A champion at last: Jordan Montgomery becomes latest former Gamecock to win World Series
Jordan Montgomery was as close as it got to winning it all. He and South Carolina were two wins away from a three-peat in the College World Series. For him, it would’ve been his first championship as a Gamecock.
But now over 11 years later, Montgomery has reached the mountain top. While it didn’t come in a Gamecock uniform, he finished the journey that started so long ago.
On Wednesday, Montgomery and the Texas Rangers won the World Series with a 5-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. It’s the first championship for Texas, who lost in back-to-back trips in 2010 and 2011.
Montgomery, a pitcher for South Carolina baseball from 2012-14, became the first former Gamecock since 2018 to win the World Series. Steve Pearce and Jackie Bradley Jr. were teammates on the Boston Red Sox when they beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games that year. Bradley took home the ALCS MVP and Pearce won World Series MVP.
[$1 for unlimited access to GamecockCentral’s content and community]
Montgomery only made one start for the Rangers in the fall classic. He pitched six innings and gave up four runs on nine hits in Game 2.
He was in line to start Game 6 if necessary.
However, it doesn’t take away from the postseason run he had. When Texas called his name, he came through. Montgomery finished 3-1 with a 2.90 ERA across 31 innings. He struck out 17 and walked three.
[On3 App: Get South Carolina push notifications from GamecockCentral]
He’s come a long way since making his postseason debut in 2020, when his former team, the New York Yankees, couldn’t trust him to go more than a few innings.
Top 10
- 1
Memphis shakes up CFP
Tigers upsets changes CFP picture
- 2
A Twisted Mess
Big 12 Championship scenarios
- 3Trending
Saban chirped
Big 12 comes after GOAT
- 4Hot
Underranked SEC
Lane Kiffin protests CFP rankings
- 5
UConn star hospitalized
Alex Karaban hospitalized at Maui Invitational
Since the Yankees dealt Montgomery at the trade deadline last year, he’s 16-14 with a 3.05 ERA in his time with the Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals. New York, meanwhile, lost 80 games and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016 this year.
Montgomery, who turns 31 in December, is set to become a free agent at season’s end. It’s safe to say he will be in for a good pay day with any team that wants to sign him.
[Newsletters: Get breaking news and analysis from GamecockCentral]
On the other side of the coin, somebody had to lose this series. And from a Gamecock standpoint, it was former slugger Christian Walker and the D-Backs.
Walker actually played much better in the World Series than he had in the other round of the playoffs. He went 6-for-21 at the plate (.286) and struck out five times.
He’ll head into his third year of arbitration and then will become a free agent in 2025.
