By the time we see them, players in the World Series are already wearing the trappings of a big-leaguer.

But it wasn’t always that way for them. David Eckstein, named the Most Valuable Player of the 2006 Fall Classic, was a college walk-on who earned his scholarship only through persistent work. Cole Hamels, who won the Series last year, broke his arm in high school, causing some pro teams to lose interest in him.

And so amid all the hoopla of the matchup between the New york Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies, it’s easy to forget that every single player had to overcome some form of adversity just to get there.

As team-building coach Gary Pritchard says, “Everybody who got where they are started from where they were.”

Just look at Alex Rodriguez. Until his success in this year’s playoffs, he was reviled as someone who could not produce in the pressure of October. Suddenly — likely because of a more relaxed atmosphere in the Yankee clubhouse — Rodriguez has been able to enjoy himself.

Jermaine Dye, MVP of the 2005 Chicago White Sox, only four years earlier had shattered his fibula, requiring a long and difficult comeback.

As sports psychologist Dr. Rob Gilbert says, “I setback is a setup for a comeback.”

Only one thing can test your ability to handle adversity, and that is adversity itself.

So no matter who wins the World Series MVP — no matter how easy they make it look — the road has not been easy.