The World Series; America’s pastime at its finest moment. It’s where heroes are born, and where legends are solidified in baseball history. This year is just another chapter in the ongoing story of Major League Baseball. This postseason has seen many upsets, and has experienced many exciting, nail-biting, and jaw-dropping moments.
All of the challenges that the players have faced throughout the season will finally culminate in this series. The Texas Rangers will face off against the St. Louis Cardinals, in what is sure to be a series that will be historical.
Going into the playoffs, the Philadelphia Phillies were the heavy favorite to win the World Series. The Phillies have won 102 games in the regular season, which became a new franchise record. Many thought that the St. Louis Cardinals would not even win one game against the Phillies in the Divisio
n series; however, the Phillies took a turn for the worse when their offense was unable to do anything efficient. In five games, the Phillies batted .226, had only 11 extra base hits (three being home-runs), and had only 21 hits, compared to the Cardinals 44 hits. On top of that, the Phillies clean-up hitter Ryan Howard (who batted 2-19 with 6 strike-outs) tore his Achilles tendon after hitting a sharp-grounder to first base in his last at bat in game five. He will most likely be out for five to six months.
The Cardinals continued to ride their success in the first round all the way through the NL championship series. They defeated their rivals, the Milwaukee Brewers, in 6 games. As a team, the Cardinals had a lot of success at the plate. They hit an average of .310, had 67 hits, and scored 43 runs in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Two of the main contributors to the Cardinals success were NLCS MVP David Freese, and all-star first-baseman Albert Pujols. Despite their success at the plate, the Cardinals pitching proved to be less impressive. The Cardinals’ pitching staff gave up 88 hits, gave up 47 runs, and had a total ERA of 4.18.
In the American League, the Texas Rangers dominated their competition through their overpowering offense led by Nelson Cruz, who had 9 hits (6 of them being home-runs), 8 runs, and 13 RBI’s in the first two rounds of the AL playoffs. The Rangers as a team produced 55 runs, 90 hits, 20 doubles, 13 home-runs, 54 RBI’s, in both the Division series and the AL championship series; thus defeating the Tampa Bay Rays and t
he Detroit Tigers with relative ease.
The Rangers’ pitching staff also did fairly well against their opponents. The Rays and Tigers combined hit for an average of .241 against the Rangers, and struck out 85 times. Although these stats are impressive, the Rangers pitching staff allowed 42 earned runs, amounting to a mediocre ERA (earned run average) of 4.11 (which all around was still better than the cardinals).
Both teams going into the World Series have been very dominant offensively, however, the team that will come out on top will be the one whose pitching staff is able to prevent the most runs. When asked about whom he thought would win the World Series, DC baseball coach and teacher Mr. Jeff Wisnewski predicted that the Texas Rangers would win it all, saying, “The Cardinals pitching is good, but it probably won’t be good enough to hold down the Rangers. With their offense, the Rangers should win the World Series.”
Fortunately for the Cardinals, they will have home field advantage first in the World Series. However, if the Cardinals hope to win it all, they will have to be able to defeat the Rangers on the road which will be difficult, seeing as the Rangers are 4-1 at home this postseason.
This year’s Fall Classic looks like it is going to be one of the closest ones in a long time. The Rangers have won two straight AL championships, but they still have yet to win a World Series. The Cardinals, on the other hand, have already won 10 World Series, which is more than any National League team, but that will not stop them from giving it everything they’ve got in order to get their 11th World Series title. Game One starts on October 19th, at Busch Stadium.
All of the challenges that the players have faced throughout the season will finally culminate in this series. The Texas Rangers will face off against the St. Louis Cardinals, in what is sure to be a series that will be historical.
Going into the playoffs, the Philadelphia Phillies were the heavy favorite to win the World Series. The Phillies have won 102 games in the regular season, which became a new franchise record. Many thought that the St. Louis Cardinals would not even win one game against the Phillies in the Divisio
n series; however, the Phillies took a turn for the worse when their offense was unable to do anything efficient. In five games, the Phillies batted .226, had only 11 extra base hits (three being home-runs), and had only 21 hits, compared to the Cardinals 44 hits. On top of that, the Phillies clean-up hitter Ryan Howard (who batted 2-19 with 6 strike-outs) tore his Achilles tendon after hitting a sharp-grounder to first base in his last at bat in game five. He will most likely be out for five to six months. The Cardinals continued to ride their success in the first round all the way through the NL championship series. They defeated their rivals, the Milwaukee Brewers, in 6 games. As a team, the Cardinals had a lot of success at the plate. They hit an average of .310, had 67 hits, and scored 43 runs in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Two of the main contributors to the Cardinals success were NLCS MVP David Freese, and all-star first-baseman Albert Pujols. Despite their success at the plate, the Cardinals pitching proved to be less impressive. The Cardinals’ pitching staff gave up 88 hits, gave up 47 runs, and had a total ERA of 4.18.
In the American League, the Texas Rangers dominated their competition through their overpowering offense led by Nelson Cruz, who had 9 hits (6 of them being home-runs), 8 runs, and 13 RBI’s in the first two rounds of the AL playoffs. The Rangers as a team produced 55 runs, 90 hits, 20 doubles, 13 home-runs, 54 RBI’s, in both the Division series and the AL championship series; thus defeating the Tampa Bay Rays and t
he Detroit Tigers with relative ease.The Rangers’ pitching staff also did fairly well against their opponents. The Rays and Tigers combined hit for an average of .241 against the Rangers, and struck out 85 times. Although these stats are impressive, the Rangers pitching staff allowed 42 earned runs, amounting to a mediocre ERA (earned run average) of 4.11 (which all around was still better than the cardinals).
Both teams going into the World Series have been very dominant offensively, however, the team that will come out on top will be the one whose pitching staff is able to prevent the most runs. When asked about whom he thought would win the World Series, DC baseball coach and teacher Mr. Jeff Wisnewski predicted that the Texas Rangers would win it all, saying, “The Cardinals pitching is good, but it probably won’t be good enough to hold down the Rangers. With their offense, the Rangers should win the World Series.”
Fortunately for the Cardinals, they will have home field advantage first in the World Series. However, if the Cardinals hope to win it all, they will have to be able to defeat the Rangers on the road which will be difficult, seeing as the Rangers are 4-1 at home this postseason.
This year’s Fall Classic looks like it is going to be one of the closest ones in a long time. The Rangers have won two straight AL championships, but they still have yet to win a World Series. The Cardinals, on the other hand, have already won 10 World Series, which is more than any National League team, but that will not stop them from giving it everything they’ve got in order to get their 11th World Series title. Game One starts on October 19th, at Busch Stadium.
No comments:
Post a Comment