Sure, it may be Adam Wainwright going up against Jon Lester when the World Series gets underway this afternoon, but for those of us out here in the Pacific, the spotlighted players are actually Kolten Wong and Shane Victorino. In
Sure, it may be Adam Wainwright going up against Jon Lester when the World Series gets underway this afternoon, but for those of us out here in the Pacific, the spotlighted players are actually Kolten Wong and Shane Victorino. In a cool twist that will certainly be getting a lot of local play for the next week, a pair of Hawaii boys will be facing off in baseball’s Fall Classic.
While the St. Louis Cardinals did make one roster adjustment after the National League Championship Series, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Tuesday that Wong has been kept on the team’s 25-man roster and will be active for the World Series. Getting just five at-bats this postseason and not yet safely reaching base, the Kamehameha and University of Hawaii alum was a candidate to be replaced with the return of first baseman Allen Craig.
But Wong made the cut as it was Adron Chambers who was taken off the roster. Though he has struggled at the plate in the big leagues during his rookie campaign – Wong was just 9 for 59 during the regular season – he did steal three bases without being caught and will likely be a late-inning pinch runner or situational pinch hitter for the Redbirds.
As for Victorino, he’s certainly no rookie and has a much bigger role for the Red Sox. The Flyin’ Hawaiian smashed the grand slam to send Boston to the World Series. He was just 3 for 24 in the series, but Victorino has done a bit of everything for the Red Sox this season and will probably finish somewhere in the top 10 to 15 for American League MVP voting. He also has some otherworldly numbers when it comes to clutch at-bats in the playoffs. With the bases loaded in the postseason, Victorino is now 4 for 6 with a pair of grand slams and 16 RBIs.
As far as this St. Louis-Boston matchup, it’s not one that was expected at the beginning of the season. Boston was one of the worst teams in baseball in 2012, winning just 69 games. It was clear they had the pieces to be better, but jumping all the way to 97 wins far exceeded most prognostications. St. Louis has now been in the playoffs four of the past five seasons and has won two World Series since 2006, but had some question marks on the pitching staff and an aging lineup entering 2013. Yet in true Cardinals fashion, they find themselves again just four wins from a world title.
So who has the upper hand? The Sox and Cards each won 97 games this season, tops in the majors. They each have some of the best playoff hitters in baseball history – David Ortiz for Boston and Carlos Beltran for St. Louis – and each has a deep pitching staff. While Wainwright and Lester headline the top of the rotations, the Cards’ Michael Wacha has probably been the best pitcher in the playoffs. He’s 3-0 with a 0.43 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 21 innings. He’s surrendered just eight hits and given up only one run. A name few knew just two months ago, Wacha may now be the most pivotal player of the series.
Boston has probably been considered the best and most complete team in the league all year, plus it has some good mojo going after a few emotional wins in the ALCS. But while the Red Sox have the home-field advantage, I think the Cardinals come away with their third championship in eight years. Beltran powers the offense and Wacha has another pair of lights-out performances to give St. Louis the win in six games.
So while the Maui vet certainly has the more impressive resume, including a World Series title in 2008 with the Phillies, I think it’s the Hilo rook who will be hoisting his first World Series trophy. Either way, Hawaii has a championship on the horizon.
• ‘My Thoughts Exactly’ appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays in The Garden Island. Email David Simon your comments or questions to dsimon@thegardenisland.com. Follow David on Twitter @SimonTGI
