SB Nation Reacts: All about the World Series

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across MLB. Each week, we send 30 polls to plugged in fans from each team. Red Sox fans, sign up HERE to join Reacts.

We may very well be in the final week of the MLB season, with the earliest point the World Series could end being Saturday night. That would require a sweep from one of the teams involved, and after the Dodgers cruised to a Game One victory, they would be the ones who’d need to do the sweeping. Before the series actually got started, though, it took center stage in our SB Nation Reacts polls, for which you can sign up above. Let’s take a look at the results.

Dodgers “Home Field” Advantage?

This is obviously a strange year in more ways than one, but in the baseball world one of the differences is the World Series being played at a neutral field in Arlington. The theory for this question is that the Dodgers have an advantage having played the NLCS there. Normally, I would say there’s no advantage here, and even still I don’t think there’s anything too significant. That said, I think there is a bit of edge here for two reasons. One is that it’s a brand new park. If the Rays had played there, say, in 2019 then I wouldn’t think much of it. But the Rays have never been here. It’s also a big field. Like, notably large. The Rays have really good outfielders so I wouldn’t worry too much about it, but the Dodgers outfielders already have an idea of what it’s like to play in all that space. I would say it’s a small advantage, but I think one exists.

Who will hit the most homers?

I mean there are a million options here, but it’s hard to argue with these three choices. Randy Arozarena is the hottest player on the planet. Cody Bellinger is a home run machine when he’s going right. Corey Seager is coming off a huge year. There are plenty of other logical choices, but I won’t argue with these.

Matchup Game

I mean, this should be obvious, no? I feel like there needs to be some sort of hedging here, because of course a bullpen should have a lower ERA than a rotation. That’s generally how things work, right?

MVP

My MVP pick coming into the series was Betts, which is sort of a chalk pick because he is, at least clearly to me, the best player on the better team. It’s not a blowout on either side of that line and the best player certainly doesn’t always win MVP, but it’s the easy pick. Arozarena was the favorite in this poll, and as I said in the homer section I can’t argue. He is a man on fire.

Who are you rooting for?

No surprise here, but I will respectfully disagree and move on before I get myself into trouble.

Who will win?

I’m not sure what I’m more surprised by, the Rays being the slight winner here or the fact that both of the top two choices were in six. You’d think if the final result was this close more people would think it would go the distance. People love picking series to go six games. That seems to be a trend across all sports. Anyway, I think the Dodgers are clearly the better team. That’s no disrespect to the Rays, who I underestimated before the season and are outstanding, but I don’t think any team is close to the Dodgers. I think they win this in five. I acknowledge having Game One in my pocket makes things a little easier.