Five reasons you’ll enjoy this series
LOS ANGELES — The 2017 World Series — otherwise known as the time before the Alex Cora Era begins — is finally upon us.
Speaking as a baseball fan, I couldn’t ask for a better series to look forward to. I know MLB would have preferred the ratingspalooza of a Yankees-Dodgers series, but AstrosDodgers is just as good, if not better. Together, the teams should provide enough drama and storylines to go along with what will hopefully be seven games of entertaining and high-quality baseball.
There are plenty of other reasons to hone in on this series, but here are five very good ones:
1. Clayton Kershaw showcase
Right after the Dodgers beat the Cubs, Kershaw was asked to put his first World Series appearance in perspective. This is what the three-time Cy Young and MVP winner said: “Winning the World Series is really all that we play this game for. All the individual stuff is great, but at the end of the day I just want to win a World Series. If we win, I might retire, so I might just call it a career.” Kershaw was only kidding, but when the best pitcher on the planet gets to throw the first pitch of the World Series tonight, how much better does it get?
2. The best teams are here
Here's a fun fact: The last time two 100-win teams faced each other in the World Series was 1970 — 47 years ago. It's no fluke that either team is here, and that's the point, that's what we want. It's fun when a wild card team gets hot — like, say, the 2004 Red Sox — but when the matchup winds up like this one, it's a win-win for fans, even if they don't hail from Houston or Southern California.
While I thought the Indians would take the AL pennant when the playoffs began, the upstart Yankees took them down before finally falling short in the seventh game to the undisputed best team in the American League. The Dodgers, meanwhile, rolled through the playoffs like the team with the best record in baseball should, going 7-1 against the Diamondbacks and Cubs, outscoring them, 48-35. The Dodgers pitching staff, by the way, held that Chicago lineup to a combined .156/.193/.299 slash line in the NLCS.
3. Watch Yasiel Puig act out
I know plenty of people roll their eyes when Puig does his “look-at-me” tongue wags, bat flips, underarm tosses and the like. I'm not one of them. There aren't enough hot dogs in the game anymore and I'm rooting for the hot-diggity-doggiest in the game. It doesn't hurt that Puig's been able to back it up so far this October. He hit .455 in the Division Series and .389 in the NLCS. Get ready for the Puig show.
4. Carlos Correa’s star turn
After watching Houston's formidable lineup for 11 postseason games, I have to say that even Jose Altuve does not top Correa as the biggest threat of them all. And he plays a highcaliber defense at shortstop, his range belying his relatively large 6-foot-4 frame. He is only 23 years old, and has the poise, bat control and pop of an MVP. Speaking of MVP, his talent and trajectory should bring him a couple of those awards. To see him make his World Series debut at such a tender age is a treat.
5. Nice guys finish first or second
Milton's own Rich Hill starts Game 2 tomorrow night, and there couldn't be a sweeter moment for the long-toiling left-hander who's finally found his groove in the late stages of his career. Hill rediscovered and reshaped himself with the Red Sox in 2015, a season in which he managed to endure some intense and devastating family issues. The Sox never seriously pursued him last offseason when he inked his big, three-year payday with the Dodgers, but their loss is very much LA's gain. Everyone roots for Rich Hill.