Wednesday night marks the beginning of the Fall Classic as the 2013 World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox gets underway live from Fenway Park in Boston with Game 1 of the best-of-seven series to crown baseball's champion.
It wasn't easy for either one of these teams to get here as the two teams finished with MLB-best and identical 97-65 records to clinch their respective divisions. St. Louis won the NL Central for the first time since 2009 and went through the Pittsburgh Pirates in five games in the Division Series before toppling the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games in the Championship Series. Boston, meanwhile, went from worst to first, notching the AL East crown for the first time since 2007 before defeating their division rival Tampa Bay Rays in four games in the Division Series and getting the best of the Detroit Tigers in six games in the Championship Series.
Now, both team's paths collide here as the Cardinals look for their third championship in eight years and first since 2011 while the Red Sox look for their third in 10 years, with their last coming in 2007. Here is a position by position matchup of the two teams:
Catcher: Yadier Molina (STL) vs. Jarrod Saltalamacchia (BOS):
Molina has proven himself to be one of the best defensive players in the game, and is looking for his sixth consecutive gold glove award this season while he once again threw out more than 40 percent of would-be base stealers in the regular season. Molina has been a consistent hitter as well, hitting .319 in the regular season while slugging out 12 homers and adding 80 RBIs. While he had just five hits out of 25 plate appearances in the NLCS, there's no reason to think his bat will stay quiet in the World Series.
Molina is ready to get the games going.
"We know how to win. It's going to be fun. It's going to be a good Series," he told MLB.com.
Saltalamacchia hit .273 with 14 homers and 65 RBIs this season but is strikeout prone as he fanned 139 times in the regular season. He's not as efficient defensively as Molina, and he'll need his bat to come around if he wants to be successful in the Fall Classic as he hit just .188 against the tough Tigers rotation in the ALCS and struck out eight times. Thus far, he's fanned 15 times in the postseason through 26 at-bats in eight games through the first two rounds.
First Base: Matt Adams (STL) vs. Mike Napoli (BOS):
In his second season, Adams filled in down the stretch for the injured Allen Craig (foot), who was put on St. Louis' roster for the World Series and will be the designated-hitter through the first two games at Fenway Park. Adams hit .284 in the regular season with 17 homers and 51 RBIs. The first baseman has shown his ability to hit the ball out of the yard, but has struggled against lefties and strikes out a lot. He struck out 80 times in 296 at-bats this season. In the ALCS, he hit .227 with a double and two RBIs.
Napoli had a similar year with the bat, but his fielding has been among the best in the league at first base. Napoli hit .259 with 23 homers and 92 RBIs through 498 at-bats in the regular season and has had some huge clutch hits for Boston so far through the course of the postseason. Napoli hit .300 in the ALCS, going 6-for-20 with two solo homers and two doubles.
Second Base: Matt Carpenter (STL) vs. Dustin Pedroia (BOS):
Carpenter led the NL and tied for the league in the MLB in the regular-season in hits (199) while leading the majors in doubles (55) and runs scored (126) while hitting .318 and adding 11 homers and 78 RBIs. After struggling in the NLDS defensively and offensively (1-for-19), Carpenter returned to All-Star form in the NLCS, hitting .261 with two doubles and two RBIs.
Pedroia has played with heart throughout his whole career, and despite posting a single digit homerun total (nine) for the first time since 2007, his other skills were still intact as his defense was stellar and he continued to walk (75) more than strikeout (73). Pedroia hit .301 and had 84 RBIs and 42 doubles while swiping 17 bags in the regular season.
Shortstop: Pete Kozma (STL) vs. Stephen Drew (BOS):
After playing most of a full season with a career-high of 143 games played, Kozma's production wasn't all that flashy while his glove has mostly been steady. Kozma hit just .217 with one homer and 35 RBIs while striking out 91 times. He hit .067 in the NLCS with one RBI single, three walks and four strikeouts.
Drew, much like Kozma, had a relatively quiet bat until it started to heat up towards the end of the season, though it has tapered off in the postseason. Drew hit .253 with 13 homers and 67 RBIs in the regular season and the veteran hit a very bad .050 in the ALCS with one hit through 20 at-bats, while striking out 10 times.
Third Base: David Freese (STL) vs. Xander Bogaerts (BOS):
Freese, who was a hero the last time the Cards were in the World Series, had a relatively cold year and had just a .200 on-base percentage in the postseason until he broke through with two hits and a walk in the Cardinal's series-clinching Game 6 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS. Freese, an All-Star in 2012, hit just .262 this year with nine homers and 60 RBIs, while going .190 (4-for-21) in the NLCS with a double and five strikeouts.
The Red Sox replaced a struggling Will MIddlebrooks with Bogaerts after a sophomore slump, and the 21-year-old who scouts touted as one of the better minor league postition players due to his ability to hit to all fields, has looked impressive thus far under pressure. Bogaerts hit .320 (11-for-44) with two doubles a homer and five RBIs through 18 games in the regular season and went .500 (3-for-6) in the ALCS.
