So long, Freeway Series. The Beltway Series? Stuck in traffic. All the cool kids are cheering for a Show-Me Series between the Kansas City Royals and St Louis Cardinals.
The Cardinals fell victim to their chronic problem with scoring runs in losing Game 1 of the National League Championship Series at home to the San Francisco Giants, but the Royals have held up their end in attempting to reprise 1985's Interstate 70 World Series.
The Royals lead the American League Championship Series (ALCS) 2-0 after a pair of dramatic road wins against the Baltimore Orioles. Those victories extended the Royals' post-season winning streak to nine games – their last play-offs loss was October 23, 1985, against St Louis – and Monday's Game 3 of the ALCS lands 29 years to the day of the last championship series game played in Kansas City.
All Marty McFly references aside, this is a different world compared to 1985. Then, the Royals were a fixture near the top of the AL West. Now, they have all the hallmarks of the classic underdog – a scrappy, small-market team who steal the hearts of neutrals and win despite obvious disadvantages.
On the field, the Royals appear to have it all. They have won playing “small” ball and swinging for the fences. Their speed has revived the lost art of the stolen base and made their outfield a formidable weapon, turning base hits into outs and doubles into singles.
Off the field, the sight of Royals players going out on the town to celebrate with fans after sweeping the Los Angeles Angels in the AL Division Series shows just what this run means to a city for so long starved of baseball success.
The Orioles, meanwhile, are in a hole but not necessarily in despair. They were in both games to the end, having the winning run at the plate at the end of Game 1 and the tying run at the plate at the end of Game 2. Their focus will be fixing their slow starts – the Orioles have led in only 11 of 45 innings this post-season, and their starting pitchers have completed five innings in just two of their five games.
In the National League, it is more of the same. For the fifth straight year, one of St Louis or the San Francisco Giants will play in the World Series. While it might not be the most exciting match-up, there is no question they have earned it.
Think of it as a reward for sustained competence over several years. It is far better to see such steadiness rewarded than the bizarre decisions by Matt Williams and Don Mattingly – the managers of the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers, respectively – in their elimination games. When seasons are on the line, there is no excuse for leaving your best players languishing on the bench.
pfreelend@thenational.ae
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