By Morris Phillips

In a World Series of underdogs, unknowns and the unlikely, fascinating numbers and facts abound on the eve of Game 1 in Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium.

For the first time in the wild card era, neither team, Giants or Royals, have as many as 90 wins.  And while that suggests it’s a World Series without a great team, it really depends on how you look at it.  A 100-win team emerges if you take the Giants first 64 games, in which they were 43-21, the best start to a season over that number of games since 2003, and the Royals final 98, in which they went from a .500 team (32-32) in the middle of the pack in the AL Central to the lead wild card (57-41 finish).

Nine Giants (Madison Bumgarner, Buster Posey, Sergio Romo, Javier Lopez, Pablo Sandoval, Jeremy Affeldt, Santiago Casilla, Tim Lincecum and the injured Matt Cain) are looking for their third World Series ring.  Bumgarner and Posey are attempting to win a third championship in their first five full seasons as major leaguers which would put them in even more rarified company.

Meanwhile, the Royals figure (with veteran Raul Ibanez not included on their WS roster) to have just two players that have played in one Series.  Omar Infante was a member of the 2012 Tigers that were swept by the Giants, and James Shields pitched and won a game in the 2008 Series for the Tampa Bay Rays.  Of course, that means 23 other Royals’ roster members will enter the 2014 World Series with perfect post-season records (8-0).

Manager Bruce Bochy is attempting to win the World Series for the third time, which would put him the company of eight other managers who have won three with all eight enshrined in the Hall of Fame.  Bochy also managed a fourth series with the Padres, which means he’s attempting to be an all-time great, but also trying to avoid being a manager with a .500 winning percentage (possible 2-2 if the Giants lose) at the game’s grandest stage.

This series shows that age and big-league experience aren’t much of a measure of post-season exposure and success.  The Giants’ 39-year old Tim Hudson has won one post-season game in his career, and 35-year old Jeremy Guthrie of the Royals with 183 career decisions has appeared in just one post-season game.   Meanwhile 26-year old Buster Posey has two rings, eight World Series wins and a World Series MVP award.