Kansas City Royals (95-67)- For the second year in a row the Royals are aiming for the World Series crown. Last year they fell to the San Fransisco Giants and they know the feeling of losing the crown. Overall their numbers looked like this:
Pitching- 95W- 67L; 3.73 ERA. They took a risk by trading for Johnny Cueto knowing that he could be a rental type player, but with the taste of postseason in his mouth. In particularly, the World Series the odds of him re-signing have increased favorably. Even without re-signing Cueto this team has a formidable top 5 to return to the postseason for years to come.
Hitting- .269 batting average. The Royals don't have stellar homerun totals, but where they do get you as a team is by getting on base and then moving runners over. The highest homerun total on the team is a tie with Mike Moustakas and Kendrys Morales at 22, but the team lead in RBI's goes to Morales who had 106 on the season.
ALCS MVP- Alcides Escobar: 6 runs scored 5 RBI's. Fourth Royal to win the ALCS MVP other 3 were: Lorenzo Cain, Frank White, and George Brett.
New York Mets (90- 72)- This is the Mets first appearance in The Show since 2000 and the taste of victory is in their mouth as they swept the Chicago Cubs(mind you on Back to the Future Day...how dare them?) in the NLCS. Overall their numbers looked like this:
Pitching- 90W- 72L; 3.43 ERA. The Mets this season took a risk at the trade deadline by NOT trading any of the big names that had been whispered leading up to the trade deadline. Boy did it pay off! Many around the league felt like the person to go would have been a toss up between Dillon Gee or Bartolo Colon. Where are both of those players? Still with the New York Mets and thriving in their perspective rolls. The front office of the Mets made a decision and stuck with it and it ultimately paid off. To put this into perspective, Bartolo Colon was tied for the team lead in wins with 14. Who said OLD men can't pitch?
Hitting- .244 batting average. Just like the Royals the Mets too do not have stellar homerun numbers, but ultimately on paper the Mets win in this category. The homerun leader for the Mets this season was: Lucas Duda with 27. The biggest fuel to this offense was the addition of outfielder Yoenis Cespedes. Not only did Cespedes add fuel to the Mets fire but he gave them some leadership and homerun power they did NOT have before the trade deadline. Much like the Royals the Mets won't hit the long ball all of the time and are more of a team that mirrors the Royals getting on base and moving runners over.
NLCS MVP- Daniel Murphy; .529 BA 4 HR, 6 RBI's and 6 runs scored.
My thoughts on the 2015 World Series and the offseason:
1) World Series is going 7 games pitching being the BIG key in this series.
2) Pitching and defense wins championships. This has been the case for many years you can club the ball all you want but if you commit errors and don't pitch well you're going to lose.
3) If you look at the regular season numbers you might just think that the Royals have already won the World Series but DO NOT BE DECEIVED it's the postseason after all.
4) This World Series will be Daniel Murphy's last with the Mets. He has already stated he will NOT give the Mets a discount and ultimately will land a deal in the 6 year 110 million dollar area. He will land that deal with a rival as well and ultimately make the Mets pay.
5) The Mets will have decisions to make after this World Series. Those decisions will be pitching and 2nd base.
6) Royals will land a deal with Johnny Cueto in the ballpark of 7 years and 210 million dollars(give or take a few million).
Who will win the World Series? Honestly, I want the Royals to win the World Series, but if you look at the overall numbers the New York Mets win this World Series. Too many things are against the Mets NOT winning this World Series and one of those is if they will be able to hold onto some of their coveted pitching. If the Mets win/lose the World Series I would expect them to explore some of the trades they had in the works during the trade deadline. Two things for sure, I honestly do NOT see Bartolo Colon coming back next year, nor do I see Daniel Murphy re-signing with the Mets. The odds of Colon not coming back go way up if they win the World Series. Who doesn't want to go out on top?
My pick for winning the World Series: New York Mets.