The road to World Series MVP was hardly a smooth one for Steve Pearce, in fact there have been times where he even struggled to stay in the major leagues. So, how could a man who struggled to stay in the league somehow become the World Series MVP? Well, this is the story of how Pearce was able to do just that.
Pearce was born in Lakeland, Florida, to a family who forced him into loving the Boston Red Sox; little did they know he would someday win World Series MVP with their team. In 2001, Pearce graduated from Lakeland High School, then proceeded to play at Indian River Community College from 2002–2003. Pearce then transferred to the University of South Carolina where he led his team in batting average, RBI, and home runs for two straight years.
Pearce was drafted a total of three times: in 2003 by the Minnesota Twins, in 2004 by his beloved Red Sox, and in 2005 by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He decided to return to college baseball in both 2003 and 2004, rather than sign with the teams that drafted him until 2005 when he signed with the Pirates.  
Pearce proceeded to play for a plethora of teams in the MLB, including the Pirates (2007–2011), the Baltimore Orioles (2012, 2013–2015, 2016), the Houston Astros (2012), the New York Yankees (2012), the Tampa Bay Rays (2016), the Toronto Blue Jays (2017–2018), and of course the Red Sox (2018). Pearce had many seasons where he would split time playing in the MLB and the minor leagues. In fact, 2011 was the first season Pearce made it on a team coming out of spring training. Pearce’s best season came in 2014 with the Orioles where he hit 21 home runs and 49 RBIs in 102 games.
In 2018, Pearce started the season with the Blue Jays where he hit four home runs and had 16 RBIs in just 26 games before being traded to the Red Sox. In the regular season with the Red Sox, Pearce hit seven home runs and had 26 RBIs in 50 games. In just 76 regular season games between the two teams, Pearce had his second most productive season of his career putting up 42 RBIs.
In the playoffs with the Red Sox, Pearce proved everyone that Dave Dombrowski made the correct decision by trading for him. Pearce was able to cap off the greatest season the Red Sox have ever had by having an epic final two games in the World Series. Pearce’s home run and late-game double sparked an amazing comeback in game four, and his two-home-run performance in game five won the Red Sox the World Series and won him World Series MVP.
Pearce will likely go down in history as one of Boston sports’ most unsung heroes with his amazing World Series performance. Now the real question is, will this be the last time we see Pearce in a Red Sox uniform, or will his journey in Boston continue? Well, after game five he was asked if he wants to be with the Red Sox next year, and he was not shy when he answered “Yeah!”