Game 5 of the World Series must have been shown on a tape delay because I could hear the roar from the new Busch Stadium all the way from my hotel room in Indianapolis before the final out of the game was made. Maybe that was the forty-some thousand Future Farmers of America, who were also in Indy this weekend, celebrating the projected rise in soybean futures. Either way, this World Series win was a big one for St. Louis as the team proved yet again it’s not how you look on paper that matters when it comes to winning playoff games.

With the exception of Cardinals fans, no one picked St. Louis to win the World Series. The team tried to blow an eight-and-a-half game lead to the Astros in September and they didn’t even really have a closer as they entered the postseason. What the Cards didn’t have they made up for with heart – and Tony La Russa.

Heart has been the driving force behind recent World Series winners. Besides the Red Sox in 2004, no favorite entering the postseason has won the World Series, and you could argue Boston actually had more heart than the rest, overcoming a 3-0 deficit in the ALCS and then sweeping the Series.

The last six winners of the World Series have been the Diamondbacks, Angels, Marlins, Red Sox, White Sox, and Cardinals, respectively.

As far as juggernauts go, there really are no stand-outs on the list. And if you look at World Series MVP’s from those years, you’ll see a continuing trend towards role players – guys who are not superstars, but rather fit in where their team needs them.

In 2002 Troy Glaus won the MVP for the Angels. Glaus is a good player, but he’s not of the A-Rod variety. Now in 2006 David Eckstein, the Cardinals crafty little shortstop, has won the World Series MVP – not Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen, or Chris Carpenter, all players that are better than Eckstein on paper.

Looking at things like this makes me wonder what the key to winning a World Series really is. Billy Beane has proven it’s not on-base percentage plus slugging percentage, although he does win a lot of games for far fewer dollars than other teams. Steinbrenner has proven trying to outspend the U.S. government is not very effective either.

I think the only conclusion that I can come to is that building a team is essential. Team chemistry and role players are so underrated in this era of teams trying to buy World Series championships. The Yankees are a classic example. They have gone six seasons with the highest payroll without a World Series. This year, A-Rod hit eighth for the Yanks in the ALDS, and I will argue that he is less valuable in the eight spot than a guy like Yadier Molina, who fits his team better.

A team that plays as a team wins championships. Guys who go out for stats and individual glory don’t. I’m not sure how to measure which players will do what, but I’m sure a team’s general manager can.

Finally, a great manager is a must to win a championship. Not necessarily a superstar manager, but one who knows his team and fits into their chemistry – a manager like Ozzie Guillen last year, or La Russa this year.

This magic combination is ever-illusive but I think it is indeed the key to winning playoff baseball games. For whatever it’s worth, coming from a bitter Cubs fan, congratulations Tony La Russa. Congratulations 2006 Cardinals. And congratulations to the city of St. Louis.

Jim Hendry, please take notes.

Frank Vanderwall is a senior in communications. He can be reached at [email protected].