Day 212: Some World Series Fun Facts

As my friend's almost seven-year-old daughter read her library book about the Red Sox the other morning, she made this astute observation: "Mum, I know why they call it the World Series... because the world watches, and it's really serious." That kid is wise beyond her years. The World Series is very serious business—especially for the die hard Sox fan.

Game five is in the books. The final of the three games on the road in St. Louis was another hard fought battle and another win for the Red Sox. This series is headed back to Fenway Park, giving the Sox a chance to win the World Series at home for the first time since 1918. Can you even imagine what a friggin' zoo Fenway will be?

Instead of trying to give you a recap of yet another nail-biter of a game—because who isn't watching this series—I figured I'd throw out some fun facts...

• Have you ever seen Jon Lester pitch so masterfully? In 15.1 innings pitched in the World Series, Lester is 2-0 with an ERA of 0.59 and 15 strikeouts. He looks cool and collected. He looks comfortable and confident. He looks almost like he could pitch ever night and never get winded. He's locked in, and according to John Farrell, could even possibly be available for some bullpen work, should this series go to a game seven.

• Speaking of locked in... how about David Oritz? What the hell, Big Papi!? I've never seen anything like it. Ortiz is a lean, mean hitting machine. His stats in the WS are mind-blowing. Through the first five games, he's gone 11-for-15 (.733 batting average) with two doubles, two home runs and six RBIs. In addition to the .733 average, his on-base percentage is .750 and he's slugging 1.267. His OPS is a whopping 2.017. He's nipping at the heels of Billy Hatcher's 1990 record for batting average in a World Series of .750.

• And speaking of records... Koji Uehara is approaching one of his own. His save on Monday night was his seventh of the postseason, tying him for most ever by a closer for the playoffs. He also became just the fourth pitcher in playoff history to record four saves of four or more outs. It's not a record, but it puts him in some pretty damn good company. Koji has pitched 12 2/3 innings allowing just one run. All this and he still gets ridiculously excited about every single win.

• And speaking of being excited... THE RED SOX ARE ONE WIN AWAY FROM THEIR THIRD WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP IN THE LAST DECADE!!! I might be just a little bit excited about this. I also might be getting more and more superstitious with every passing day. I almost kicked my parents out of my house on Saturday night—citing their presence as the reason the Sox fell behind. Also, I'll be wearing the same exact clothes and sitting in the same exact spot on the exact same couch with the exact same blanket over me.

All I can say is holy shit... it's going to be a crazy ride on Wednesday night!! GO SOX!