This might be hyperbole, but we feel safe to say that the potential World Series matchups have never been so politically loaded.
With an industry-shuttering lockout just 62 days away and a nuclear winter to follow – with only the degree of radiation in question – the lasting image of Major League Baseball will be provided by the two World Series participants and how they got there.
Narratives both valid and tired will dominate the run-up and linger for so long as baseball goes dark. No pressure, eh?
With that, let’s break down the nine most delicious World Series matchups based on narrative, geography and, dare we say, ball itself:
It’d be easy enough to dub this the I-94 Series, what with online maps’ highly complicated directions between ballparks:
Get on I-90 W/I-94 W. Follow I-94 W to your destination in Milwaukee.
Ninety minutes on I-94. It's that easy. But we could also call this the To Hell With The Cubs Series, pitting two franchises eternally playing second fiddle to the Bleacher Bummin’ behemoth lodged in between them.
Brewers and White Sox fans alike have had to endure invasive Cub fans for three decades now, a twice- or thrice-yearly phenomenon for Milwaukee since its move to the National League. Sure, both teams would be starved to win the World Series, especially Brewer fans seeking their very first.
Yet it would be kind of cool to see two fan bases close in proximity yet fused by something far stronger: Solidarity.
8. Guardians-Braves
If only to make fans and viewers squirm as they acknowledge the lingering question: Why is it that the Guardians changed their name with such ease, yet Atlanta clings to its decidedly insensitive nickname and downright offensive chant?
Cleveland shifted from its Native American name and imagery after the 2021 season and contrary to some sentiment, the sky did not fall nor the river ignite in Cuyahoga County. The Guardians won the AL Central in 2022, swept the Rays in the wild-card series and won the division in four of their first five seasons.
Nor did ditching Chief Wahoo for good harm the #brand in any fashion: In 2024, the Guardians drew 2.06 million, 1 million more than their 2016 World Series season and about 10,000 more than their 2017 season, when gains from pennant-winning years are truly felt.
This year, they cracked the 2 million mark for the third consecutive year, which they hadn’t done since the glory days of Jacobs Field produced eight straight seasons of 2 to 3 million fans from 1995-2002.
The Braves? They ignored the opportunity for a fresh start that a move to the suburbs and SunTrust/Truist Park offered. Instead, they more or less doubled down on their outdated motif, dubbing a restaurant in right field the “Chop House,” in case anyone forgot.
7. Yankees-Phillies
A rematch of a pretty great 2009 World Series that saw A-Rod win his only championship, Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera their last and the Phillies mini-dynasty fall just short of a repeat.
Best part about it, though? Amtrak.
It’s just a hop and a jump from Manhattan’s Penn Station to 30th Street in Philly, an 88-minute jaunt – quicker if you take the Acela. Lock your price in now: The cheapest round-trip fares are $40. Forty bucks! With fuel prices these days, you probably couldn’t get from Paramus to Drexel Hill, say, so cheaply.
No tolls, no traffic and a fresh new fan base for Cam Schlittler to incite. Wins all around.
6. Padres-Rays
Shirtsleeves and Cuban sandwiches. Shorts and fish tacos. A team hellbent on spending enough money to win vs. a team smart enough to do so, year after year.
No, the aesthetics of this series would be off the charts - can't wait for the drone shots over St. Pete and Coronado - and there’s zero chance of a rain delay. Not at practically peerless Petco Park and charmingly underrated Tropicana Field.
And this series would be a bold statement debunking so many modern industry tropes.
Need a new stadium to win a World Series?
Well, this would be the third Fall Classic the Rays participated in in the past 18 years (two at Tropicana Field, one in the pandemic bubble in Texas). That’s three more World Series than Target Field, Marlins Park, PNC Park, Great American Ballpark and T-Mobile Park – all constructed in the early 2000s ballpark boom - have ever seen.
Smaller-market clubs can’t spend money and win like the big boys?
The Padres have six players toting nine-figure contracts, and while they may regret the back end of some of those deals, the departing Seidler family surely didn’t: They just sold the club for $3.9 billion. Not bad for a city that ranks 30th, wedged between Baltimore and San Antonio, in Nielsen’s designated market areas.
