“Winning this World Series is special,” David Ortiz said. “I think it might be the most special out of all the World Series that I have been a part of.”

Ortiz, whose contributions to all three of the Red Sox’ recent championships cannot be overstated, was named the most valuable player of the series. He hit two home runs, knocked in six runs, scored seven more, batted .688 and had a staggering .760 on-base percentage.

The Cardinals finally wised up in Game 6, walking him four times, three times intentionally: it was the only way to prevent him from doing damage. But Ortiz gladly accepted his walks, and he scored twice in the clinching game.

“I’ve been around superstars in this game,” Red Sox catcher David Ross said. “I’ve never been around a superstar who cares more about winning than he does. If he goes 0 for 4 and we win, he’s happy. That says a lot about his character.”

Although Ortiz carried the offense in the first five games of the series, two players with little success of late came through in Game 6 instead. Shane Victorino drove in four runs, with a bases-clearing double in the third inning and a run-scoring single his next time up. That inning, the fourth, began with a home run by Stephen Drew off Michael Wacha. Drew had batted .080 this postseason entering the game.

Wacha, a 22-year-old rookie, had not been beaten in the playoffs and had not even allowed a hit with runners in scoring position. But he was charged with six runs in only three and two-thirds innings Wednesday as the Red Sox finally found a way to hit against him.

“It’s very disappointing,” Wacha said. “Everyone on this club wants that ring. I didn’t want to win it for myself. I wanted to win it for these guys in this clubhouse. They’ve been working their tails off all year. Whenever I have a poor outing like that, it hurts me even worse. I feel like I just let the team down. It’s not a very good feeling, that’s for sure.”

Red Sox starter John Lackey, who missed all of last season after he had Tommy John surgery, scrapped and battled his way through six and two-thirds inning to earn the win. The victory was his second in a World Series clincher. He also won Game 7 of the 2002 World Series, for the Anaheim Angels.

Lackey prevented any runs until the seventh inning, which provided the game’s only tense moment.

The Cardinals, trailing by 6-0, scored a run in that inning and then had runners at first and third with two outs with Matt Holliday coming to the plate. Red Sox Manager John Farrell emerged from the dugout, and as he strolled to the mound, Lackey gave him a stern look and appeared to say, “This is my guy,” as well as a few more words hidden by his glove.

Farrell left him in, but Lackey walked Holliday, so Junichi Tazawa was summoned from the bullpen. Tazawa got Allen Craig to ground to first, eliciting a roar from the fans.

Victorino, who had missed the previous two games because of back spasms, gave the Red Sox an early 3-0 lead with his double, pounding his chest just as he did in the Red Sox’ pennant-clinching game against the Detroit Tigers, in which he hit a decisive grand slam.

From there, the Red Sox were simply too good for St. Louis once again.

-NY Times, Thursday October 31,2013