It may have been the second time in three years that the San Francisco Giants have won the World Series, but no one expected them to stand a chance against the Detroit Tigers. Last night, in a game that went to extra innings, that’s just what they did. And in addition to winning the title, they made history time and time again.

It was the first time since 1990 that a National League team has completed a sweep in the World Series; last time it was the Cincinnati Reds. It was also the first time since 1976 that a National League team had won twice in three years; and the Giants are only the fifth team in history to ever to do it. And all from the team that was never supposed to win.

The Giants were no doubt the underdogs in this one; perhaps some of the biggest ever in Major League Baseball. Brian Wilson was out for the year. Melky Cabrera brought nothing but drama (albeit some great hits) that had him out for much of the regular season, and then for the playoffs. And the one card the Giants had left, Tim Lincecum, seemed to struggle during the first half of the game.

But it all came together for them in the end. The 4-3 score may not be impressive for the most enthusiastic baseball fans, but every score was hard fought for. So much so that the game needed one more inning just to make it complete. But that was all the Giants needed to not only go down as World Series champs this year; but to also go down in history.

“When you look at the clubs that we played and having our backs to the wall, it’s pretty remarkable what these guys have done,” said manager Bruce Bochy after the game. “It’s amazing what a club can do when they do play as a team and they’re unselfish and they do whatever they can do to help a club win. That’s what these guys did.”

After the game Pablo Sandoval was name World Series MVP with home runs in each of his first three at bats during Game 1; hitting four RBIs; and batting a .500.