This current season has been an odd one for Major League Baseball. Ardent fans will notice that the standings look quite different from those of past years. For one, as of September 20, the Cubs possess the best record in baseball, and the Indians and the Rangers are the best teams (in terms of record) in the American League. As many already know, the Indians haven’t won a World Series since 1948, while the Cubs haven’t won since 1908 and haven’t even appeared in one since 1945, when they lost to the Tigers. That year was when the Cubs were cursed by a man with a billy goat who was denied entry to a game of the World Series, and they haven’t been back since. The Rangers have had the most recent appearance of the three, back in 2011 when they lost to the Cardinals in their second of two back-to-back World Series defeats. This year, I do not think they will return.
My prediction for this year’s World Series is that the Boston Red Sox make it back for their fourth time in the 21st century to face the Chicago Cubs, who will of course be looking for their first win in 108 years. My confidence in these predictions comes from the commanding offense of the Red Sox and the formidable pitching of the Cubs. Now, that is not to say that the Cubs have poor offense and the Sox have poor defense, but these two categories respectively are where they excel. Led by David Ortiz in his final year, Boston leads the league in batting average, doubles, on-base percentage (OBP), slugging percentage, and runs. The Cubs, with Cy Young Award–winning pitcher Jake Arrieta, have given up the least runs and hits in the league, as well as having the lowest ERA (earned run average) and WHIP (walks + hits per innings pitched) as a team, along with the lowest batting average, OBP, and slugging against.
It is because of their respective dominance in offense and pitching that I predict that the Red Sox will meet the Cubs in the World Series this year. I also predict—surprising myself a bit, I will admit—that the Cubs will emerge victorious when all is said and done. This prediction stems from my belief that pitching is more important in the playoffs than hitting, and the Cubs have pitching in spades. If these teams do make it, it will be a World Series for the ages. Imagine: the Red Sox, a team that had “The Curse of the Bambino” upon them until 2004, playing against the Cubs, a team that had infamously been cursed as well. The Sox has been one of the most successful teams of the 21st century, while the Cubs had their most consistent decade in the 1900s. These teams seem fated to finally meet up in the World Series for the first time since 1918. Will we get a repeat of when the Red Sox prevailed four games to two, or will the Cubs finally get their World Series? I, for one, can’t wait to find out.