We were robbed.
Baseball America, that is.
Game 1 of the 2017 World Series starts tomorrow night, pitting the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.
Both are great teams. Both won over 100 games during the regular season. Both had to fight in the postseason.
Hence, neither is a fluke making it to the Fall Classic. Still, its not the matchup most baseball fans wanted to see.
MLB.com FastCast: Dodgers, Astros set for World Series – 10/22/17
Dave Roberts expresses confidence in his team prior to their World Series showdown with the Astros, plus the Red Sox and Mets find managers Check out http://MLB.com/video for more! About MLB.com: Former Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig announced on January 19, 2000, that the 30 Major League Club owners voted unanimously to centralize all of Baseball’s Internet operations into an independent technology company.
There was a bigger, sexier one staring us in the face.
The New York Yankees against the Dodgers was the dream matchup, the combo that had many harkening back to the good old days. For a few days, it was all you heard. Yankees. Dodgers. It was like an early Christmas present.
Best of all, it had all the makings of a classic.
It would have been East Coast vs. West Coast like the Hip Hop days of the 90s. It would have been storied franchise vs. storied franchise. Yep. Babe Ruth vs. Jackie Robinson. It would have been NYC vs. LA. The two biggest cities and markets in the country hadnt squared off in the World Series since 1981. The rest of the country – in the middle of our two crowning cities – would have had no choice but to pick a side.
It was American League vs. National League. It was power against upstart.
The Dodgers finally broke through, winning their fifth straight NL West title. But this is their first trip to the World Series since 1988.
The Yankees, a resident Fall Classic member, won it all in 2009. But this is a young, exciting team. They werent even supposed to make the playoffs this season. They are rebuilding, or so we thought.
You also had the faces, the players. The Yankees Aaron Judge hijacked the face of baseball with his HR bat and great catches in right.
The Dodgers Cody Bellinger, also a rookie, broke the NL rookie record with homers. Both represent the exciting young players in the game.
Then theres Clayton Kershaw. Hes one of the best pitchers ever. Still, his story is incomplete. Despite all the winning he has done, the postseason hasnt been kind. Plus, thus far, he is ringless.
Hernandez powers Dodgers to World Series – 10/19/17
Daily Recap: Enrique Hernandez belted three homers, including a grand slam to back Clayton Kershaw in the Dodgers’ series-clinching win Check out http://MLB.com/video for more! About MLB.com: Former Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig announced on January 19, 2000, that the 30 Major League Club owners voted unanimously to centralize all of Baseball’s Internet operations into an independent technology company.
Oh yes, it had the making of a Hollywood script.
And when the Yankees won those three straight games at Yankee Stadium and turned an 0-2 hole into a 3-2 advantage against the Astros, most thought they would finish the job like they did against the Cleveland Indians.
The Yankees needed to win one of the final two games in Houston to join the Dodgers for a date with dynasty.
It didnt happen.
The Astros, instead, will represent the AL. And we are denied our ultimate dream.
And this is no disrespect to the Astros, a great team.
Plus, theres a greater good story they are trying to write after the floods in Houston turned that town into a disaster area.
The Dodgers have to be the favorite in this World Series. Of all the teams in the 2017 postseason, they breezed by comparison.
They swept Arizona. Then they took out the defending World Series champion Chicago Cubs in an easy five games. It could have been a sweep.
The Dodgers have everything you need to win a title. They have the starting pitching, a good bullpen, a great closer. Plus, they hit up and down the lineup with power.
At one point during the regular season, many thought theyd set all-time record for wins before they later stumbled.
The Astros werent supposed to be in the struggle they had against the Yankees. And the Yankees pitching proved they are mortal. Through the first five games in the ALCS, Houston batted .147 and scored just nine runs. They snapped out of it just in time to win the final two and advance.
MLB.com FastCast: Astros win 2017 ALCS – 10/21/17
Justin Verlander wins the 2017 ALCS MVP, as the Astros defeat the Yankees in Game 7 to advance to the World Series Check out http://MLB.com/video for more! About MLB.com: Former Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig announced on January 19, 2000, that the 30 Major League Club owners voted unanimously to centralize all of Baseball’s Internet operations into an independent technology company.
But they were exposed.
The Dodgers have some of that high-powered pitching the Yankees have as well.
You get the feeling that the series, from Houstons side, will all be about Jose Altuve. When he struggled, so did the Astros.
It should be a good series to watch, even though its not the one we really wanted.
Parkers World Series Prediction: Dodgers in 6. Theyve been best team all year, and will finally win it all for the first time in 29 years. LA gets its parade.
