World Series: Who is the best bad team 2018 had to offer?

End of the World Series: Who is the best bad team 2018 had to offer?

By Josh Hill | Oct 24, 2018

CLEVELAND, OH - JULY 08: Flame canons go off in center field following the the Major League Baseball game between the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians on July 8, 2017, at Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH. Cleveland defeated Detroit 4-0. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

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KANSAS CITY, MO – JULY 22: Alcides Escobar #2 of the Kansas City Royals slides into second for a steal as Rougned Odor #12 of the Texas Rangers can’t catch the throw from Bobby Wilson #6 in the first inning at Kauffman Stadium on July 22, 2016 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /

ALDS – Royals vs. Rangers

Rangers Road to Baseball Hell: Not the worst team in the American League thanks only to the fact that the AL Central was so historically bad, Texas was rough this season. Four teams in the West finished with 80 wins, while the Rangers clocked in at just 67, which was just bad enough to get them into the Anti-Postseason but not bad enough to host a series.

Royals Road to Baseball Hell: If not for the Baltimore Orioles forgetting the season ever started, the Royals would be the worst team in the league (58-104). What took the sting off was the fact that after two-straight World Series appearances, the Royals hit the reset button and thus no one expected much from them. Yet, here we are with those crazy Royals fans packing Kauffman in October — albeit under very different circumstances.

Results

Game 1 – Royals 4, Rangers 0
Game 2 – Royals 2, Rangers 4
Game 3 – Rangers 3, Royals 1 (F/11)
Game 4 – Rangers 6, Royals 2

Winner: Rangers win series 3-1

Kansas City wasn’t good this year, ranking near the bottom of the league in almost every meaningful area. Specifically, the Royals had the worst bullpen in baseball which is the first thing that failed in their series against the Rangers. Texas isn’t the hardest hitting team but the Royals inability to hand games off to their relievers was fatal. There were only two instances where the Kansas City relievers didn’t implode, and both times starters went deep into the game.

Jakob Junis, who was the only Royals pitcher to throw a complete game in 2018, went a full game without giving up a run. Ian Kennedy was able to get eight strong innings in Game 3 but was done in by his bullpen. Texas struck out more than just about any other team in the league this year, but had a middle-of-the-pack wOBA which helped out in late-inning situations where the Royals near-league high BABIP resulted in a lot of base hits and plenty of chances to score.

Series MVP: Jurickson Profar. He was the 63rd best player in baseball this year according to FanGraphs and that showed in this series. He hit .335 in the series and very much leaned into his 2.9 WAR with big performances in Game 2 and the series clinching win.

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