Kansas City Royals vs New York Mets

And so we come to the final two. The best of the 2015 Major League Baseball season, winners of their respective conferences and challengers for the vacant title. The Royals have been here before, they were the AL Champs last season only to fall to the San Francisco Giants in the World Series. The Mets, meanwhile, are on a bit of a fairy tale run (like KCR in 2014), returning to baseball’s grandest stage for the first time since 2000.

How They Got Here

Kansas City Royals:

Last year’s Royals were the darlings of the postseason. From their unlikely wildcard game comeback to a lights-out bullpen that turned six good innings into a win on call. It had been 29 years since they last made the playoffs, the longest drought in baseball, and it would have been even longer ‘til they won another game had they not staged that resurgence against the Oakland Athletics. Honestly, words cannot do it justice. It was one of the greatest ballgames ever played.

Back to back extra-innings wins over the favoured Los Angeles Angels set up a sweep in the NLDS, capped by an 8-3 win in game three on the back of some early offence and a strong start by James Shields, before the Royals went and swept the Baltimore Orioles as well, going into the World Series with an 8-0 postseason record. They were no match for Madison Bumgarner in game one, although a 2-RBI double by Salvador Perez helped tie the series up and the Royals rode that bullpen to a game three win as well. An early 4-1 lead was blown for a big loss in game four before Bumgarner shut them out in nine to put the Royals on the brink. The bats of Lorenzo Cain and Mike Moustakas forced a game seven but Bumgarner, out of the bullpen on short rest, was able to put Kansas City down, pitching five scoreless to close out the Series. The Royals left 90 feet away from the tying run…

The 2015 season was nothing like that underdog story. The Royals bossed from the start and would end up with the best record in the AL at 95-67. They’d lost key guys such as James Shields and Billy Butler but they lost nothing in production. Not a team with great power, they’d instead hit for the third best average in the MLB (.269) and that bullpen was every bit effective, logging 56 saves. The only doubt was a seeming loss in velocity from superstar closer Greg Holland which eventually turnout out to be a torn elbow muscle – a big blow to their ‘pen, though Wade Davis has proven an able deputy. The Royals were never in doubt of missing these playoffs however there were doubts about how far they could go without a dominant starter. So they traded for Johnny Cueto.

And it was Cueto that pitched them to victory in the deciding game of the ALDS against the Houston Astros, the Royals twice winning with their season on the line in that series. They were then able to blunt the best batting team left hanging in the Toronto Blue Jays first up before coming back from 3-0 down in the second game for a 2-0 series lead in the Championship Series. Those Jays bats came alive to haul a game back, yet in the fourth matchup it was KC that came out swinging, homers to Ben Zobrist and Alex Ríos setting up a 14-2 victory. Just as the Blue Jays did against the Texas Rangers, they were able to then win on the verge of elimination, however game six would go to KCR despite Toronto tying it in the top of the eighth with a Jose Bautista 2-run homer. Lorenzo Cain sprinting all the way home from first on a deep Eric Hosmer single for the winning run. Wade Davis got himself in a bit of trouble closing it out but a couple Ks and a Josh Donaldson grounder to third ended it, putting the Royals back in the big time.

New York Mets:

The Mets didn’t come into the season with championship expectations but they did emerge with plenty of playoff hope. Matt Harvey, their ace, was back after missing the last season as he recovered from Tommy John surgery on an elbow injury he sustained during his 2013 breakout campaign. He joined a pitching staff that even without him was one of the better ones in the National League, Jacob de Grom winning Rookie of the Year.

Those two combined with rookie Noah Syndergaard established one of the best rotations in baseball, riding this team to 90 wins despite putting up a team batting average of just .244 (second-last in the majors). They battled away with pre-season favourites the Washington Nationals for the NL East, going back and forth over the first few months but things started to swing in July as Wilmer Flores (two days after almost being traded mid-game, which left him in tears on the field – though the deal later collapsed) hit a 12th innings walk-off homer to beat the Nats on the same day that they traded for slugger Yoenis Cespedes. They swept the Nats twice in August and rolled towards the division title as Washington crumbled down the stretch.

If there’s a team with an obviously more dominant top end of the rotation than the Mets then it is the Los Angeles Dodgers, a team built from near-unlimited supplies of cash and featuring both Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke. But deGrom was able to outduel Kershaw in game one and some timely hitting helped them to a 3-1 victory. The Dodgers came back in game two, winning with 4 runs in the bottom of the seventh before the Mets put themselves one game from advancing after blowing LAD out early in a 13-7 win back in NYC. Curtis Granderson had 5 RBI.

