It is time baseball fans! The fall classic is finally here and is set to start on Tuesday, October 21st. This World Series has a very special feeling to it and is very unique. It will be the first time since 2002 that we have both wild card teams playing in the world series. Back in 2002, the Anaheim Angels defeated the San Francisco Giants in 7 games.
Even though it’s the first time we have two wild card teams in the world series since 2002, this is the first time that two wild card teams make the World Series since the new one game playoff format has been implemented. The new wild card format was introduced in 2012, so it only took three seasons to have the wild card teams from both leagues make it all the way.
San Francisco Giants-
The Giants enter this World Series with a record of 8-2 in the postseason leaving the Pirates, the Nationals, and the Cardinals along the way. It has been stated that the Giants are “winning ugly” after getting some victories off of some opponents errors and some sac flies and small ball, but the Giants are basically just using their strengths well. Gregor Blanco provides speed at the top of the lineup and the heart of the Giants lineup which includes Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval, and Hunter Pence, can display more power than what the Royals have in their lineup.
A huge factor that will be key and can benefit the Giants is that they have the experience on their side after having won two recent World Series’ in 2010 and 2012.
Kansas City Royals-
The Royals will enter this fall classic with all the momentum on their side as they are still a perfect 8-0 in the postseason, breaking the 2007 Colorado Rockies record of 7 straight postseason wins. The Royals have depended and will continue to depend plenty on their defense and their base running game. Another interesting thing about this lineup is that even though it appears the Giants have more pop in the middle of their lineup, the Royals, who had the least home runs in the regular season as a team, have hit many home runs in the playoffs. A total of 8 home runs have been hit by the Royals with Mike Moustakas being responsible for half of them. Eric Hosmer is also thriving with a .448 batting average, and Lorenzo Cain and Alex Gordon are not letting any fly balls drop in the outfield.
The Royals have not played in the World Series since 1985, so it will be very important for them to get their feet wet quickly and adapt to the feeling of playing this World Series, if they let the Giants take advantage of their inexperience, it could lead to a loss of momentum for the Royals.
Battle of the Bullpens-
Both of these teams use their bullpen as a strength, if any team can get past the 6th inning with a lead it will be awfully difficult for the opposing team to score off the bullpen. The Giants have the likes of Sergio Romo, Javier Lopez, and Santiago Casilla. While the Royals have guys like Wade Davis, Kelvin Herrera, and Greg Holland. There is plenty of options to choose from in both ‘pens. Stats show how good and how similar both of these bullpens are.
Pitching Probables-
The first two pitching match ups have been confirmed:
Game 1: Madison Bumgarner at James Shields
Game 2: Jake Peavy at Yordano Ventura
The San Francisco Giants will use Tim Hudson in game 3 and Ryan Vogelsong in game 4, meanwhile the Royals have yet to determine who will start for them games 3 and 4.
Conclusion-
If you’re a baseball fan, you can’t wait for this series to start. Anything can happen, while we can think it is bound to go seven games, there could also be a sweep. Be prepared to witness a piece of baseball history!
Photo Credit: MLB