We’re six months into the baseball season, and finally only two teams remain to battle it out in a best-of- seven series. The New York Mets, from the National League, and the Kansas City Royals, from the American League, will oppose each other in a best of seven series to crown the World Series Champion of 2015. The two teams have many similar qualities that have gotten them through the Championship Series, but in a World Series even the smallest flaws in a team could lead to a loss.
The New York Mets, the 2015 National League Champions, beat both the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs this postseason with power pitching in their starting rotation. In their nine games this postseason, the Mets have won seven games. In their series against the Cubs, the New York Mets pitching only gave up a total of eight runs in over four games and outscored the Cubs 21-8. The Mets rely heavily on their starting pitchers. Matt Harvey, Jacob Degrom and Noah Syndergaard are all three power pitchers who throw great breaking balls and even tougher fastballs. Each of these pitchers is going to be with the Mets for a long time and the oldest one, Degrom, is only 27. The Mets’ starting pitching is what helped them beat the Cubs, but what’s pitching without a strong offense?
In previous years, the Mets were never thought of as a powerful offensive juggernaut, but Daniel Murphy is trying to change opinions. Daniel Murphy, the NLCS MVP and New York Mets’ starting second baseman, broke a unique postseason record in 2015 by hitting a home run in six straight playoff games. Previously, Carlos Beltran held the postseason record with a home run in five straight postseason games. Not only has he hit six home runs in the postseason, but it’s who he hit the home runs off of that really counts. In the 2015 postseason, Daniel Murphy has hit a home run off Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta. These four pitchers are four of the best pitchers in the National League, but Daniel Murphy connected against all of them. The offense so far has been led by Murphy, but with the layoff between series, the Mets can give Yoenis Cespedes and David Wright some much needed days off before they start a series of a lifetime.
In the American League, the Kansas City Royals are certainly not the team that will simply roll over to any good pitching staff. Last season, the Kansas City Royals lost game seven of the World Series, and I am certain that they still have that bad taste in their mouths. The Royals’ lineup does not possess the home run power that their ALCS opponents, the Toronto Blue Jays, had, but there is more to a powerful lineup than home runs. The Kansas City Royals are one of the toughest teams to strike out, and they consistently put the ball in play and make a defense beat them rather than a pitcher to strike them out. Alcides Escobar, the Royals’ leadoff hitter, has been pounding pitching by swinging at the first pitches of his at bats. Escobar has 16 hits this postseason and has struck out only five times so far. The Royals’ offense is based on putting the ball in play, moving baserunners with contact and hitting the occasional home run. The Royals’ offense is not the only impressive piece of their team that got it to a World Series.
The pitching of the Royals is the real strength of the team. The starting pitching is led by guys like Johnny Cueto and Yordano Ventura. Both of these starting pitchers throw great fastballs to both sides of the plate, but it is their offspeed pitches that have hitters buckling under the bright lights of October baseball. The Royals’ starting rotation may be good, but their bullpen is really where the pitching shines. Led by Wade Davis, the Royals’ closer, and Kelvin Herrera, the Royals are full of hard throwing pitchers to appear late in games and shut down opponents. In Kauffman Stadium, a combination of good pitching and a power lineup, allow the Royals to score plenty of runs while keeping their opponents from scoring at all. But how will they fair against New York?
As in my previous prediction, I still choose the Mets’ starting pitching to win out over a doubles power lineup. The combination of Harvey, Degrom and Syndergaard has proven to be too much for strong lineups in previous series. As long as another position player starts hitting well, Daniel Murphy will continue to carry the offense, and the Mets will win their first World Series since 1986. •
