HOUSTON — It was the most frenzied hour or so of his baseball career, and Anthony Rendon had already done so much.

With his Washington Nationals eight outs from elimination in his hometown, in Game 7 of the World Series on Wednesday, Rendon had homered to spark a 6-2 comeback victory over the Houston Astros. He had celebrated the final out on the field, raised the Commissioner’s Trophy on a podium and basked in “M.V.P.” chants from visiting fans.

Now the interviews were winding down, after chats with MLB Network, “Good Morning America” and a local Fox affiliate on the first-base side of Minute Maid Park. Rendon descended the steps of the third-base dugout and considered one final question.

He had just helped deliver the first championship in Nationals history, and the team’s general manager, Mike Rizzo, said Rendon looked as nonchalant as he would in an exhibition game in March. How was this possible?