Left Field: Matt Holliday (STL) vs. Jonny Gomes and Daniel Nava (BOS):
Holliday hit at least .290 with at least 20 homers in his last eight seasons, and at age 33 he remains as one of the top right-handed hitters in the league. He hit .300 this season with 22 homers and 94 RBIs through 141 games. In the NLCS, he hit .200 with a homer, two doubles and three RBIs. His fielding always remains a question mark, but his bat will usually more than make up for it.
Meanwhile, Gomes and Nava have each struggled in the field and at the ditch and will look to split time during the World Series. Nava has shown a knack for getting on base, but manager John Farrell decided to go with Gomes more during the ALCS, even against righties, and it may continue through the Fall Classic. Gomes (5-for-25, eight strikeouts) has struggled in October.
Center Field: Jon Jay (STL) vs. Jacoby Ellsbury (BOS):
Jay has less steals in his four-year career than Ellsbury did this past season, so there is definitely a bit of a mismatch at the position between the two clubs. Jay hit .276 with seven homers and 67 RBIs this season while swiping 10 bases.
Ellsbury led the majors this season with 52 stolen bases while hitting .298 with nine homers and 53 RBIs in his contract year. Ellsbury knows how to spark the Red Sox lineup and he's also been unbelievable in the field. Ellsbury has six stolen bases in 10 games this postseason, and hit .318 with a double, a triple and three RBIs in the ALCS. He's 10-for-11 on stolen base attempts in this year's playoffs.
Ellsbury is ready for the challenge at hand.
We're up for the challenge," Ellsbury said per MLB.com. "They're going to be very tough. They've showed a lot of poise, they compete, but we're definitely excited for the opportunity."
Right Field: Carlos Beltran (STL) vs. Shane Victorino (BOS):
One of the most revered postseason hitters, Beltran is making his World Series debut and will hope his successful October numbers will translate on to the biggest stage of his career. In 45 career October games, Beltran has posted an astounding .337 average with 16 homers and 37 RBIs. He's notched two homers and 12 RBIs through the NLDS and NLCS, after hitting .296 with 24 round-trippers and 84 RBIs in the regular season.
Beltran is excited to finally get a chance to play in the Fall Classic.
"It feels great, honestly," he told CBS Sports. "I've had the opportunity to play in the postseason. Now, to be in a World Series, it really means a lot. It's really worth everything. I'm really happy. I'm blessed."
Victorino propelled the Red Sox to the AL pennant with his seventh inning Game 6 grand slam against the Tigers, but other than that his postseason numbers have been unimpressive as he hit .125 in the ALCS overall. He's abandoned switch hitting after being hampered by a hamstring injury and he will now focus on batting just right-handed only. The Flyin' Hawaiian hit .294 with 15 homers, 61RBIs and 21 stolen bases in 2013.
Designated Hitter: Allen Craig (STL) vs. David Ortiz (BOS):
Craig will DH the first two games as they are contested in an AL ballpark in Fenway Park, as he makes his return from a foot injury. He hit an impressive .315 in the regular season with 13 homers and 97 RBIs through 134 games. Wednesday's game will be his first in seven weeks.
Ortiz had a year to remember as Boston's DH this season, hitting .309 while blasting 30 long balls and knocking in 103 runs. He hit a grand slam in the ALCS as well. Ortiz will DH for the first two games, but he'll switch over to first base when the series shifts to St. Louis for Games 3, 4 and 5 (if necessary). Aside from the grand slam, Ortiz only had one other hit in the ALCS and hit just .091.
As for each team's bench, the Cardinals will feature Adron Chambers, Tony Cruz , Kolten Wong Daniel Descalso and Shane Robinson while Boston will have Middlebrooks, Mike Carp, David Ross and Quintin Berry at its disposal.
As far as the team's rotations, Game 1 of the World Series will feature St. Louis' Adam Wainwright (19-9, 2.94 ERA) taking on Boston's Jon Lester (15-8, 3.75). Rookie Michael Wacha (4-1, 2.78) toes the rubber for St. Louis in Game 2 while Boston counters with John Lackey (10-13, 3.52).
Wainwright will relish the moment after recovering from Tommy John surgery.
"It's pretty special to me," Wainwright said per MLB.com.
His opponent, Lester, is ready to shakeoff the nerves and take the hill.
"Obviously, there will still be nerves. That's to be expected, but I think I know a little bit more about who I am as a pitcher," he told MLB.com.
St. Louis will also have Joe Kelly and Lance Lynn waiting in the wings while Boston has Clay Buchholz and Jake Peavy.
The Cardinals' bullpen is anchored by rookie closer Trevor Rosenthal and includes veteran Randy Choate, John Axford, Shelby Miller and Carlos Martinez, while Boston looks to ALCS MVP Koji Uehara to close out games and has a bullpen that features Craig Breslow, Junichi Tazawa, Felix Doubront and Brandon Workman.
The Red Sox swept the Cardinals out of the 2004 World Series, but this is a different Cardinals team that boasts the most homegrown talent in the fall classic since 1995 with 18 homegrown players appearing in the series. John Farrell will look to bring Boston back to championship glory in his first year managing the team while Mike Matheny looks to give the Cards their third title in eight years in just his second year as skipper when the World Series begins Wednesday night.
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