Two teams with a less than illustrious past take centre stage having beaten dynasties on the wayIt was all set up. When the smoke of the regular
baseball season cleared at the start of October there was a path for two of the most historic, resonant and mighty teams to meet this week in the World Series: the
New York Yankees v the
Los Angeles Dodgers. TV gold, even for neutrals. Everyone hates the Yankees, except those who love them.
And now the great day is about to dawn . Except that, um, the Series pits the Houston Astros against the
Washington Nationals. The Yankees and Dodgers have appeared in 60 previous World Series between them; the actual contenders two. This, however, does not look like an anti-climax. These teams will parade a matchless array of starting pitchers. In a sense, that’s measurable: only seven pitchers have ever signed contracts worth $175m plus; four of them will be on display this week, two on each side - plus the Astros’ Gerrit Cole who is expected to join that list when he goes out of contract this winter.