Opinion

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.

The Kansas City Royals finished off the Toronto Blue Jays Friday night in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series to set up a date in the World Series with the National League champion New York Mets. 

It's the first meeting in the World Series between the two teams, but the Royals are in the Fall Classic for the second straight season, while the Mets are back for the first time since 2000.

The 2015 World Series matchup is set in stone as the New York Mets and the Kansas City Royals will square off in the Fall Classic.

What will be the keys to winning the World Series? Who will have his coming-out party?

The Fall Classic pits the Kansas City Royals, last year’s bridesmaids and the epitome of a fundamentally sound team, against the budding New York Mets, who are making their first of what could be many appearances on this stage behind a youthful rotation exhibiting veteran poise.

A long World Series drought is guaranteed to end over the next couple weeks as the NL champion New York Mets battle the AL champion Kansas City Royals for the 2015 title. The Royals' last championship came in 1985, and the Mets most recently raised the Commissioner's Trophy in 1986.

The New York Mets and Kansas City Royals took very different paths this season, but both franchises have reached the pinnacle of baseball with an opportunity to win the 2015 World Series starting on Tuesday from Kauffman Stadium. 

After a dominating sweep of the Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series, the New York Mets are the early favorites to win their first championship since 1986, according to Odds Shark.

The Mets narrowly edged the Kansas City Royals in the most updated odds, released before the end of the American League Championship Series. 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Take the crown. Seize the crown. Keep the crown. Call it what you want.

But as the night darkened and the rain fell and manager Ned Yost stepped into another October moment that left second-guessers howling at the moon, one thing was crystal clear:

There was absolutely no way the Kansas City Royals were going to surrender their American League crown.

On Friday, the Kansas City Royals punched their second consecutive World Series ticket on the strength of closer Wade Davis, who picked up the win with a gutsy, rain-delayed, 1.2-inning performance.

So that's the obvious angle: The Royals win the pennant again thanks to their dominant, shutdown relief corps.