Clayton Kershaw got revenge in forcing a deciding game five, a Daniel Murphy homer not enough as the Mets’ other rookie starter, Steve Matz, copped the loss. However deGrom returned for the rubber game and after pitching tough through some trouble, a solo Murphy homer in the sixth gave the Mets a 3-2 lead which the bullpen held without too much fuss.

That meant a matchup with the Chicago Cubs, a team whose embattled history of irrelevance rivals any team in American sport. They’d been superb in beating the St Louis Cardinals, getting by with all sorts of power hitting, rookie bats and the most dominant arm in baseball this season: Jake Arrieta. Yet the Cubs were blown away by the Mets, swept in four in a series in which they never once held a lead. The Mets starters too strong and Dan Murphy continuing to crush the ball – winning series MVP with a .529 BA and slugging at 1.294 with home runs in six consecutive playoff games.

Hitting

Neither of these teams are out there slugging away every night but that’s not the way that World Series’ tend to be won. It’s clutch hitting that counts now. That’s something that the Royals know a thing or two about, they strikeout far less than any other team, constantly put the ball in play and are loaded with speed on the bases. That’s how they got here, in fact, through Lorenzo Cain’s legs. The Mets, on the other hand, aren’t ones for base-pace, stealing fewer bases than any other team in 2015.

And the Royals are much better hitting this season than last. To a large degree that’s down to free agent signing Kendry Morales who has brought some serious power to this team. He hit 22 homers at a .290 average with 106 RBI this season and has taken that into the playoffs with four more homers and 10 RBIs. Morales highlights a middle-order that also has Eric Hosmer who is proving, as he did last year, to be a post-season beast. Third baseman Mike Moustakas adds some power himself while outfielders Cain, Alex Gordon and Alex Rios all know how to get on base (Gordon especially). Ben Zobrist is a handy infield utility as well with a bit of playoff success already, he has 14 hits so far.

On the Mets side of things, one man stands above: Daniel Murphy. Here’s a dude who had only ever homered in back to back games once in his career and he’s now done so in six consecutive playoff games. That stat’s unbroken, too. He’s been a battler for a while, expected to be released by the Mets in free agency at the end of the year and yet here he is absolutely crushing the postseason. He’s hit Zack Greinke, Jake Arrieta and Clayton Kershaw into the stands, he has more hits than he does swings-and-misses. This is insane production. The only other man in MLB history with at least a hit, a run and a runner batted in in seven straight playoff games is… Lou Gehrig. Bloody hell.

Maybe he finally cools off now, maybe he gets the Barry Bonds treatment with the intentional walks. This team still has a couple other valuable bats. Curtis Granderson in 34 now but he’s been an All Star in the past, while David Wright is a Mets legend who still knows how to swing through the ball, even after missing a big chunk of this season with injury. And then the big bat that they bought for this very reason: Yoenis Cespedes. The Cuban defector is a mainstay at the Home Run Derby and has been shipped around a few different teams in his short time in the majors. But he’s always hit well, a career .311 BA in the postseason.

Guys To Know:

Kendry Morales (KCR)

Daniel Murphy (NYM)

Starting Pitching

Here’s where the 2015 Mets plant their flag in the dirt. Their four man rotation of Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz is something special. All four have fastballs of 95 mph or faster – Syndergaard touches 100 mph on the regular. And what else, Jacob deGrom is the oldest of the quartet and he’s only 27 years old. He’s also been the best pitcher of this postseason, striking out 13 in his first game and often looking actually untouchable. Barring something out of the ordinary, they’re gonna give you six or seven good innings most games. At this stage of the season that’s priceless.

Over on the Royals, their rotation has probably been their weakness. Yordano Ventura was supposed to be an ace after breaking out last playoffs but he ended up getting demoted to the minors while the team traded for Johnny Cueto. Cueto was a proper ace on the Cincinnati Reds, and he struggled at times in Kansas, though he came good in the playoffs. Ventura was a far better pitcher after he was recalled too, right back where he was supposed to be. Edinson Volquez will pitch game three for KC, Chris Young probably with game four. It’s a definite edge to the Mets. Still, the Royals don’t ask as much from their starters on account of the next category.

