After the first round, five game divisional series there are only four teams left in the hunt for the World Series title this year. In the American league there are the Baltimore Orioles who won the American league East and swept the Detroit Tigers. They will face the Kansas City Royals who have made the playoffs this year, for the first time in over two decades. The Royals got one of the two wildcard spots in the American League and went on to defeat the Oakland Athletics in the one game playoff and to beat the AL West division champion the LA Angels. Baltimore has been consistent and steady throughout the season, and they have sort of flown under the radar due to the fact that they don’t have many big name players on their roster. The Royals have been the team that no one at the beginning of the season thought had any chance of winning it all, but here we and they are. They are the underdog that everyone loves to root for. The ALCS should be a hard fought and tough series.
In the National League the teams remaining are the San Francisco Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals. These two teams have been at the top for the last several years. Each winning a couple of world series during this stretch. Both teams offer stellar pitching staffs which have been one of the hallmarks to getting them so far. Both teams have done well and it’s tough to call a winner just by looking at it on paper.
Both series should be interesting to watch with many compelling story lines that should be captivating along with some great baseball. My picks are Baltimore and San Fran, but really no one can ever successfully predict the madness that is the MLB postseason. All fours teams have played hard for the chance to be in this hunt, and will do most likely anything to win.
by Jason Phillips
