The Kansas City Royals and The San Francisco Giants match up in the 2014 World Series.
If you were going to pick one team to count out of the playoffs from each league, it would be these two. Kansas City is a bunch of no-names who have no business sitting at the big kid’s table, and after getting off to a hot start, San Francisco limped into the playoffs.
As the old saying goes, “all you have to do is get in.” These two teams got hot at the right time and are both in the race for a World Series ring.
The Kansas City Royals have instantly become America’s Team. The last time the Royals were in the World Series was 1985 when they beat the Cardinals 4-3.
The Royals are led by a lights-out bullpen.
Kansas City has gone undefeated on their way to the World Series. They came back in the wild-card game and won in extra innings. They swept the first place Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the ALDS and swept Baltimore Orioles in the ALCS.
The Royals have become the first team to win three straight extra-inning playoff games.
The Giants are making believers of the even-year trend. This will be the Giants’s third World Series in five years.
The Giants are led by their ace, Madison Bumgarner, and star catcher, Buster Posey.
San Francisco has been a dominant team all throughout the playoffs. They shutout the pirates in the wild-card game, beat the Washington Nationals 3-1 in the NLDS, which includes an 18-inning thriller, and took care of the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS 4-1, where Travis Ishikawa hit a walk-off three-run homerun.
To win in the World Series a team has to have that magic, that little something that makes a pitch miss just inside or makes a ball unconventionally bounce into the outfield. Both these teams have it; therefore this should be one of the more memorable World Series in some time.
Although Kansas City seems like the team from destiny, the Giants have a wildcard, Bruce Bochy, as their manager.
It feels like a World Series that won’t be decided by stats or history, but decided by making a pitching change at the right time or bringing in a pinch-hitter. I would take Bochy over any manager to make that decision.
Prediction: Giants win 4-2.