The ninth inning is when it all came pouring out.
Jake Peavy, a veteran of 12 years, couldn’t contain himself as Koji Uehara headed to the mound to close out Game 6 of the World Series. The 32-year-old knew that he was on the verge of accomplishing a life-long dream.
“Just something that I’ll never forget, that we pretty much had it wrapped up there, especially with our guy Koji coming in,” Peavy said, according to WEEI.com. “Really the ninth inning, those emotions come out of me and I had tears rolling down my face thinking about, just flashing back on 12 years and beyond. …. It was very, very surreal.
Game 6 was never really in doubt. The Red Sox jumped out to a 6-0 lead, and it was smooth sailing from there, with the exception of a brief hiccup in the seventh inning. Yet for a guy who plays the game with such passion and who lives and dies with every pitch, it took a little bit for everything to finally sink in. Peavy, a former Cy Young winner whose career hit a snag in Chicago because of injuries, was about to accomplish the one goal that really mattered — winning a World Series.
“It’s really what I’ve always wanted,” Peavy told the Chicago Tribune. “I think you know that, knowing me. I can’t describe the feeling I have right now. You can do everything you want to do personally, but until something like this happens, you think you want it until you start tasting it and getting closer, you realize how much it means to you.
“I can never put into words what this moment means to me and my family.”
Peavy’s father and grandfather joined him in the Red Sox’ champagne-soaked clubhouse following Game 6. But given the connection that Peavy established with his teammates in such a short time, it’s reasonable to think that his definition of “family” entails both his actually family and the guys with whom he went to battle with for the last three months.
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