Sparky Anderson was one of the managerial greats in baseball. In his storied career as a major league baseball manager, Sparky won two World Series with the Cincinnati Reds during the "Big Red Machine" era and won a third World Series with the Detroit Tigers.
He passed away during the offseason last year and both the Reds and the Tigers are paying a tribute to the late manager by retiring his number and wearing a tribute patch on their jersey sleeve.
So with that in mind, who likes the idea of a Sparky Anderson World Series?
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers' last World Series appearance was in 2006 when they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals and have been in contention since.
They sport a good one-two punch in the middle of the order with first baseman Miguel Cabrera and designated hitter Victor Martinez. Their starting rotation is anchored by one of the best young pitchers in Justin Verlander and has a good second in command in Max Scherzer, who is 2-0 with 16 strikeouts in 17 innings.The bullpen looks solid with "Papa Grande" Jose Valderde as the closer.
Right now the Tigers are in a bit of a slow start. They did, however, win the series against the red hot Texas Rangers so maybe they start picking it up after that series. They travel to Oakland and Seattle then come back to the Motor City for a divisional matchup against the Chicago White Sox.
Cincinnati Reds
The last time the Cincinnati Reds were in the World Series, I was born. In 1990 the Reds, led by Chris Sabo, Barry Larkin, Paul O'Neil and manager Lou Pinella, swept the heavily favored defending champion Oakland Athletics to win the World Series. They haven't been there since.
The Reds did well with the NL Central last year with a young nucleus of Jay Bruce, Drew Stubbs, Brandon Phillips and NL MVP Joey Votto.
They have a deep pitching staff and a circus side show in setup man Aroldis Chapman who throws 100-plus MPH fastballs and a deceptive slider.
The only player not to return was infielder Orlando Cabrera, who just so happens to have the uncanny ability to take teams to the playoffs in just one year.
The Reds are in a fast start and currently lead the division with a record of 8-3 with their only blemish coming from Arizona when they dropped two of three to the Diamondbacks.
It may be unlikely that these two teams make the World Series in the same year, but if they do it would make Sparky proud.
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