One last 2014 award to hand out, and that’s my choice for Athlete of the Year. I like to try and come up with something outside of the box when it comes to this stuff. But there’s just no way to do so this time around. So I’ll just have to follow the leader, in this case Sports Illustrated, and chime in with the obvious selection.
Madison Bumgarner is the easy choice and the correct one as well. No knock on anyone else who accomplished something amazing in the 2014 sports world, but there’s just no way to top what MadBum put together.
The Super Bowl is the biggest event in this country, no doubt about that. But the World Series remains one of the great stages in sports and Bumgarner was as dominant as anyone I’ve ever seen as he led the Giants to their third title in only five seasons. I’m still in awe of his electrifying Game Seven showing on just two days rest.
Baseball is my favorite sport, always has been, always will be. That’s what made getting to watch Bumgarner’s extraordinary post-season pitching effort something I doubt I’ll ever forget. There’s no question in my mind he simply has to be the 2014 Athlete of the Year.
What do you think?