World Series Suggestions

I love this time of year. Football is going strong, Basketball is just around the corner, and the Baseball playoffs have begun. Sadly, the Rangers are not involved. Happily, neither are the Astros. There are 12 teams that have made the tournament, and anyone could win. It’s not necessarily the best team, or the team that had the best regular season record. It’s who gets hot at the right time and outlasts the others. Wild card teams have made the Series - and won! (Remember 2023?)

So who’s in the drivers seat this year? If the national networks and other media have their way, it will be a repeat of last year. Dodgers vs Yankees. Shohei vs Judge. #1 viewing audience vs #2. I absolutely don’t want this matchup. Do you?

Let’s look at some other possibilities that would be more fun:

If New York is there, how about Philadelphia as an opponent? Call it the Liberty Series. Statue of Liberty vs Liberty Bell. Loser has to change the name of their icon. And if the Dodgers are in, let’s match them with Seattle. A west coast contest which would have all the games scheduled at a time that is either inconvenient for the participants or the rest of the nation’s viewing audience. Call the Series Sleepless in Seattle and let the main sponsor be Serta - the perfect sleeper.

If Philadelphia represents the National League, bring in Toronto in a rematch of the 1993 Series. Call it the Wild Thing and let Mitch Williams throw out the first pitch to Joe Carter. Since we’re talking rematches, let’s let Boston and Cincinnati square off again. Before the first game Carlton Fisk and Bernie Carbo could have a home run derby. Or the Reds could play Cleveland in The Ohio State Series for a trophy filled with Buckeyes.

How fun would it be to see the Cubs and Red Sox play in the two oldest ballparks still in use? Wrigley and Fenway - fun places to visit but you wouldn’t want to live there. In addition to the trophy the winning team could get a gift certificate from Home Depot for needed repairs on their buildings. Another possibility would be Boston vs Milwaukee. Two cities who used to have baseball teams named Braves. Original home teams for Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron .

Remember the Seattle Pilots? They were an American League team in 1969 who lasted one year, then moved to Milwaukee and became the Brewers. Later, Seattle got another team called the Mariners. Let’s match them up for a fun series. Or maybe the Mariners against San Diego since either team would be a first time winner.

So what is my preference? I would love to see either the Mariners or Guardians vs the Brewers, Padres or Reds, in that order. Don’t want the Yankees, Dodgers, Blue Jays, Phillies, Cubs,Tigers or Red Sox, also in that order. Who do I think will actually win?

I’ve got a hunch that the Phillies will win the Series in 6 games against the Red Sox.

That’s one man’s opinion - what’s yours?