Cash Kruth
The MSU football team is in the midst of its most exciting season in recent memory, and, fresh off Midnight Madness on Friday, the MSU men’s basketball team has fans pumped for yet another potential NCAA Final Four run.
But as leaves fall from trees and the air continues to cool, there is only one thing that truly keeps me going.
It’s October, which means it’s World Series time. The Fall Classic begins Wednesday when the Tampa Bay Rays host the Philadelphia Phillies, and I couldn’t be more excited.
For one, there’s no Yanks or Sox. No “Manny being Manny” or any more press given to some stupid Chicago Cubs curse. There are just two teams that epitomize the way baseball teams are supposed to be built — with young talent.
The Phillies and Rays got to this point by taking the hard, long road of scouting, drafting and developing players. They didn’t sign big-time free agents for a quick fix or trade their farm system for one guy. Instead, they opted for lower-tier free agents who fit the mold of their team or making shrewd lower-level deals for underrated prospects.
They stayed the course and now it’s paying off.
The Phillies, with players like Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Pat Burrell, Shane Victorino and Cole Hamels, are in the World Series for the first time since 1993.
The Rays — who weren’t even a team in 1993 — are in the World Series for the first time ever thanks to B.J. Upton, Evan Longoria, Carlos Pena, Carl Crawford, Dioner Navarro, Scott Kazmir, James Shields and Matt Garza.
I’m a huge fan of watching young baseball players blossom into superstars, which is something Rollins, Howard and Utley have already become. The Rays are on the same path, and this year should be the first of many successful baseball seasons in Tampa Bay for the foreseeable future.
Although the Phillies and Rays may not be the dream matchup for many baseball fans, there is no question this year’s series will be the most exciting since 2001, when the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the New York Yankees in seven games.
The TV ratings won’t be as high for FOX as they would be if it was the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Boston Red Sox, but TV ratings don’t measure the quality of baseball being played.
None of the 2008 playoff teams played better baseball than the Phillies and Rays this season — that is, after all, why they are the last two teams remaining. But also, none of the other 28 major league baseball teams play more exciting baseball than these two.
It’s just disappointing that one of them will have to lose — but it won’t be the Rays.
Tampa Bay in six.
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