World Series Preview: A Matchup 102 Years in the Making

Tonight, the Dodgers and Red Sox kick off a best-of-seven World Series as the race to a championship hits the home stretch.

Well baseball fans, we made it. Through fan interference calls and controversial baserunning, we made it, and so did the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers, who begin a best-of-seven World Series in Boston tonight.

No matter who you root for, this is going to be a World Series for the ages. The Dodgers and Red Sox are two of the most historic franchises in sports. They haven’t met in the World Series since 1916. When they did, the Red Sox won in five games, with Babe Ruth pitching them to victory in Game 2.

That was over a century ago, however, and times sure have changed. Brooklyn, then called the Robbins, would not move out to Los Angeles for another 42 years. The Red Sox would win one more World Series and then go championship-less for 86 years. The Ted Williams era would come and go, the Jackie Robinson era changed baseball, but he would never face Williams or Carl Yastrzemski.

The Curse of the Bambino would not end until this year’s college freshman were entering kindergarten.

So, 102 years later, with so much history in baseball’s rearview, the Dodgers and Red Sox face off again, with rosters filled to the brim with superstars.

The Red Sox may not have Babe Ruth, and the Dodgers may not have Jeff Pfeffer, but they do have some pretty exceptional talent.

Let’s take a look at what lies ahead.