themselves hand delivered to glory by momentum and emotion.