Former Gamecock baseball player Steve Pearce was named the 2018 World Series MVP for the world champion Boston Red Sox.
The Red Sox clinched the World Series title Sunday, Oct. 28, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 in Game 5. Moments after the Red Sox celebrated their World Series championship, Steve Pearce was named the World Series MVP.
Another former Gamecock, Jackie Bradley Jr., was named the 2018 ALCS MVP for the Red Sox. This marks the first time that two players from the same university have been named MVP of the Championship Series and World Series.
Pearce was a member of the Gamecock baseball teams in 2004 and 2005, and he led the team in home runs and RBIs during both years. Bradley was on the 2010 and 2011 national championship teams, and he was named the College World Series Most Outstanding Player in 2010.
Pearce faced adversity before earning his World Series MVP award, as he went 0-4 throughout the first three games of the World Series. His bat got hot in Game 4, as he tied the game with a home run in the eighth inning and hit a three-run double in the ninth inning that led the Red Sox to a come-from-behind victory.
Pearce continued to shine in Game 5, as he hit a two-run home runs in the first inning and a solo home run in the eighth inning, leading the Red Sox to a 5-1 championship-clinching victory.
After all said and done, Pearce finished with a .333 batting average, eight RBIs and three home runs through five games in the World Series.
Although Bradley had a much quieter World Series, he still managed to hit a game-tying solo home run in the eighth inning of game three, which was the longest game in World Series history at 18 innings.
Pearce and Bradley join Mookie Wilson as the only former Gamecocks who have won World Series championships. Wilson earned a World Series ring with the New York Mets in 1986.