The Casual Fans Guide to the 2015 World Series

I’m not much of a baseball fan, especially since my team, the Cincinnati Reds, sucked this year. However, I do watch the playoffs and Dustin James told me that we need to step up our baseball coverage if we are to be taken serious in the sports blogging world. 

So here is your Casual Fans Guide to the 2015 World Series.

Which team should I root for?

Your two choices are the Kansas City Royals, back in the World Series after losing last year, and the New York Mets, in the World Series for the first time since 2000. The Mets haven’t won the World Series since 1986 and the Royals haven’t won it since 1985. I wasn’t alive during those years, so I can’t tell you anything about those victories. 

Both teams made trades at the trade deadline and if they traded for one the guys who played for your favorite team, I suggest rooting for that team. That means if you’re a fan of the Detroit Tigers, Atlanta Braves, or Oakland Athletics then it’s fair for you to cheer for the Mets and if you’re a fan of the Reds and A’s then you can cheer for the Royals. Yes, that means A’s fans can’t lose in this years World Series as either Tyler Clippard or Ben Zobrist, two guys who started the season in Oakland, will win a ring.

If you have league pride, then AL fans will be rooting for the Royals and NL fans will be rooting for the Mets. If you only want your team to win the World Series and hate when other teams in your league do well, then AL fans should root for the Mets and NL fans for the Royals. If your team was knocked out of the playoffs by one of these teams, then you should decide whether you want to lose to the champs or want the team that beat your team to suffer the same fate. 

Both teams are underdogs. No one picked the Royals to make the World Series last year and even that run didn’t convince “experts” to give them much of a chance this year. And no one thought the Mets would be this good. So if you’re looking for the underdog story, neither choice is wrong. 

If you enjoy the misery of other fans, cheer for the Mets, because that will make Yankees fans miserable. 

As mentioned, neither team has won the World Series in over 25 years so they both qualify for the “root for the team that has suffered a longer drought” basis. 

Basically, you can’t go wrong cheering for either team. 

Who are the Players to Watch?

Daniel Murphy (NY): He’s hitting all the home runs.

Lorenzo Cain (KC): He takes all the bases.

Matt Harvey (NY) and Johnny Cueto (KC): Harvey came under fire late in the season after being late to workout and plenty of jokes have been made about this whole pitch count thing. But thus far in the playoffs, he’s pitched really well. As for Cueto, he’s been up and down since being traded and was most recently down in a poor ALCS outing against the Blue Jays. They are the two starters most likely to meltdown for their respective teams. 

Will either manager do something stupid? 

It’s possible that Terry Collins (NY) brings in the wrong guy from the bullpen and Ned Yost (KC) leaves his starter in the game too long.

Will this screw up my TV watching schedule?

The games are on FOX, so if you watch shows on that network, chances are you’ll be seeing Joe Buck’s beard instead of Bob Belcher’s mustache. 

Why is there a game on Halloween?

Because MLB assumes that their sport is only watched by grandparents who stay inside on Halloween. 

Who will win?

I’m going with the Mets, just because it’s a year for back-to-back losers. LeBron, Meek Mill, and now the Royals.