SAN FRANCISCO — 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. For the youthful Royals, strangers to the postseason for the previous 28 seasons, the thrilling 9-8 victory in 12 innings over the Oakland Athletics in the wild-card game — which featured two late comebacks — served as a baptism by fire that steeled them for the playoff pressures. They won twice in extra innings in sweeping the Los Angeles Angels in the division series and took all four games against the Orioles by two runs or less. "The way it has all unfolded, I think this was a case where being a wild card ended up working to our advantage,'' Kansas City manager Ned Yost said. "That win over Oakland in the wild-card game showed our guys that they could win (in the postseason). If we didn't win that game in the fashion we won it, I'm not so sure we would have gone on and swept the next two series.'' Mind you, Yost and his Giants counterpart, Bruce Bochy, make it clear they'd prefer to enjoy the advantages that come with a division title — at least three playoff games instead of one, the likelihood of being able to set up their rotation and the chance to rest players. That was the route the Giants took in claiming World Series championships in 2010 and 2012. But Bochy acknowledged the value of gathering momentum and keeping it going in a sport where players are used to daily games. The Giants won seven of their first nine games this postseason in large part by playing near-flawless baseball and exploiting their opponents' mistakes. "There's probably something about having to play that wild-card game,'' Bochy said. "You know there's no lull in your play and there's no drop in your guard. You're not taking time off.'' Whereas the Royals battled the Detroit Tigers for the AL Central title until the final day of the season, the Giants finished six games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West, yet clinched a wild-card spot before the last weekend. That allowed them to have 18-game winner Madison Bumgarner rested and ready to face the Pittsburgh Pirates in a do-or-die game. Bumgarner overwhelmed the Pirates in an 8-0 shutout that propelled San Francisco to the division series. He later earned NLCS MVP honors, beating the Cardinals in Game 1 and getting deep into Game 5. "You can lose that game just as easily as you can win it, so that's not something you want,'' said Bobby Evans, the Giants' assistant general manager. "Yet, the fact you come out of it, win it and you've been playing with intensity leading up to the postseason to get in, there's some benefits to your club.'' 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. San Francisco is participating in an all-wild-card affair for the second time, having lost in seven games to the then-Anaheim Angels in the 2002 World Series. Giants president Larry Baer, who has been with the club since 1992, said there's no less merit to winning the championship as a wild card. Even though the Giants lost NL West to the Dodgers, the main goal was to garner an invite to the playoffs. "The mentality here was get in. Get in the tournament. Anything can happen once you get in,'' Baer said. "If you win the World Series, nobody says, 'Oh, but they were the wild card.' It's the same.'' http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2014/10/16/royals-giants-mlb-wild-card-teams/17385731/
If it was anyone but my Giants, I'd definitely be rooting for the Royals too. Great team, love the way they play, and I'm always a sucker for a good underdog story. Should be a fun series no matter what, but GO GIANTS!!
royals beat the giants 3 times this season.i'd love to see the royals make history and beat the giants in 4 games. and yes,being a cubs fan i also forget baseball exsists in october.
That's absolutely correct but doesn't mean shirt right now. Bumgarner's game is at a whole different level right now and Lincecum has been relegated the the bullpen. A sweep of the Giants would be cool, but something inside me wants this thing to go 7 games cuz there's nothing like a Game 7 in the World Series. I was lucky enough to be at Game 7 series game in 1985 and I mean to tell you it's as exciting, if not more, than watching your team in the Super Bowl. I just want it to be a well played series by both teams and pray to God whatever umpiring crew gets the nod that they let the players decide the games and not some arbitrary strike zone. That's a whole different topic. GO ROYALS!!
I wonder if there's ever been less combined playoff losses by 2 WS teams...18 games played, only 2 losses (both by SF).
yep, both teams look like they are rolling and have a ton of chemistry right now. 2 immovable objects? Should be interesting to see how it turns out.
Just for the Series I made a couple of Emoticons and added them to the Smiley dropdown. If you're so inclined you've got these two to choose from: and
The Cubs is one organization that I truly don't understand. Probably the greatest fan base in all of baseball and yet the ballclub ends up being the great pretender year in and year out. The postseason NEEDS the Cubs and it's time they get their shirt together and get some people in the front office and a manager that can put together a team that can grow and learn to win together. Been going on way too long. Leave the name Wrigley Field, leave the ivy, keep one of the best uniforms in the game and liquidate the front office....for the good of baseball. :go royals:
They did that already. Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer have already made massive improvements to the farm system in the 2 Or 3 years they've been here. I belIeve that the cubs are actually on the upswing this time. They're actually building from the inside rather than blindly swinging for big name free agents and blowing their money. I think the cubs will be decent next year, then really good after that.
i have been saying that since 1969. i would hope once in my lifetime of devoted love to the cubs,i could be right!
i have been saying that since 1969. i would hope once in my lifetime of devoted love to the cubs,i could be right!
