The Mets are going to the World Series. There's something you don't hear every day. In fact, it's not something you've heard in nearly 30 years.
The last time the Mets won the pennant was 1986. You might remember that as the year the ball went through Bill Buckner's legs in Game 6 of the World Series. Unless you're a Red Sox fan, in which case, that memory is probably suppressed.
The Kansas City Royals' history hasn't been much better. Before making the World Series last year, they had also gone 29 years without a pennant. They've only recently returned to prominence, but look to be the favorites heading into this World Series, especially with the home field advantage due to the outdated and absurd All-Star Game factor.
The battle of these two teams looks to be a good one and features opposing approaches by each young team.
The Royals have made it here on the back of their offensive weapons. In the playoffs so far, the Royals have scored the most runs, recorded the most total bases, and hit the second-most home runs. Before you point out that those are counting stats and are influenced by the number of games played, they've also led baseball in average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage during this postseason. They've been led by Alcides Escobar with a .386 average, Eric Hosmer with 11 RBIs, and Kendrys Morales with 4 home runs, and nobody shows signs of slowing down, particularly after outscoring the high-octane Blue Jays' offense.
Meanwhile, the Mets have relied on their young (and old) pitchers to get the job done. Matt Harvey (26 years old), Jacob DeGrom (27), Noah Syndergaard (23), and Steven Matz (24) have comprised the Mets' rotation so far, and have certainly lived up to their lofty expectations. From the bullpen, Bartolo Colon (42) has been lights out, bridging the late innings to get to closer Jeurys Familia. These Mets pitchers have thrown harder than those of any other team, leaving opposing hitters in the dust - they have the lowest ERA and OPS allowed of any team in the playoffs, and are second in batting average against and WHIP (walks + hits / inning pitched). The Royals find themselves eighth or ninth in each of those categories, out of 10 teams.
Obviously, these matchups will determine who will win the series. If the Royals' hitters can get the better of the Mets' pitchers, they should have no problem outscoring the Mets' offense and will handily take the series. If not, well, we saw what the Mets just did to the Dodgers, shutting them down in four straight games.
In the end, one team has to win, though. And, just as I did back on August 1, I still think the Mets have the best chance. In their nine games this postseason, the Mets have allowed more than three runs just once, while scoring three or more seven times. It's so difficult to compete with a team that can shut down your offense while also providing runs of their own.
Furthermore, the Royals are just 2-3 on the road this postseason, and will have to play games three, four, and five in New York. If the Mets can take one of the first two games in Kansas City, it's very easy to see them clinching the title at home. And how great would it be for the city of New York to get a World Series title? After all, how many times has it really happened before?
