The baseball season in Europe ended last weekend, when the championship in France was decided. But in the United States, we are entering now the final stretch. The World Series starts tonight in St. Petersburg, Florida, when the Tampa Bay Rays host the Philadelphia Phillies for game one of the best of seven series.
The Rays are on their way from worst to first, as they never finished better than 70 wins a year till the beginning of the 2008 season. They surprised everybody when they moved past the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox in the AL East division standings and won 97 games throughout the regular season. In the ALDS they beat the Chicago White Sox in four games, before eliminating wild card winner and defending world champion Red Sox in seven games in the ALCS.
The Phillies are back in the World Series for the first time since 1993. During their team history, which dates back till 1883, they only won one title, when Mike Schmidt led them to the championship in 1980. Like in 2007, though not as dramatic, they secured the NL East division title in the last week of September by winning 92 games. In the NLDS they defeated the Milwaukee Brewers in four games to book a matchup with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS. After five games Philadelphia also won this series to advance into the Fall Classic.
Players to Watch:
Tampa Bay Rays: Evan Longoria (won the Baseball World Cup with Team USA last November), B.J. Upton, Carlos Pena, Carl Crawford, David Price
Philadelphia Phillies: Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino
Starting Pitchers:
Tampa Bay Rays: Scott Kazmir, James Shields, Matt Garza, Andy Sonnanstine
Philadelphia Phillies: Cole Hamels, Brett Myers, Jamie Moyer, Joe Blanton
European Ties:
Tampa Bay Rays: Manager Joe Maddon is coming to Europe in November to celebrate his honeymoon backpacking-style. Catcher Dioner Navarro is the brother of Dewis Navarro, catcher for the Marlins Puerto Cruz and the Spanish National Team.
Philadelphia Phillies: Dutch pitcher Mike Bolsenbroek and Czech infielder Jakub Sladek signed minor league contracts with the organization this year. Both played for the Buchbinder Legionaere Regensburg this summer.
Schedule:
(all games are scheduled to begin at 8pm ET, although first pitch is not expected before 8.25pm ET)
Wednesday, October 22:
Tampa Bay Rays – Philadelphia Phillies
Thursday, October 23:
Tampa Bay Rays – Philadelphia Phillies
Saturday, October 25:
Philadelphia Phillies – Tampa Bay Rays
Sunday, October 26:
Philadelphia Phillies – Tampa Bay Rays
Monday, October 27:
Philadelphia Phillies – Tampa Bay Rays*
Wednesday, October 29:
Tampa Bay Rays – Philadelphia Phillies*
Thursday, October 30:
Tampa Bay Rays – Philadelphia Phillies*
(* if necessary)
You can watch the World Series throughout Europe on NASN and MLB.tv.