Babe Ruth in the World Series, which began on September 5, the earliest date in history. The season had been shortened because the government had ruled that baseball players who were eligible for the military would have to be inducted or work in critical war industries, such as armaments plants. Ruth pitched and won Game One for the Red Sox, a 1–0 shutout. Before Game Four, Ruth injured his left hand in a fight; he pitched anyway. He gave up seven hits and six walks, but was helped by outstanding fielding behind him and by his own batting efforts, as a fourth-inning
Madison Bumgarner Series game, and helping win the franchise's first World Series in San Francisco and the first since . Two years later, Bumgarner pitched seven more scoreless innings in Game 2 of the 2012 World Series. Bumgarner became the ace of a Giants pitching staff that won three World Series championships in a five-year span. Following one of the most dominant postseason and World Series pitching performances in modern MLB history, he was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2014 World Series, the 2014 Babe Ruth Award winner, the 2014 "Sports Illustrated" Sportsman of the Year, and the 2014 Associated