Guys To Know:

Jacob deGrom (NYM)

Yordano Ventura (KCR)

The Bullpen

There is no better bullpen in baseball than that of the Royals. They rode it in 2014 and they’re riding it in 2015 - 5-0 with a 2.85 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 41 innings these playoffs. No Greg Holland is an issue but they’ve plastered over the cracks with Wade Davis dominating the ninth, Ryan Madson the eighth and Kelvin Herrera sweeping any other late innings needing doing. If they have a late lead, they’re almost impossible to beat.

As for the Mets, they don’t have nearly the same fear factor in the pen but they do have Jeurys Familia who has quietly gone about logging 43 saves with a 1.85 ERA in 78.0 innings pitched, 86 Ks to 19 walks. Jenrry Mejia was supposed to do the job but he was suspended for PEDs and Bobby Parnell couldn’t get back to the guy he was before Tommy John surgery. Up steps Familia and he’s only gotten better as the season’s gone on. He has 5 postseason saves, giving up a mere 2 hits, 2 walks and 0 runs in his 9 2/3 innings.

New York has a couple other good arms in the pen, Addison Reed and Tyler Clippard are very solid, but none quite match the cult heroics of 42 year old Bartolo Colon. Shockingly, this will be the big fella’s first ever World Series appearance, despite having 218 career wins (second among active players). He pitched as a starter this season as he always has but has settled into a middle relief role in the playoffs and he’s done a good job of it too, picking up a win in the Cubs series.

Guys To Know:

Kelvin Herrera (KCR)

Jeurys Familia (NYM)

The Leaders

Every playoff team gets judged by their manager. In this case we have two very contrasting fellows. 66 year old Terry Collins is in his fifth season as skipper of the Mets. He’s an assured and determined type, pretty intense and (especially recently) just flawless in his decision making. Ned Yost, meanwhile, has something of a reputation for head-scratching moves. Even with this bullpen, he still manages to mess things up now and then and his lineups don’t always make conventional sense. And yet here he is in consecutive World Series, the winningest manager in Royals history and, as of now, the man with the second best playoff winning percentage in history (18 wins to 8 losses). He’s humble, understated and completely successful – whether that’s because of him or despite him is a regular debate.

Oh, and all great teams have that one veteran player that sums up all that they do. The fan favourite who has toiled for longer than anyone can remember and who deserves is more than anyone else. David Wright fits that exactly after 7 All Star appearances, 2 Gold Gloves, 2 Silver Sluggers and a 30-30 season. He’s been one of the best players in the sport for a decade and there’s no player more iconic among Mets fans this millennium. Yet so much of his career has come as the best player on a bad team. He’s the only guy left from the Mets’ last postseason appearance in 2006. Since then he’s had chances to leave this team and he’s stayed loyal, plus if that didn’t make him enough of a hero, he missed four months this season with a case of spinal stenosis that threatened to end his career.

But the Royals have their own franchise heroes too. Salvatore Perez is only 25 but he is everything a fan could hope to find in a player, a man that people feel privileged to cheer for. One of the most durable catchers going around and one of the very best of them too. Plus he can swing a bat pretty hard. Perez has played through almost every injury he’s ever had and he’s had a few. At this point he might be impervious to pain. Plus he’s one of a significant list of young influential players on this team that have never played for another side. Guys like Alex Gordon, Kelvin Herrera, Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer, Yordano Ventura and Jarrod Dyson.

Guys To Know:

David Wright (NYM)

Salvador Perez (KCR)

The Other Stuff

And of course there are all sorts of other factors that creep into any series that include no rhyme or reason. For example, both of these teams are without World Series titles since the 1980s. That kind of sustained mediocrity turned success tends to breed a sense of fate that spurs teams on through the tough times. The Royals of the past two seasons have become known for their never-say-die attitude. As well as that, due to the result of the All Star Game, the Royals have home field advantage.

Both of these teams were among the best this season in most defensive categories. They’re both teams without the superstar bats in their lineup to be able to take things for granted with their position players. The Mets are a very good defensive team. The Royals are a great one. No team plays the percentages and finishes off plays like they do. Salvador Perez is immense behind the plate.

Both teams have neutral fan appeal and both teams have reason to think they will win this. The Mets have a starting group as good as any we’ve seen at this stage in years while the Royals are a clinical team that know how to close. No team has made consecutive finals series since the Texas Rangers in 2010 and 2011 and they famously went without rings, a fate the Royals are obviously trying to avoid. Yet the Mets know as well as anyone how fleeting success can be and there’s no way they take this lightly themselves. No predictions here, other than to say that this thing could well go seven. We’re in for a beauty.