ROB SCHMITZ, HOST:
Baseball fans could know at least one team heading to the World Series later tonight, when the New York Yankees face the Cleveland Guardians. The Yankees are up 3 games to 1 and are looking to win the American League Pennant in Cleveland. Meanwhile, the LA Dodgers are up 3 games of 2 against the New York Mets in the National League and will try to win a spot in the World Series tomorrow at Dodger Stadium. To help us look at the Championship Series weekend is senior baseball writer for The Athletic Keith Law. Keith, welcome to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.
KEITH LAW: Thanks for having me.
SCHMITZ: So I feel like we're sort of watching the underdogs versus the megateams here, Keith. Like, last night, the Mets managed to extend their series with the Dodgers, and the Guardians seemed to be sort of on the ropes here. It looks somewhat likely we're going to have a coast-to-coast New York, LA World Series. How do you think this will play out?
LAW: Yeah. That would be my guess at this point. Obviously, with the Yankees and Dodgers each one win away from advancing to the World Series, that's kind of the easy bet. And I did think coming into each of these series that those teams were the favorites. They were the better teams on paper. Now, of course, in the playoffs, at least in baseball playoffs, better team doesn't always win. But that is at least the way I would bet if I were inclined to do such a thing.
SCHMITZ: So Keith, I got to admit, I was born and raised in Minnesota. I'm a Twins fan. It's been a very tough season. My team is up for sale as I speak. So I've been a little out of touch with the playoffs. As we take a look at these four remaining teams, who should I be focused on? What excites you about these remaining teams?
LAW: So in the American League, you've got the very likely American League MVP in Aaron Judge on the Yankees' offense. That was the best offense in the American League this year, maybe the best offense in all of baseball...
SCHMITZ: Right.
LAW: ...Against the Cleveland team that did kind of scrap its way into the postseason. They're a pretty good pitching and defense team, a very mediocre offense. But they managed to get to the playoffs by a little bit of luck, good fortune, good sequencing. They're sort of the - if you're looking for an underdog among these four teams, a team that maybe has gotten a lot farther than anyone expected them to get, that would certainly be Cleveland.
SCHMITZ: They're the underdog.
LAW: They are the underdogs. They also haven't won a World Series in 70-something years, 75, 76...
SCHMITZ: Wow.
LAW: ...Years. That is always a reason to root for a club in my mind.
SCHMITZ: Absolutely.
LAW: And, you know, with the Dodgers-Mets series, you've got a lot of superstars on both sides, but I think all eyes here on Shohei Ohtani. This is his first playoff appearance since he first came over from Japan seven years ago. He's going to win the MVP award in the National League. He'll be the first full-time DH ever to win that award.
SCHMITZ: Wow.
LAW: And I will say, just as somebody who roots for the sport as a whole, Shohei Ohtani in the World Series will be a very, very good thing for the sport.
SCHMITZ: So, you know, the owners of these teams have spent obviously big money on trades, acquisitions, even before the season started. I mean, are we just seeing teams with the biggest payrolls winning, as usual?
LAW: We're seeing that this year. That hasn't always been the case.
SCHMITZ: Yeah.
LAW: But that has definitely - that's just how it's played out this year, where you had some really, really good teams like Baltimore, running a much lower payroll - just couldn't hang with a very talented and pretty expensive, obviously, Yankees club. We do have the factor in baseball. We have no salary cap, nor salary floor. So you do tend to see higher-payroll teams do better in the regular season.
SCHMITZ: So Keith, if I had to press you, who do you think is going to win?
LAW: I'm going to say the Yankees. I am not saying that because my parents were born in the Bronx and will likely hear this and if I said anybody else, I would certainly hear something from them later on today. But I actually think they're the best team remaining, and they're the healthiest team remaining. One very big thing with baseball's long season, if you just get to October healthier than your opponents, sometimes that matters more than actually having the best team on paper. And I do think the Yankees, of these four teams, probably has the best healthy roster for the series now and that they could bring into the Fall Classic.
SCHMITZ: As in many things, health prevails. That was Keith Law, the senior baseball writer for The Athletic. He's joining us from the minor league baseball fields in Arizona. Keith, thanks for joining us.
LAW: My pleasure. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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