Sports: World Series winners

How hard is it to get to the World Series and win it?

This year, we’ll have a team that will win its third title within 10 years, whether it’s either the Red Sox or Cardinals.

If we look at the last nine seasons, several teams repeat appearances while a few others show up once and then are gone. Here would be the standings:

NATIONAL:
San Francisco 2-0
St. Louis 2-1
Philadelphia 1-1
Colorado 0-1
Houston 0-1

AMERICAN:
Boston 2-0
New York Yankees 1-0
Chicago White Sox 1-0
Tampa Bay 0-1
Detroit 0-2
Texas 0-2

So in that list, we notice:
• St. Louis is in its 4th World Series in 10 years
• of those that made it in consecutive years, the Phillies split while the Rangers lost both times.
• Detroit is 0-2, and just missed getting there again this year
• Texas at 0-2 was the victim of the Cardinals’ storybook comeback in 2011, twice down by two runs and at the last strike before rallying to tie, again fall behind, and then win
• The storied Yankees have made it only once in the last 10 years.
• The high-paid Dodgers came close this year but didn’t make it. The low-paid A’s haven’t made it to the Series but have been in the playoffs often.