SmoreSports

Starting on Tuesday, the New York Mets will play the Kansas City Royals in the 2015 World Series. According to ESPN at the beginning of the season, none of these teams were predicted to reach the World Series, much less win it. But here they are, and both worthy of being here, and looking to win the last game of the season. Some history between the two teams: The last time the Royals were in the World Series was... well, last year. However the last time they won was back in 1985. Best known for one of the worst calls in MLB history, the Royals came back in game 6 to force game 7 against the St. Louis Cardinals and ended up winning it all. Until recently, they have been the doormat of baseball. Consistently getting top 5 overall draft picks. Lately, those top draft picks have come to fruition as Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, and Alex Gordon lead not only a potent offense but arguably the best defense in the game. Last year, they were Cinderella but the clock struck midnight on th...

Can we all just take a second and think about the Houston Astros being in the playoffs? Yes, those Astros that lost 111 games and had only four players put up a WAR (wins above replacement) of 2.0 in 2013. Those Astros that lost 22 games more than they won last season, and considered that a huge success... those Astros. They are in the playoffs. It may seem like a shock that they almost didn't even make the playoffs thanks to an abysmal road record and late surges by the Rangers and Angels, but the fact of the matter is that no one pegged them to be contenders until maybe  next year. As a homer, and with a completely biased opinion, I imagined them playing somewhere around .500 ball with a shot at the wild card and absolutely no shot at the division with the Mariners having lofty expectations, the Angels having the best record in baseball last year, and the Rangers one of the top payrolls in all of baseball.  But no. These Astros wanted to compete this year. And her...