As a Philadelphia sports fan, the approaching World Series game is a time of excitement, fear, and unbridled hope. On Friday, October 28, the Philadelphia Phillies will face the Houston Astros for game one of the 118th World Series. The Astros are early favorites against the Phillies as they play in their fourth World Series in the past six years. On the other hand, the Phillies haven’t played in a World Series since 2009.
The teams have a four day gap until the start, and it is up for debate how they will respond to their time off. The Phillies are running off a lot of momentum, and it will be difficult to carry that on the road. Bryce Harper, named the National League Championship Series most valuable player, is a clear leader for the team and the only one hitting higher than .260 this postseason.
As for the Astros, who have gone undefeated so far this postseason, the focus is on achieving records and redemption. After losing the World Series to Atlanta just last year, the team is eager for the chance to redeem themselves. The team has joined just two other teams in being the only few to win a division series and league championship series in the same season, and are ready to break another record by joining the 1979 Cincinnati Reds as the only teams in the division era to complete a perfect postseason.
Shadowing the Astros’ World Series appearance this year is the 2017 cheating scandal and sign-stealing scheme. Sign stealing is when baseball players try to decode the secret signals between pitchers and catchers. Many teams have been implicated in sign stealing plots, including the Phillies in 1898. Sign stealing is generally fair game, but the Astros used cameras and electronic devices to enhance their abilities and communicate to the batter. The Astros chose to fire Manager A.J. Hinch and General Manager Jeff Luhnow after the team was fined $5 million over the scheme, but no disciplinary action was taken toward the players.
The World Series will be a best-of-seven series played at Minute Maid Park in Houston (Games 1, 2, 6, and 7) and Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia (Games 3, 4, and 5). Baseball fans all over the country will be tuning in to watch the matchup between the Houston Astros and the Philadelphia Phillies. And while the Astros might be highly favored to win the series, the Phillies have been the most underestimated team throughout the postseason and are showing no signs of slowing down. The competitive matchup will surely make for a great series.