Before the first pitch is thrown Wednesday night in Game 1 of the 2010 World Series, there will be plenty of talk about the lousy ratings this year's match-up will draw. It is likely there will be more talk about the ratings game than there will be about the baseball game.
While neither team boasts a huge payroll, or a dazzling history of postseason moments, there are still plenty of reasons to be excited for the 2010 Fall Classic.
Cliff Lee
In his seven career postseason starts, Cliff Lee is a perfect 7-0 with a 1.26 ERA. In this year's playoffs with the Rangers, Lee is 3-0 with a 0.75 ERA, while averaging a staggering 11 strikeouts per game.
As a member of the Phillies, Lee won both games he pitched in last year's World Seriesas the Phillies fell to the Yankees in six games. If Lee is able to lead the Rangers to a championship, while keeping up his video-game statistics, it will be hard to argue against Lee as the best postseason pitcher of all time.
Lee will face Tim Lincecum in Game 1 Wednesday night in San Francisco.
AT&T Park
In the five postseason games the Giants have played at AT&T Park this fall, the atmosphere has been electric from the first pitch. Sometimes the West Coast fans gets a bad reputation for not being as devoted to their baseball teams as the East Coast, but Giant fans are giving the West Coast serious credibility when it comes to this argument.
Potentially getting to watch four World Series games in this beautiful ballpark is reason enough to be excited for the World Series.
Cody Ross
Since the beginning of the playoffs, Ross has been winning the hearts of baseball fans across America. After being cut by the Marlins in August, the Giants took a chance on the right fielder. After possibly being out of work in late August, Ross is now the NLCS MVP.
In ten postseason games, Ross is batting .324, with four home runs and eight runs batted in. Ross went deep twice against Roy Halladay, the likely National League Cy Young winner, in Game 1 of the NLCS. It will be fun to see if Ross continues his hot streak into the World Series
Surprise, Surprise, Surprise
The last few years, Major League Baseball has produced some serious underdog stories. Between 2006 and 2008, one of the teams playing in the World Series had posted a losing season the year before: The 2006 Tigers, 2007 Rockies and the 2008 Rays. On the flip side, each of these teams faced off against squads that were no surprise at all: The Cardinals, Red Sox, and Phillies respectively.
However, this year is a different story. Neither one of these teams were serious World Series threats heading into this season. While both teams finished with winning records last season, neither one of them were in the postseason. The Giants have not been to the playoffs since 2003, and the Rangers since 1999.
In many preseason previews, neither the Rangers or Giants were even picked to win their respective divisions. Even after both teams clinched playoff births, few experts or fans were picking either team to make much noise.
I used to think the NFL was the only league in which a team could go from worst to first in a matter of one season, but Major League Baseball has shown recently to expect the unexpected.
Plain and simple, the Giants and Rangers are two great baseball clubs who have beaten the Yankees, Rays, Braves and Phillies, four teams with a combined 379 wins in 2010. While the Rangers and Giants may be lacking postseason tradition, huge payrolls, and pinstripes on their jerseys, they make up for this with great players with unmeasurable heart, which is reason enough to watch this series.
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