One way or another a decades‐long World Series drought will end by next week. The Kansas City Royals last won a championship in 1985 and the New York Mets haven’t won it all since 1986, setting up a compelling best‐of‐seven series.
Here are some angles worth watching once the World Series begins Tuesday…
Murphy’s streak
Which version of Daniel Murphy will turn up in the World Series? The serviceable second baseman who set a career-high with 14 home runs this season, or the offensive force who’s batting .421 in the playoffs with homers in six straight games?
Murphy’s track record shows that he can be contained offensively. He has doubles power, to be sure, but 62 career home runs in seven seasons strongly suggest that he’s not Barry Bonds or even Carlos Beltran. Not that we can fault Royals pitchers if they’re a little more cautious than usual around Murphy.
Outfielders on display
The series will showcase two of the winter’s top free agent outfielders: Yoenis Cespedes and Alex Gordon.
Cespedes, arguably the Mets’ top hitter, has been battling a left shoulder injury, but he’s expected to be ready to play after hitting 35 home runs with an .870 OPS during the regular season. The question for teams contemplating a free agent bid for Cespedes: can he replicate his 2015 numbers, or should last year’s pedestrian .301 OBP cause concern?
Meanwhile, Alex Gordon posted an .809 OPS in 104 games for Kansas City despite missing time with a groin injury. He’s now batting eighth, but that’s a reflection of the Royals’ deep lineup rather than an indictment of Gordon’s offensive talent. Expect the left‐handed hitting 31‐year‐old to rank among the winter’s most coveted free agents.
Sneaky good
Here’s a question: who’s the worst hitter starting in either lineup? You could go with Alex Rios, who has an .874 OPS in the post-season. Neither team has a particularly dominant offensive shortstop, but Wilmer Flores had a respectable .703 OPS this year and the exceptionally aggressive Alcides Escobar was just named ALCS MVP.
OK, Rios is now a below‐average bat, but really there aren’t a lot of weak spots, even if these teams are better‐known for their pitching. That’s how you end up with Gordon batting eighth and Michael Conforto batting seventh.
Rotation vs. Bullpen
The Mets have the better rotation and the Royals have the better bullpen, but overall the pitching staffs are comparable, largely because of how they’re used.
The Royals make up for a relatively unimpressive rotation by relying heavily on a bullpen that includes shutdown relievers such as Wade Davis and Kelvin Herrera. There’s real depth to the Kansas City bullpen, too. If Johnny Cueto struggles again the Royals can turn to someone like Kris Medlen or Danny Duffy for a few quality innings. Because of the bullpen’s depth no one’s expecting seven innings when Chris Young starts, and that allows Young to gear up for the batters he does face. Throw in two travel days and the Royals have the ability to get plenty of innings from their top relief arms, and the questions in their rotation suddenly look more manageable.
The Mets can take the opposite approach and lean more heavily on their rotation. When they do call on their bullpen, they can call on their top arms, Jeurys Familia and Tyler Clippard, without asking lesser relievers to pitch in too many high-leverage spots.
Where does Morales fit?
Once the World Series moves to New York this weekend, the Mets will lose DH Kendrys Morales, who hit 22 home runs with an .847 OPS this year. They could technically play him at first base while shifting Eric Hosmer to the outfield, but that would compromise what’s arguably the best defence in the league.
That likely relegates Morales to pinch‐hitting duty for Games 3, 4 and 5, which raises the question of how manager Ned Yost should use the switch‐hitter. Morales has a career OPS of .822 against right‐handed pitching, so if Rios is batting against a tough right‐hander such as Familia or Clippard the Royals should insert Morales for an at bat and replace him defensively with Paulo Orlando or Terrance Gore.
