By Andy Sidel
This is how you want it if you’re a baseball fan. The two best teams during the regular season are facing off in the 2013 World Series.
The St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox finished the 2013 season with identical 97-65 records. In doing so, both teams earned the top seeds for the playoffs in their individual leagues. Often you see the Giants get slaughtered before they can even think about making it to the Fall Classic. However, this was a special year.
This is only the third time since 1994 that the teams with the best regular season records have made it to the World Series.
With a stroke of luck, the World Series will be a continuation of the previous exciting playoff rounds. Here is the schedule for the Fall Classic.
Boston Red Sox
Regular Season: 97-65
Number of World Series Win: Seven (Last in 2007)
ALDS Opponent: Tampa Bay Rays
ALCS Opponent: Detroit Tigers
Key to Winning: The biggest thing for the Red Sox is that their offense shows up and remains consistent. They had one of the best lineups in baseball during the regular season, and they beat up a good Rays rotation in the ALDS.
St. Louis Cardinals
Regular Season: 97-65
Number of World Series Win: Eleven (Last in 2011)
ALDS Opponent: Pittsburgh Pirates
ALCS Opponent: Los Angeles Dodgers
Key to Winning: For St. Louis, it will be interesting to see if pitchers Adam Wainwright and Michael Wacha will continue to be as great as they’ve been the entire postseason. Boston can’t counter with a 1-2 punch that is that good.
When asked “Who do you want to win the 2013 World Series?”, of the 64 people in Legend that voted, 41 chose the Boston Red Sox and 23 chose the St. Louis Cardinals.
When asked “Who do you think will win the 2013 World Series?”, 38 people from Legend chose the Boston Red Sox, 13 chose the St. Louis Cardinals, and 13 were not sure.
Junior Justin Wick, an avid baseball fan, believes that it will come down to the two closers. “The two closers, Trevor Rosenthal for the Cardinals and Koji Uehara for the Red Sox, have pitched very well in late inning appearances. There will be added importance on the early innings, because if either team has a lead going into the ninth [inning], either pitcher has the chance to win it. They have proven they can close out games.”
Wick continues to say, “The Cardinals have an advantage in games three, four, and five when they play at home because that would mean DH David Ortiz would have to either play in the field or pinch hit, since National League rules are in play.”
Junior Bryce Hefner has taken a different approach. Hefner believes that the Red Sox bullpen and power hitting are the key to winning. “I think Red Sox will easily take it in five.”
In five attempts — two against St. Louis — Boston has never won a decisive World Series Game 7. It is the missing tchotchke in the trophy collection of a renowned franchise. Fenway is baseball’s oldest ballpark, having seen 102 seasons of baseball.
Reporters at Sports Illustrated say that “The best possible matchup deserves the greatest drama: Red Sox in seven.”