The World Series is upon us. When the two best teams in baseball prove who is the best of the best. Only this year is a little different.

The Royals were the first-seeded Wild Card team and have ripped off 8 wins without a loss in their first playoff trip since 1985. The Giants are the first number-two Wild Card seed to make it to the World Series, coming in the infancy of the new playoff format.

At season's end, the Royals FanGraphs this season. They have been consistent, reliable and fun to watch. Now, they just have one more test to pass.

While the Giants get to use Morse for, potentially, four games, the Royals will most likely loose Billy Butler for three of them, instead of Eric Hosmer. In the ALCS, Butler hit .286 with 2 doubles and 3 RBIs, after going hitless in the ALDS. Butler has been one of the consistent pieces in the Royals lineup this decade and will get his chances at Kauffman Stadium.

However, Cain, Hosmer, Gordon and the rest are going to have to make up for his whole in the gameplay when Kansas City's pitcher must bat at AT&T Park.

The Royals also need to continue their base-stealing ways. The Royals stole the most bags in the majors and were third in stolen base percentage, trailing the first place Nationals (81.5%) by 0.5%. Their threat of stealing does a few things. First, it turns singles into doubles and doubles into triples. The other effect, is that the baserunners are keeping constant pressure on the fielders and, more importantly, the pitchers. Having to focus on time to the plate and general cadence before delivery can make pitchers lose concentration and their location can suffer.

One Left Standing

Well, this is a tough call to make. Neither team was really expected to make it this far.

However, our numbers show that San Francisco has a noticeably better shot at winning (59.08%) than does Kansas City (40.92%).

But teams have scrapped their way to this point, and what is most likely hasn't been the story of the playoffs. The Royals have been perfect, and the Giants have had to right out of a few tight spots. In the end, this is going to be a tight series during which one mistake could be pivotal.