Breaking Sports News: World Series Is Set

The Tampa Bay Rays, who as recently as last year might have won a poll for lowliest franchise in Major League Baseball, advanced to their first World Series last night after a great tension-filled ALCS Game 7 that ended in a 3-1 Rays victory over the defending champion Boston Red Sox. The Rays set a record for most home runs in a playoff series with sixteen, and excelled in pretty much every aspect of the game. Still, it took everything they had to overcome the vaunted Red Sox, who going into last night had won their last nine ALCS elimination games.

So the World Series will start in, where else, St. Petersburg, Florida on Wednesday night. It will pit the Rays against the Philadelphia Phillies, who breezed through the National League side of the playoffs relatively quietly against some good teams. The Phillies (favorite team of several official Walrus File relatives), have won exactly one world series in their history, in 1980, though they were in the playoffs last year and were among the favorites to open the year. While baseball traditionally doesn't see too much turnover at the top (especially compared to, say, football), there are a few recent series that invite comparison, including 1997's epic clash between the Indians (who hadn't won a championship since 1948) and the Marlins (in their first Series), as well as 2005's sweep by the White Sox (who won their first title since 1917) over the Astros (in their first Series).

FOX is apparently fearful of possible low ratings due to neither of these teams being among the game's traditional elite, but hardcore baseball fans seem to be eagerly anticipating the match-up. The Rays emerged this year with young talent at nearly every position, led by everyone's Rookie of the Year, third baseman Evan Longoria, who homered in four straight games of the ALCS, as well as exciting center fielder B.J. Upton., slugger Carlos Pena, all-star catcher Dioner Navarro, speedy left fielder Carl Crawford, and others. The pitching staff went from being historically bad last year to one of the league's best this year, with starters Scott Kazmir, Scott Shields, and unlikely ALCS MVP Matt Garza, as well as a bullpen that can comfortably go seven men deep and may herald the beginning of the post-closer era in baseball.

The Phillies, meanwhile, are led by a handful of superstars bigger than anybody on the Tampa Bay roster. Ryan Howard, a gentle giant of a first baseman, led the Majors in homers this year. Jimmy Rollins provides as big a spark as anyone in the game in the lead-off spot and is the team's unchallenged leader. He won last season's MVP award after the Phillies' furious comeback caught the collapsing New York Mets for the NL East title on the last day of the season. Their pitching staff is led by ace Cole Hamels, who won the NLCS MVP award and has been unhittable in the playoffs so far, and closer Brad Lidge, who went an unbelievable 41 for 41 in save opportunities this year. It should be an interesting contrast in styles between the two teams, and I doubt we'll see a short series.

In any case, it should be great viewing. If you're only a casual baseball fan who hasn't been paying the closest attention, now is a great chance to see some great games between two teams you may not have heard as much about in a season where the Yankees (who missed the playoffs for the first time since 1993), Red Sox, Mets, Cubs, Dodgers, and even the Milwaukee Brewers dominated the headlines for much of the year. ESPN has wasted no time in comparing this season's Rays club to the 1969 Amazin' Mets, who similarly came out of nowhere to establish their franchise on the national scene with a Championship. Can they seal the deal?