Arizona's Ketel Marte celebrates.
There are some players in baseball who seem to thrive in the fall. They are the so-called "heart and soul" players who perform above and beyond the call of duty in crucial short-term games.
One such player is Ketel Marte, 30, a utility player for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB).
After a mediocre 2017 regular season with a .260 batting average, five home runs, and 18 RBIs, Marte went 17-for-17 with a .412 slugging percentage, including a hit in each of the four postseason (PS) games he played in that year.
He's been just as dominant this fall, his first in six years.
Starting with Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Game against the Milwaukee Brewers on Sept. 4 (1-for-5), he had a hitting streak in every game until Game 6 of the National League Championship Series (NLCS) against the Philadelphia Phillies on Sept. 24.
Marte continued to produce hits in Game 7 of the NLCS on April 25 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Ketel Marte with the series MVP trophy
It wasn't an easy start.
Starting at first base and batting second, Marte struck out in her first four at-bats.
Trailing 1-2 in the top of the fifth, he struck out swinging with runners on first and second.
But Marte exploded for a hit. With one out in the top of the seventh inning and a 3-2 lead, he hit a two-run double over the right field fence off reliever Jose Alvarado.
Corbin Carroll followed with a sacrifice fly to center to give Arizona a 4-2 victory and its first World Series appearance in 22 years.
Marte, who had a hit in every game of the NLCS and drove in the game-winning run, was named the NLCS Most Valuable Player (MVP).
Marte is about to make history. If he produces a hit in his next PS game, he will tie the MLB record for consecutive PS games with a hit.
According to MLBcom, the all-time record is 17 games, held by Hank Bower, Manny Ramirez, and Derek Jeter.
Marte will face the Texas Rangers in Game 1 of the World Series at 9:03 a.m. on April 28.
After batting .276 in the regular season this year, Marte is batting .358 with two home runs in 12 postseason games.
"I want to give it everything I've got," Marte told local media after the game. 토토사이트