Paul Sullivan: 8 reasons to watch the World Series, even if you don't really care about either team

If you’re like me, your interest in baseball’s postseason waned after the quick exits of the Chicago White Sox and Cubs.

I’ve still watched most of the games, but mostly as background noise while reading the paper, cleaning the house or taking a little nap.

And usually something else was on TV that forced me to flip channels, whether it was the NBA Finals, the Alabama-Georgia game, the vice presidential debate or a rerun of “The Office” from Season 2.

But now the World Series has arrived, and it’s time for all of us to give it our undivided attention, even as the Los Angeles Dodgers figure to make it an In-N-Out Series against the Tampa Bay Rays.

If you’re still not sure if the 2020 World Series is worth watching, here are eight reasons to tune in.

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1. Mookie Betts’ glove

The best all-around player in the majors makes it look easy for the Dodgers in right field, as Mookie Betts showed Sunday night in the fifth inning of Game 7 of the National League Championship Series, effortlessly robbing the Atlanta Braves’ Freddie Freeman of a home run with a sensational leaping catch.

“Mookie kind of separates himself, I feel like, with the consistency,” Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw said. “And then the other things he can do on the baseball field if he happens to not be getting hits — that’s what separates him. And there’s also confidence there, just a really calming influence.”

Superstars are universally overpaid, but Betts appears to be worth every penny of his $365 million contract. Dealing him may go down in Boston Red Sox history with selling Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees.

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2. Kevin Cash’s pitching moves

While the Dodgers roster is a veritable “Who’s Who” of baseball, the Rays roster is “Who? … Who?” There are no stars in the lineup and only a couple of recognizable pitchers.

“If (fans) don’t know their names by now, they better learn them because we’ve got some boys who can play,” Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier said Saturday after they beat the Houston Astros in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.

How do they do it? Most point to the brilliance of Kevin Cash, who replaced Joe Maddon as manager in 2015. Cash pioneered the “opener” strategy in which a reliever is used for an inning or so before an actual starter or another reliever enters the game to go longer.

It’s not foolproof, as White Sox manager Rick Renteria proved in Game 3 of the wild-card loss to the Oakland A’s.

But no one does it as often or with as much success as Cash, who was forced to experiment with the strategy in 2018 because of injuries. Whether using so many pitchers is ultimately good for the game is debatable, but there’s no doubt it’s here to stay.

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3. Joe Buck’s alleged bias

There’s nothing like listening to ubiquitous Fox Sports announcer Joe Buck call a game while he’s being pilloried on Twitter by fans of both teams, so it was disappointing to see Buck replaced for Sunday’s Game 7 of the NLCS because he was broadcasting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers-Green Bay Packers game.

Fortunately he’ll be back for all of the World Series games.

Buck’s alleged favoritism toward the Dodgers no doubt will become a trending topic for much of the series. During one NLCS game, he obsessed over Dodgers pitcher Brusdar Graterol’s love of cats, and in another, he obsessed over the hairstyles of Dodgers players. What would Twitter be without hate-watching Joe Buck?

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4. Clayton Kershaw’s inevitable meltdown

This is an October tradition unlike any other.

Clayton Kershaw, the best pitcher of his generation, has a 2.43 career ERA in 13 seasons but a 4.31 ERA in 35 postseason appearances, including a 5.40 ERA in five World Series outings. He was scratched from his Game 2 start in the NLCS with back spasms and was knocked out in the sixth inning of the Game 4 loss to the Braves.

He’ll likely get the start Tuesday in Game 1, so we’ll know soon if Kershaw can restore his reputation. Rest assured he’s no Sandy Koufax, who posted an 0.95 ERA in eight World Series games.

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5. Multiple ‘Moneyball’ references

This is an epic David-versus-Goliath saga, or perhaps Team Hollywood versus Team Walmart.

The Rays are 28th in payroll, the second-lowest of any team to reach a World Series. The only team with a lower ranking was the 2008 Rays, managed by Joe Maddon, with the No. 29 payroll.

The Dodgers have the second-highest payroll and have always spent big. Dodgers President Andrew Friedman was responsible for that 2008 Rays team and hired Erik Neander as an intern for Tampa Bay, where Neander is now the general manager.

The Rays acquired outfielder Randy Arozarena, the breakout star of the 2020 playoffs, from the St. Louis Cardinals in January. They acquired first baseman Ji-Man Choi, who hit .385 in the ALCS, from the Milwaukee Brewers in 2018 after three teams had designated him for assignment.

The Rays also have the top-ranked farm system in baseball. Wouldn’t Neander look like a good fit on the North Side in the (future) Jed Hoyer era?

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6. Globe Life Field crowd shots

Fake crowd noise still will be piped into the ballpark despite MLB’s decision to allow fans inside for the World Series.

For fun, count the number of fans who are not wearing their masks correctly. Texas, bro.

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7. The Piece of Metal ceremony

Commissioner Rob Manfred famously called the World Series trophy a “piece of metal” in February while trying to explain why he wouldn’t strip the Astros of their 2017 championship in spite of the sign-stealing scandal.

Though he apologized for the glib remark, Manfred certainly will be reminded of that once or twice when he hands out the 2020 trophy, though perhaps not by Joe Buck.

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8. It’s the World Series.

Some things in life need no explanation.

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