Over the past few decades, the Cardinals have taken great pride in the success of their homegrown players.

Therefore, the organization has to be happy that the fierce and versatile Tommy Edman is named MVP of the National League Championship Series. He has long been one of the prototypical cardinals harvested from the productive farm system.

Unfortunately, his success—and the success of pitcher Jack Flaherty, another of the Cardinals' key homegrown players—came with the powerful Los Angeles Dodgers on their way to the World Series.

Edman did everything for the Dodgers in the postseason. He started as a center fielder and then moved to shortstop due to Miguel Rojas' injury.

He was the No. 9 hitter in the Dodgers' strong lineup, but he continued to drive in runs. So there was Edman in Game 6 of the NLCS when the Dodgers eliminated the New York Mets.

Edman channeled his inner Randy Arozarena by posting a .407/.393/.630 slash line with a home run, three doubles, a stolen base and 11 RBIs.

This was quite a turnaround for Edman, who missed almost an entire season due to a wrist injury and ended his career with the Cardinals.

“At the beginning of the year I never thought I would be in this situation today,” Edman told reporters. “Everything was focused on being on this team and having the success that we had. Now we go to the World Series. It’s crazy.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts readily agreed with that assessment.

“It’s a crazy development,” Roberts said. “I can't say enough about the front office's ability to acquire him at the deadline. What he can do for us on the field and in the clubhouse is simply incredible.

“I never thought that once we signed him he would finish fourth in a postseason game. But I trust him. The boys trust him. He made great defensive plays for us and scored big goals. We’re just very lucky to have a player like Tommy.”

Edman's postseason heroics will give Cardinals fans another reason to watch the World Series as their franchise prepares to trim payroll and start over.

Here's what people wrote about the playoffs:

Jesse Rogers, ESPN.com: “In the end, it didn’t matter who the Dodgers put on the mound – they had more than enough offense to overcome any pitching hurdles en route to another World Series appearance. Newcomers Shohei Ohtani and Tommy Edman (a midseason addition) led the way, combining for five RBIs and four hits in the decisive win in Game 6. The Dodgers scored at least seven runs in all of their wins in the series – and six more in one their two defeats. The Mets experienced waves of offense that defeated their best starters, while Sean Manaea had his worst performance of the postseason on Sunday. The same goes for Luis Severino and Jose Quintana, both of whom pitched early in the series. The rush ended a magical run for the Mets, who now have key free agent decisions to make, from first baseman Pete Alonso to the three pitchers mentioned above. They fought bravely, but in the end it was the Dodgers, not the Mets. The former team was simply too much for New York.

Mike Vaccaro, New York Post: “The Brewers were 162 games better than the Mets, but the Mets were able to solve that thanks to an eternal hit from Pete Alonso's bat, and so they were eliminated from the National League play-in series.” The Phillies were 162 games better than the Mets, but the Mets were able to solve that because at some point in the four games and five days of the NLDS, almost everyone lined up to be counted, and then Francisco Lindor hit a grand slam as the all-time bookend to the home run he hit in Game 161 against the Braves. There was a lot of talk about “magic” as the Mets pushed deeper into October, and those of us with laptops and microphones were among the loudest sonnetists of the act. But in some ways, reducing what we saw starting on September 30th to the foggy swamp of mysticism did the Mets a disservice. After all, they were the best team in baseball from June 1st. This is real. This is real. But sometimes legitimacy meets legitimacy. And so the Mets met the Dodgers. The Mets' 65-39 record after June 1 was the best in the major leagues, but the Dodgers' record was fifth at 61-41, and the Dodgers had the advantage of being 37-23 at that point .”

