Rookie phenom David Price stole the spotlight with a dazzling effort to close Game 7, but Matt Garza is the toast of Tampa Bay this morning, after being named MVP of the AL Championship Series.

Did anyone believe Garza would be that composed in that big of a moment? I sure didn’t.

He overcame a quick punch to the jaw, when Dustin Pedroia hit his first-inning home run. He faced 27 batters. He allowed two hits. He threw 75 of his 118 pitches for strikes. He did little things like holding runners on base and fielding his position - things that used to slip his mind with the Twins.

Then, in the seventh inning, he looked Manager Joe Maddon in the eye and said, “You’re not taking me out of this game,” as Joe Henderson writes in today’s Tampa Tribune.

That’s Jack Morris-like. Impressive indeed.

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