Sixto Zapata, right, and Mike Lidecker paint the field at Minute Maid Park ahead of Game 1 of baseball’s American League Division Series, Monday, Oct. 10, 2022, in Houston. The Houston Astros host the Philadelphia Phillies for Game 1 of the 2022 World Series on Fri Oct 28, 2022 in Houston (AP News file photo)

World Series: Best team Houston vs Hottest team Philadelphia

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

With all respect to the Los Aneles Dodgers, the Houston Astros are the best team in baseball this year. Does that mean they should win the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies? Hold on! Not necessarily. For a while I stopped making predictions in the World Series during the 1988 classic between the A’s and Dodgers.

We all know what happened, the Athletics were the very best, and the Dodgers did not matched ‘player by player’ with Tony LaRussa’s team. I was there with the A’s for the three consecutive series appearances and I thought the A’s should have won all three, they were that good, but they could only beat the Giants in 1989.

To predict a World Series is like to predict a hurricane; you can track it from the moment it becomes a hurricane and then you predict it is going to land in one place, and all of a sudden it changes course and goes where you never thought. That is my best analogy about predicting World Series. Remember the recent Hurricane Ian? All the experts in meteorology predicted it was going to hit the Tampa area, but it never did, it went inland miles to the south in Ft. Myers, Florida.

Houston has a better bullpen, better pitching and All-Star lineup, they won 106 games during the regular season. The Philadelphia Phillies won 87 games and they have last year’s NL MVP Bryce Harper. They know they’re good, but nobody expected them to be where they are today.

The 2022 World Series begins this Friday at Minute Maid Park, Houston. The Phillies are on a roll, they have great momentum and they have played with passion and great confidence, but that could be stopped tomorrow when they face Justin Verlander in the first game of the classic. Verlander will be named American League Cy Young Award winner.

Houston has the home field advantage. Games one and two at Houston, games three, four and five (if necessary in Philadelphia) games six and seven back at Minute Maid Park, Houston.

This is the best chance for Dusty Baker to win his first World Series. He lost to the LA Angels the 2002 as skipper for the Giants and took the Astros to the 2021 World Series only to lose to the Atlanta Braves. Now Dusty takes this Houston team (very similar to last season, minus Justin Verlander, who was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery) to this Fall Classic. Dusty is the ninth manager in history to win pennants in both leagues, he is the oldest manager in baseball and the one with the most wins (2,093) who has never won a World Series.

This is his best shot. Last time Houston visited Oakland I asked Dusty, “is this the best team you ever managed? He did not answer but paused and then grin and said it was “one of the best”. Dusty’s Astros won the AL West 16 games over second place Seattle.

The Philadelphia Phillies fired their veteran manager Joe Girardi early in the season when his team had a 22-29 record and replaced him with Rob Thomson who won the pennant and took them to the World Series.

Prediction: Astros have the experience and they have been here recently, but I would not be shocked if the Philadelphia Phillies upset the Astros. The Houston Astros will win in six (6) games.

The Phillies have to win one of the first two games at Houston, if they do not, the Astros could continue the ‘sweep express train’, they swept the Seattle Mariners in three games during the ALDS and swept the New York Yankees in four games to win their fourth American League pennant in six years.

Dusty’s team is undefeated during the postseason. Last time the Astros lost a game, was at the end of the regular season on September 30, when they lost to Tampa Bay. So here comes the World Series, no Dodgers, Yankees, Mets, Braves, Red Sox or White Sox. It is the Astros and Phillies! Definitely not the dream series the FOX Network envisioned. That was Yankees vs. Dodgers, a coast-to-coast spectacular.

Houston has won one World Series, 2017 over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Houston’s win was tainted by MLB for stealing signs. A.J Hinch was the Astros manager. Phillies have won two World Series, 1980, 2008.

Mascots? Not even close, Philadelphia’s Phillie Phanatic has a huge lead over Astros Orbit.

The World Series will be exclusively on FOX Sports, which will call its 25th Fall Classic in its 27th season as the official network broadcaster of MLB.

Game 1: Friday, Oct. 28 in Houston at 8:03 p.m. ET on Fox

Game2: Saturday, Oct. 29 in Houston at 8:03 p.m. ET on Fox

Game 3: Monday, Oct. 31 in Philadelphia at 8:03 p.m. ET on Fox

Game 4: Tuesday, Nov. 1 in Philadelphia at 8:03 p.m. ET on Fox

Game 5 (if necessary): Wednesday, Nov. 2 in Philadelphia at 8:03 p.m. ET on Fox

Game 6 (if necessary): Friday, Nov. 4 in Houston at 8:03 p.m. ET on Fox

Game 7 (if necessary): Saturday, Nov. 5 in Houston at 8:03 p.m. ET on Fox

Amuary Pi Gonzalez does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com