It’s the Big Market World Series, only without the biggest market.
Lament all you want the Yankees’ lack of starting pitching depth or the Mets’ lack of … well, that constitutes a separate column altogether. Yet if Red Sox-Dodgers represents the Fall Classic that New Yorkers neither deserve nor need, it becomes the only game in town now.
And this rematch of the 1916 championship round should be entertaining, with enough New York-friendly figures and angles to get you through the week. In fact, the only challenge with coming up with this Series’ 10 most intriguing people came in deciding who wouldn’t make the cut. (Sorry, Justin Turner, Max Muncy, Dave Roberts, Chris Sale and Jackie Bradley Jr.) Your list:
1. Manny Machado
Should we establish a Manny Meter, whereby we determine each day whether the Dodgers infielder helps or hurts his impending free agency? So far this postseason, with a .250/.313./.500 slash line, he has showcased his enormous talent … and a startling lack of discipline with both his actions (his kicking of Brewers first baseman Jesus Aguilar) and his words (his telling The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal that he won’t be “Johnny Hustle”). Now on the game’s biggest stage, all eyes — including the Yankees’, naturally — will be on him.
2. Clayton Kershaw
The “Guaranteed future Hall of Famer trying to get his first ring” storyline never gets stale because each story features enough distinct details. Kershaw, the three-time National League Cy Young award winner and 2014 NL Most Valuable Player, has pitched in six straight postseasons for the Dodgers, and this will be his second consecutive Fall Classic. His 4.09 ERA in 141 career playoff innings has mitigated the sympathy for his ring-less plight. This time, furthermore, the issue of his future looms, as he can opt out of the two years (for $65 million) left on his contract after the season.
3. Mookie Betts
The very likely 2018 American League MVP makes his World Series debut. The Red Sox right fielder’s talent and age (26) make him another “Face of the Game” candidate, joining the Yankees’ Aaron Judge and the Astros’ trio of Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and Carlos Correa as well as Machado and his fellow huge free agent Bryce Harper. And in the games at Dodger Stadium, under National League rules, Betts might revert to his original position, second base.
4. David Price
For a while now, Price and Kershaw — whose current contracts are worth $217 million and $215 million, respectively — have found themselves paired by the “Can’t pitch in the postseason!” reputation. At least Kershaw mixed in some good outings, whereas Price was consistently dreadful. Then Price hung in there against the Astros in Game 2 of the AL Championship Series, and then he shut them down in Boston’s Game 6 clincher. Is he liberated from this stigma now? He’ll likely start Game 2.
5. Alex Cora
The former Mets infielder will try to become the fifth rookie manager to win it all, an accomplishment reached most recently by the Diamondbacks’ Bob Brenly when his guys outlasted the Yankees in 2001. The Puerto Rico native has looked fearless and flawless, taking on not only every baseball opponent — his Red Sox are 5-0 on the road this month — but even President Trump concerning the latter’s comments about last year’s Hurricane Maria.
6. Yasiel Puig
He isn’t a Face of the Game as much as an Id of The Game, prone to craziness that goes viral. To borrow from John Sterling, you can’t predict Puig, so keep your eyes on the Dodgers’ right fielder, who is slashing .333/.429/.533 this run.
7. J.D. Martinez
The Red Sox’s hitting stud continues his “I’m better than Giancarlo Stanton” tour through October. He owns a characteristically excellent .313/.415/.531 slash line through Boston’s first nine playoff games, and the impetus for switching Betts to second base would be getting the Red Sox DH a spot in the outfield.
8. Cody Bellinger
The NLCS MVP registered a brutal World Series last year, notching four hits and 17 strikeouts in 28 at-bats as his Dodgers fell to the Astros in seven games. Will his second Fall Classic in two years go better? Regardless, he already has extended a remarkable streak: In each of the six seasons a Bellinger has played, his team has reached the finals. Clay Bellinger (Cody’s father) clocked time for the 1999 through 2001 Yankees and 2002 Angels.
9. Nathan Eovaldi
The Yankees non-tendered him in December 2016 and no one blinked over it, as Eovaldi had just undergone his second Tommy John surgery. Who thrives after two TJ procedures? Eovaldi, that’s who. Always admired for his stuff, the Red Sox right-hander has dominated in the postseason and is building a fascinating free-agency case.
10. Kirk Gibson
The Dodgers broke a World Series slump last year when they qualified for their first title round since 1988. Now they’ll try to end their championship schneid. What better time to do it than the 30-year anniversary of the gimpy Gibson smacking a pinch-hit, walk-off homer off the A’s Dennis Eckersley to vault that ragtag group to unlikely immortality?
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