Former Vanderbilt Baseball Star Records Career Milestone in MLB World Series
A former Vanderbilt Commodores baseball player sealed the deal in the 2024 MLB World Series.
On Wednesday night, the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees 7-6 in Game 5 of the World Series and become 2024 World Champions. The team went to one of their starting pitchers, former Vanderbilt star Walker Buehler, to close it out.
After only being on one day of rest, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called to the bullpen to get Buehler up and warming in the eighth inning. The 30-year-old came in for the final inning against the Yankees and shut them down, ultimately closing out the game and clinching the franchise's eighth World Series victory.
It was the first MLB save of Buehler's career and the first for Buehler since 2018 when he was still in Triple-A. The save, which included a clean inning of pitching with two strikeouts, helped him pick up his second championship ring.
The game was a whirlwind, as the Yankees quickly took a 5-0 lead after Game 5 starter Jack Flaherty struggled and only lasted 1.1 innings. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was forced to tax his bullpen, and that's why Buehler ultimately got the call to finish the game off. The Dodgers' comeback win in a clinching game after trailing by five after four innings was the largest in World Series history.
Buehler didn’t have the best regular season for the Dodgers. The right-hander has struggled to regain his former All-Star caliber form since suffering an injury in 2022 that resulted in Tommy John surgery. There was plenty of discussion leading up to the postseason about whether he would even be added to the postseason roster, let alone be a key contributor.
THE @DODGERS HAVE CAPTURED THEIR 8TH #WORLDSERIES TITLE! #CHAMPS pic.twitter.com/4qqcyHRZWW
— MLB (@MLB) October 31, 2024
Buehler struggled in his first start by allowing six runs across five innings against the San Diego Padres in the National League Division Series. Since then, he was near perfect on the mound. In the NLCS against the New York Mets, the former first-round pick in the 2015 MLB Draft went four shutout innings and struck out six batters across four innings of work.
He was handed the ball for Game 3 of the World Series this past Monday and continued to shine in what was his first-ever time playing at Yankee Stadium. He went five innings of shut-out baseball and only allowed two hits as the Dodgers took an early 3-0 series lead over the Yankees. The one-inning save on Wednesday night was just the ‘icing on the cake’ to a great season for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Walker Buehler: “Everyone talks sh*t about 2020, but there’s not much they can say about it now.”
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) October 31, 2024
pic.twitter.com/deTMlnAa2F
For Buehler, though, this magical moment could very well be his final performance and a Dodger. The pitcher is set to enter free agency this winter for the first time in his career.
