By: Ryan O’Toole ~Staff Writer~
The Kansas City Royals and San Francisco Giants are set to square off in what looks to be an exceptional World Series starting Oct. 21.
It is only the second Fall Classic between two Wild Card teams, and the first featuring two teams with less than 90 regular-season wins. Both teams have relied on solid pitching and clutch hitting to succeed, a pretty standard formula for October success.
The Royals are coming in as one of the hottest teams in postseason history.
In eight games, including the thrilling one-game Wild Card playoff win against the Athletics and convincing series victories over the Angels and the Orioles, Kansas City is a perfect 8-0.
In fact, since the All-Star break, they have gone 49-27, making them the best team in baseball for the second half of the season.
Leading the team is pitchers James Shields and Wade Davis along with offensive forces Mike Moustakas and Alex Gordon.
The Royals, playing in their first postseason since 1985, are making Kansas City proud.
Meanwhile, the Giants are in familiar territory. They have won two championships in the past four years and are looking to start some dynasty talk.
The roster features Tim Lincecum, a two time Cy Young winner, and Buster Posey, the 2012 National League Most Valuable Player. The Giants also went through the one-game playoff, throttling Pittsburgh before handily beating the Nationals and Cardinals.
But these are certainly very different teams. As mentioned before, the Giants have some players with notable awards while the Royals roster features no one with more than 20 home runs.
The Royals have the 18th highest payroll at $90 million, while the Giants hold the sixth highest at $150 million. If the Royals want to win, they will have to beat a team that knows a thing or two about championship rings.
If the Giants want to start the dynasty discussion, they must beat a team that has not lost in weeks.
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