World Series Begins Tonight (Does Anyone Care Besides Fans of The Two Teams?)

The 117th World Series begins tonight in Houston between Atlanta (88-73) and the Astros (95-67).

The Astros (95-67) finished atop the American League West for the fourth time in the last five seasons. They defeated the White Sox in the ALCS (6-1, 9-4, 6-12, 10-1) and the Red Sox in the ALCS (5-4, 9-5, 3-12, 9-2, 9-1, 5-0).

Astros manager Dusty Baker is the ninth manager to win a pennant in both the National and American leagues (having won the NL flag with the 2002 Giants). Baker's 19-year gap between World Series appearances is the second-longest in MLB history, behind the 22-year gap for Bucky Harris (1925 Senators and 1947 Yankees).

Atlanta (88-73) won the National League East for the fourth consecutive season, although they did not have a winning percentage over .500 until August 6, the latest date in history for a World Series participant. Atlanta beat the Brewers in the NLDS (1-2, 3-0, 3-0, 5-4) and the Dodgers in the NLCS (3-2, 5-4, 5-6, 9-2, 2-11, 4-2).

This is Atlanta's first World Series since 1999; the team has not won a World Series game since 1996. The Astros have played in two of the last four World Series, winning in 2017 and losing in 2019.

MLB.com polled its reporters and analysts for some predictions:

Astros:   52 votes (68.4%)
Atlanta:  24 votes

Sixty of the 76 voters (78.9%) think the series will go at least six games.

Astros  in 7 games:   6
Astros  in 6 games:  32
Astros  in 5 games:  13
Astros  in 4 games:   1

Atlanta in 7 games:   7
Atlanta in 6 games:  15
Atlanta in 5 games:   1
Atlanta in 4 games:   1

I am in no way cheering for either team, but I would like Atlanta to lose.