Two wild cards in the World Series

Two wild cards in the World Series October 20, 2014

The Kansas City Royals and the San Francisco Giants will meet in the World Series starting tomorrow.  That will be only the second time that the two wild-card teams played each other in the World Series.  Since the wild card–not the division champions but the teams with the next best record–was instituted in 1995, a wild card team made it to the series 10 times and won it 5 times.

From Jorge L. Ortiz, From wild cards to World Series, Giants, Royals endured, USA Today:

In their desire to keep more teams involved in playoff races late in the season, the lords of baseball added a second wild card in 2012, with the added benefit of enhancing the importance of earning the division crown.

Instead of entering the postseason on essentially the same terms as the division winners, the wild cards would have to withstand the stress of a single-elimination game — likely burning their top starters — then open their first playoff series on the road.

To which the Kansas City Royals and San Francisco Giants are saying, “Thank you. Can we have more?”

The disadvantage both clubs were supposed to endure may have turned to a certain extent into a plus, as they have heated up in October and will meet in the second-ever all-wild-card World Series.

The Royals secured their spot with a sweep of the Baltimore Orioles in the American League Championship Series, extending their perfect postseason run to a record 8-0.

The Giants claimed the National League pennant with a stunning walk-off win over the St. Louis Cardinals, and will head to Kansas City on an emotional roll their AL counterparts can well understand. . . .

The Giants are the second team to make the World Series twice as a wild card. The then-Florida Marlins won it all after reaching the postseason in that fashion in 1997 and 2003, accounting for two of the five championships won by the 10 wild card teams that have made it to the World Series since the format was introduced in 1995.

But does having two wild cards with the poorest records of ever before make it, as ESPN columnist David Schoenfield says it is, the  worst World Series ever?

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