5. Cubs-White Sox
Pity the Catholic Cubs fan.
Chicago would be an absolute party for 10 days – hopefully not too violent in the Rate and Wrigley field bleachers – while the globe got behind the White Sox and their No. 1 fan, the damn pope. What’s a devout Cubbie to do against that kind of tide?
On the real, though, this would be a fantastic baseball showcase – PCA on this stage would be appointment viewing – as well as a wonderful celebration of arguably the USA’s greatest city. With the White Sox the greenest team in the field and the Cubs’ iffy starting pitching, is there a chance such a matchup could occur?
Let us pray.
4. Astros-Dodgers
Simply to see Dodgers fans get mad at the Astros for….something?
Sure, maybe supporters of the back-to-back champions have adopted a never forget mantra when it comes to 2017, but there’s now officially just one man remaining from the sign-stealing crew – future Hall of Famer Jose Altuve.
The Astros are on their fourth general manager (counting interim situations) and second manager since their shameful racket was exposed. They’ve won another World Series since, ostensibly in a classy fashion. Booing Cam Smith won’t make any of those rockets off Clayton Kershaw in 2017 Game 5 find gloves.
And for fans without a dog in the fight, it’d be funny to see them wrestle with swallowing a Dodgers threepeat or supporting a franchise they’ve considered something of a pariah for the past decade.
3. Red Sox-Cubs
The Theo Bowl.
If nothing else, it’d be an interesting psychological evaluation to probe how fans of these once-tortured franchises feel now that being “cursed” or “lovable losers” is no longer their whole thing. Red Sox fans have been particularly spoiled, with their four championships this century, still more than any franchise.
And Cubs fans can’t be blamed if they’ve felt a bit disillusioned since their 2016 crown, what with owner Tom Ricketts seemingly more concerned with corporatizing Wrigleyville than, say, retaining future Hall of Fame sluggers. Attendance dropped from 3.2 million in 2016 to 2.6 million by 2022.
Yet the Cubs are back in the winning business, for the most part, and Alex Bregman – who signed a $175 million deal in January - would be facing his teammates from just one year ago should this matchup coalesce.
2. Yankees-Dodgers
A matchup that could certainly bifurcate the owners’ interests as the lockout looms.
On one hand, they could sit back and smugly hold this World Series up as Exhibit A for all that’s wrong with baseball, what with this bicoastal battle occurring for the second time in three seasons.
On the other, they might look at the boffo ratings and wonder, why are we complaining about all this money we’re making while just two years away from taking our entire TV inventory to market again?
Naturally, a lot of that would hinge on the health of Aaron Judge, both to help the Yankees get this far and to provide the skyscraper-filling superstar promos Fox loves so much. But his calf might not cooperate.
Even still, the Judge-less Yankees beating the odds would still make for great October theater. Tough to argue with those gray and black road jersey tops on a warm autumn night in Chavez Ravine.
1. Brewers-Rays
Oh, hell yeah.
First off, this would be a ball enthusiast’s dream, whether from the old or new school. Not only are both teams perennially the “smartest” in the game (mild rolling of the eyes), they also absolutely Play The Game The Right Way.
Put the ball in play. Throw strikes. Run the bases smart and aggressively. Win 103 and 98 games, respectively, even while ranking 28 TH and 22 ND in home runs.
That last bit may come back to haunt the Brewers in Rays come October, since hitting the ball over the fence can camouflage a lot of problems with lineups going cold facing elite arms night after night.
Alas, that’s a problem for another week. And the notion of two alleged poverty franchises reaching the Fall Classic would be unbelievable fodder as labor and management sit down to hammer out a new collective bargaining agreement.
And you could book it now: This World Series would set a new low in TV ratings, underperforming the Arizona-Texas tilt of 2023, which featured relatively large markets. No, for as much as fans claim to love variety, many would sadly deem this battle unwatchable.
And once those ratings come in, and owners ponder the impact on future revenues, perhaps a few of them would be inspired to ask the unthinkable:
“Can’t we make it easier for the Dodgers to get in every year?”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB's worst nightmare tops list of best potential World Series matchups
