Giants vs. Royals in the World Series: 10 Facts You Need To Know
As the 2014 World Series is just round the corner, we thought we would compile some interesting facts which would put the upcoming series into perspective.
The Giants and Royals are both former World Series winners and they know what it takes, and what it means, to be World Series champions. The Royals defeated the Oakland Athletics, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Baltimore Orioles enroute to their third World Series appearance. The Giants on the other hand, defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Washington Nationals and the St Louis Cardinals on their way to a twentieth World Series appearance.
The first game of the series is scheduled to be held on the 21st of October, and make no mistake, that the teams are going to be prepared for the tense contest. You should get ready for the biggest game in baseball as well, and here are some interesting facts to get you started.
Facts:
1. As a result of the American League’s victory in the All Star Game (5-3 win at the Target Field on July 15), the Royals will have home field advantage in the World Series.
2. The Giants are making their third World Series appearance in five years.
3. The Royals are making their first World Series appearance after twenty nine years. They last played in the World Series in 1985.
4. By defeating the Orioles for the American League pennant, the Royals became the first team in MLB history to win their first eight consecutive playoff games.
5. The Royals and Giants last played a series in August, which the Royals comfortably won 4-2, 5-0 and 7-4.
6.The upcoming World Series will be only the second World Series to feature two wild card teams. The only time this has happened before was in 2002, when the Giants faced the Anaheim Angels.
7.This will be the first ever World Series to feature two teams that played in the additional wild card game, which was instituted in 2012.
8.As a result, which so ever team wins will hold the record for having the most number of post season victories. The champions will have twelve wins to their names.
9. Interestingly, this will be the fifth post season meeting between a team from Missouri and a team from California in the 2014 postseason.
10. This year’s World Series will start on a Tuesday instead of the usual Wednesday. This is done to ensure there is only one day that the World Series has to compete with the NFL for TV ratings, instead of three.
So there you have it, some interesting facts about the Royals, the Giants and the World Series in general. Like we said, it’s just a little something to whet your appetite for the upcoming finals and get you in the mood to watch the biggest series in baseball. So let us know what you think of these facts, or tell us some other interesting facts that you might know in the comments section below.
