We wonder what chicanery the baseball gods are cooking up for the 2017 World Series?
In 2005, many fans hoped that the then NL-based Astros’ hunger for a first World Series win in their first opportunity over 43 years (1962-2005) would carry them past the Chicago White Sox. As you know, it did not. The White Sox deprivation far exceeded the Astros wait, and, when the Sox won in 2005, it ended an 88-year gap between their two most recent White Sox World Series wins of 1917 and 2005.
If the length of wait sometimes determines who will win the World Series, here are the results for the four possible matches between our four best record clubs, two from each league, in 2017:
Under Condition 1: The Rule only goes into Effect for the World Series:
Astros (1962-2017) 55 years win over Dodgers (1988-2017) 29 years
Nationals (1924-2017) 93 years win over Astros (1962-2017) 55 years
Indians (1948-2017) 69 years win over Dodgers (1988-2017) 29 years
Nationals (1924-2017) 93 years win over Indians (1948-2017) 69 years
Under Condition 2: The Rule also determines which two teams reach the World Series
Under that finer case qualification, there is only one result:
Nationals (1924-2017) 93 years win over Indians (1948-2017) 69 years
Under Condition 3: Other Teams Not Named Here Become Qualifiers:
Either reconfigure or throw the whole thing out as a waste of Sunday morning time. 🙂
~ PS: There are no true wastes of time. If we ever hope to better understand how the baseball gods think along their ways to arranging everything and everyone by fate and destiny, we must be willing to humbly dabble in the same absurd corners of both math and reason where they walk – and sometimes stumble – and not be afraid of the boogeyman.
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HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE RACES, GB IN EACH
THRU GAMES PLAYED SATURDAY, 9/23/2017
| CLUB | W | L | W% | AL | NL | WS | |||
| DODGERS | 98 | 57 | .632 | ~ | L | L | |||
| INDIANS | 97 | 58 | .626 | L | ~ | 1.0 | |||
| ASTROS | 95 | 59 | .617 | 1.5 | ~ | 2.5 | |||
| NATIONALS | 93 | 61 | .604 | ~ | 4.5 | 4.5 |
L = LEADER BY LEAGUE AND WS OVERALL.
Overall Leader gets home field advantage (HFA) in World Series.
GAMES TO PLAY: DODGERS 7, INDIANS 7, ASTROS 8, NATIONALS 8
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HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE SERIOUS CONTENDER SCORES
THRU GAMES PLAYED SATURDAY, 9/23/2017
ASTROS 3 – ANGELS 0
INDIANS 11 – MARINERS 4
NATIONALS 4 – METS 3
GIANTS 2 – DODGERS 1
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AMERICAN LEAGUE BATTING AVERAGE LEADERS
THRU GAMES PLAYED SATURDAY, 9/23/2017
| RANK | PLAYER | TEAM | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BA |
| 1 | JOSE ALTUVE | HOU | 566 | 196 | 38 | 4 | 24 | .346 |
| 2 | AVISAIL GARCIA | CWS | 492 | 162 | 23 | 4 | 17 | .329 |
| 3 | ERIC HOSMER | KC | 579 | 186 | 30 | 1 | 24 | .321 |
| 4 | JOSH REDDICK | HOU | 473 | 150 | 34 | 4 | 13 | .317 |
| 5 | JOSE RAMERIZ | CLE | 560 | 177 | 51 | 6 | 28 | .316 |
| 6 | JOE MAUER | MIN | 508 | 156 | 35 | 1 | 7 | .307 |
| 7 | JOSE ABREU | CWS | 598 | 182 | 41 | 6 | 31 | .304 |
| 8 | LORENZO CAIN | KC | 563 | 169 | 26 | 5 | 14 | .303 |
| NR * | CARLOS CORREA | HOU | 394 | 119 | 21 | 1 | 21 | .302 |
| 9 | YULI GURRIEL | HOU | 505 | 150 | 39 | 1 | 18 | .297 |
| 10 | ELVIS ANDRUS | TEX | 613 | 182 | 42 | 4 | 20 | .297 |
| ALL TOP 40 ASTROS | ||||||||
| 11 | MARWIN GONZALEZ | HOU | 436 | 129 | 32 | 0 | 22 | .296 |
| 21 | GEORGE SPRINGER | HOU | 521 | 148 | 28 | 0 | 32 | .284 |
| 27 | ALEX BREGMAN | HOU | 523 | 146 | 36 | 5 | 16 | .279 |
NR * LOST TIME ON THE DL HAS REMOVED CORREA FROM AN OFFICIAL QUALIFYING PLACE IN THE RANKING OF TOP 40 HITTERS.
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Bill McCurdy
Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher
The Pecan Park Eagle
The Pecan Park Eagle 
September 25, 2017 at 12:51 am |
The Nationals didn’t exist in 1924. They only go back to 1969, so the Astros have the advantage on them with the baseball gods.
September 25, 2017 at 1:15 am |
Yes, I know, Cliff. I should have taken the time to clarify that I was anchoring the Nats’ deprivation period to Washington. DC and the Senators’ win in the 1924 World Series. I had a fleeting thought that this column-space economy move would not escape your notation of the fully explicated truth. Next time I promised to pay more attention to the little voices in my head. 🙂