Gabe Lacques, USA today: “These New York Yankees have destroyed all that playoff randomness, all those notions that superstars on super teams are no more likely to win than a nondescript upper-middle-class club that gets hot for a minute in October.” The Yankees are, for example back in the World Series for the first time since 2009. And a club that is truly larger than life has its big boys to thank for it. Soto, Judge and Giancarlo Stanton aren't just brawlers, MVP-caliber producers or nine-figure earners (Soto will soon join them in that club). They're a traveling roadshow, the 6-7 Stanton is capable of hitting balls harder than any other human on the planet, the 6-6 Judge is somehow able to patrol the center field while hitting 58 this season Home runs, an American League record 62 two seasons ago. And then there's Soto, who feels like he's been in the spotlight longer than anyone else – and yet is about to celebrate his 26th birthday^Th Birthday on Friday, batting second and patrolling right field for the Yankees in Game 1 of the World Series.”

Tom Ley, The defector: “The playoffs tend to be a reminder of how postseason baseball works. The Yankees demonstrated the importance of power with their 4-1 series victory over the Cleveland Guardians and advance to the World Series. Hit 10 home runs in five games, like the Yankees did in this series, and you can overcome all sorts of baserunning mistakes, poor defensive work and late-inning collapses. Just keep hitting the ball over the fence and good things will happen for you. Here's another reminder: There may not be a hitter in baseball more fearsome in a high-leverage situation than Juan Soto. The Yankees right fielder came on to start the 10th inning with the score tied at 2-2, two men on base and two outs. Soto was looking for a fastball from Hunter Gaddis and wasn't going to let the hit end until he got one. What must it feel like to pitch against a determined Juan Soto, who not only has the confidence and power that makes a great clutch hitter, but also one of the most demanding eyes in the game? I imagine it feels like being asked to cut down a redwood tree with a hatchet.”

Tyler Kepner, The athlete: “The great thing about watching Juan Soto is that he shows you how much he loves baseball. He knows exactly how to unleash his greatness, and while he's eager to show it off, he's also willing to wait. He won't always succeed, because that's not how baseball works. But he seems so determined to enjoy the chase. The batter's box is Soto's happy place, like a hunter's favorite game stand. Soto will target you and take as long as he needs. He will tempt you to show your weakness. And once you do that, you’re done.”

David Andrews, FanGraphs: “New York's 4-1 series win belies a close and exciting series that featured multiple extra-inning games, intriguing reversals, likely heroes and extremely unlikely goats. For the third straight year, the Yankees and Guardians were tied in the ninth inning. For the second straight game, the Yankees scored the game-winning runs against Cleveland's untouchable high-leverage relievers. The Guardians' vaunted bullpen, slated to throw 28 innings in five games, actually performed slightly better than New York's relievers, but Cleveland simply needed more of them. As is often the case, the Guardians always seemed to be lacking a few solid hitters.”

Buster Olney, ESPN.com: “On Saturday night, Guardians manager Stephen Vogt pointed his finger in the direction of each member of his bullpen in turn, calling out each of the four relievers most responsible for Cleveland's success this year. Because what they did was remarkable and ultimately unsustainable because their extraordinary workload resulted in a drop in performance. . . Emmanuel Clase is widely considered baseball's best reliever – the best reliever in the world, as his manager called him, and by far the league's best reliever according to WAR. Cade Smith should receive a lot of consideration in the AL Rookie of the Year vote. Hunter Gaddis and Tim Herrin were exceptional. Together, the big four had 290 combined innings and a 1.49 ERA. And in the series against the Yankees, that group allowed 11 runs in 13 innings. Clase was charged in the loss in Game 4, and Gaddis gave up Juan Soto's game-winning three-run home run in Game 5. The relievers' credo is that they will not acknowledge fatigue and will take the ball when asked. The Guardians won the AL Central largely because they had the most effective relievers – their bullpen ERA was more than half a run better than any other team's – and because those four Cleveland pitchers ranked in the top 11 in appearances, surrendered She keeps voting for the ball, into October. Clase pitched seven of Cleveland's 10 playoff games, Gaddis eight and Herrin and Smith nine each. And there were performance losses.”

“That’s what Big G lives for. Definitely not the awards; far from it. But the chance to get to the World Series and play for a championship. That’s his biggest motivation.”

Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole, over slugger Giancarlo Stanton.