MLB

Already this October, we have laid out our big board of the top 25 free agents set to hit the market this offseason, broken things down to the top five free agents at each position, looked at a potential fix for each team's biggest weakne

It's been a long time coming for the New York Mets and Kansas City Royals, but one of the two will end a treacherous title drought in the 2015 World Series.

The Royals came suffocatingly close to doing just that this time last year, when they took the San Francisco Giants the distance in a seven-game championship series. While they haven't won the title since 1985, the Mets won it in 1986 and haven't been back to the promised land since.

Major League Baseball’s postseason can make stars out of the ordinary, and it can also legitimize existing ones. 

This year's postseason is no exception, as it has already produced wonderful storylines for the likes of Daniel Murphy, Alcides Escobar and the New York Mets starting pitchers. With the World Series starting Tuesday night, those angles could continue to develop, or give way to new players to perform in the spotlight when the Mets and Kansas City Royals meet in the Fall Classic.

One of these teams is four wins away from winning a World Series for the first time since the Reagan administration.

The New York Mets, behind their young stud pitchers and the magician David Murphy, will be in Kansas City on Tuesday night to take on a Kansas City Royals team that looks to avenge last year's heartbreaking seven-game loss in the Fall Classic to the San Francisco Giants.

The Kansas City Royals and New York Mets will square off for the first time in the World Series starting Tuesday in what should be an evenly matched contest.

The Mets went from one end of the spectrum to the other, battling the Los Angeles Dodgers for the full five games in the National League Division Series before sweeping the Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Matching 'em up and breaking 'em down, from top to bottom, side to side, east to west, Daniel Murphy to Alcides Escobar, Mr. Met to Sluggerrr: the World Series teams, the cities, the fastballs, the drama. Game 1, first pitch 8:07 p.m. ET on Fox on Tuesday night. Cracker Jack on us.

1. This World Series Explained in Two Paragraphs

Each one of Daniel Murphy's home runs this October wasn't accompanied by a cartoon cash-register sound effect, though they all probably should have been.

Murphy slugged the New York Mets to the World Series, sure. But he's also bashing himself toward a hefty free-agent payday this winter.

How hefty will it be? And how hefty should it be? Let's parse those questions.

Between now and the start of the 2015 World Series, there's going to be a lot of talk about the layoff, and for good reason.

The New York Mets haven't played since last Wednesday, and extended breaks have not been kind to Fall Classic participants. Five of the last six teams that had five or more days off before the World Series ended up losing, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

Blue is the color in baseball this postseason. The final four teams remaining all have blue as their primary team color. The Chicago Cubs and Toronto Blue Jays fell by the wayside, leaving two survivors.

The New York Mets will represent the National League against the American League's Kansas City Royals in what could be an epic World Series.

Either way, a long championship drought is going to end in the 2015 World Series with the New York Mets and Kansas City Royals both looking to break through as the top club in baseball.