The 2020 World Series is set. It has been a shortened, strange year, but the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays have found a way to battle to the end.
There were no flukes to get to this point as the Rays and Dodgers have been two of the best teams in baseball this season. Many believed that this format would create an opportunity for an underdog to appear in the World Series.
The Dodgers swept the Brewers, swept the Padres, and went seven games with the Braves to get to this point. On the other side, the Rays swept the Blue Jays and went the distance in their series with both the Yankees and Astros.
Can the Dodgers Finally Do It?
It seems that the Dodgers have had one of the best teams in the league year after year. However, but they have yet to win a World Series with a Clayton Kershaw-led squad.
Kershaw has been known not to perform well in the postseason, but he is holding his own this year. It could be better, but he has two wins and one loss with a 3.32 ERA.
Last offseason, the Dodgers added Mookie Betts to the lineup. He is one of the best players in all of baseball and provides a big leg up for this team.
The Dodgers need redemption after losing to the Astros in 2018, who were later caught for cheating during those games. The Dodgers made it to this point after being down 3-1 to the Braves, and their chances were looking slim.
But they survived and now look to cap off their season.
Rays Going for First World Series Win
This would be the first World Series win for the Tampa Bay Rays franchise. The Rays have the fifth-best record since their first appearance in the Fall Classic in 2008.
This team was one of the first to adopt the shift. This would be a statement for modern baseball.
Randy Arozarena has been an absolute beast for the Rays in the postseason, leading them in almost every category. Most notably, he has hit seven home runs and added 11 RBI.
Small Market vs. Large Market
This World Series is a true battle of a large-market team versus a small-market team. Kershaw, Betts, and Kenley Jansen combined almost have a larger salary than the entire Rays team.
“You want to see teams find success in different ways. That’s part of what makes the game what it is,” Rays general manager Erik Neander said. “I don’t think you ever want to see there be one particular cookie-cutter form of success in anything. That’s not what makes it fun.”
The Dodgers are full of many household names, such as Kershaw, who have had plenty of media attention in their career. But the Rays consist of a lot of guys who have flown under the radar.
All of the pressure is on the Dodgers. They were expected to be here since the beginning of the season.