World Series Teams Last Won in 1980s

World Series Teams Last Won in 1980s

The last time the Kansas City Royals won baseball’s championship – the World Series – it was 1985. Ronald Reagan was the U.S. president. The rock band Wham!, led by singer George Michael, had two of the top three hits on the Billboard¹ chart.

A year later, the New York Mets won one of the most dramatic² World Series ever against the Boston Red Sox.

Neither the Mets, nor the Royals have been that close to glory since.

In 2000, the Mets lost to the New York Yankees in what fans called The Subway Series. Last year, the Royals lost to the San Francisco Giants in the seventh and final game of the Series.

This season, one of the teams will become champions for the first time in almost 30 years.

And the first pitch is Tuesday night in Kansas City.

The New York Mets

Baseball experts say the Mets are favored to win the championship. The magazine Sports Illustrated³ polled⁴ some of its writers before the series started. Four of the six writers picked the Mets to win because of their strong pitchers⁵.

Pitches that travel to home plate at 154-kilometers-per-hour or faster are considered the hardest to hit in baseball. Three of the Mets pitchers, Matt Harvey, Jacob DeGrom and Noah Syndergaard can throw the ball over 154-kilometers-per-hour.

The Mets needed seven playoff wins to reach the World Series. Harvey, DeGrom and Syndergaard won six of them.

"We have a lot of weapons," Harvey said Monday.

But don’t think all the Mets can do is pitch.

A surprise offensive⁶ star emerged⁷ in October for New York. Second baseman Daniel Murphy is known as a good “contact hitter.” It means he hits the ball most of the time and gets on base often. But he hit few home runs.

In baseball, a homerun is a powerful hit that leaves the playing field and counts for one run. In this year’s playoff, Murphy hit home runs in six consecutive⁸ games in the postseason, a major league record.

The Kansas City Royals

Kansas City was home to one of baseball’s worst teams for almost 30 years. The Royals went through 13 managers between 1986 and 2010. When a team changes managers that often, it means it is losing more games than it wins.

Last year, the team made the playoffs for the first time since 1985.

The Royals advanced all the way to the World Series before losing to San Francisco. But the team gained experience along the way – winning tough games against Oakland, Los Angeles and Baltimore.

This year, Kansas City played even better. The team stayed in first place in the American League’s Central Division⁹ almost the entire season. They beat Houston and Toronto to make it to the World Series.

The Royals are known for good pitching, good base running and even better defense¹⁰. Outfielders Alex Gordon and Lorenzo Cain are two of the best in all of baseball.

But they can hit, too.

The Royals’ shortstop Alcides Escobar is from Venezuela. He won the Most Valuable Player award for the American League Championship series. He got a hit nearly every-other time he batted.

Both teams are considered underdogs. One team is sure to be the champion for the first time in almost 30 years.

"There's only two teams left," said Kansas City manager Ned Yost. "The whole world is watching."

Words in This Story

consecutive – adj. following one after the other in a series : following each other without interruption¹¹

underdogs – n. a person, team, etc., that is expected to lose a contest or battle

emerge– v. to become known or apparent

1 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

2 dramatic   

adj.引人注目的；戏剧的；演戏的

参考例句：

• She plays a very dramatic woman with flashing eyes.她饰演一位双眼闪光的引人注目的妇人。
• His speech was dramatic.他的演说激动人心。

3 illustrated   

adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
• The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。

4 polled   

剪去了树梢的； 剪了毛[发]的； 秃头的； 锯了角的

参考例句：

• They polled the cattle. 他们把这头牛的角切短了。
• They polled the President. 他们对总统进行民意测验。

5 pitchers   

大水罐( pitcher的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Over the next five years, he became one of the greatest pitchers in baseball. 在接下来的5年时间里，他成为了最了不起的棒球投手之一。
• Why he probably won't: Pitchers on also-rans can win the award. 为什麽不是他得奖：投手在失败的球队可以赢得赛扬奖。

6 offensive   

adj.令人不快的，侮辱的，攻击用的；n.进攻

参考例句：

• His mode of doing business is offensive to me.他干事情的方式叫我很不喜欢。
• If all else fails,I will take the offensive.如果其他方法不行，我将采取攻势。

7 emerged   

vi. 浮现, (由某种状态)脱出, (事实)显现出来

参考例句：

• They emerged from the church into the bright daylight. 他们走出教堂来到明亮的日光下。
• The swimmer emerged from the lake. 游泳者从湖水中浮出来。

8 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

9 division   

n.区分，分开，除法，公司，部门，师(军队里)

参考例句：

• Have you learnt division?你学会除法了吗？
• The division commander ordered that we start the attack before dawn.师长令我们在拂晓前发起攻击。

10 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

11 interruption   

n.打扰；干扰；中止；阻碍

参考例句：

• Never mind the interruption;proceed with your story.不要理睬别人的插话，继续讲你的故事。
• The day passed by without further interruption.这一天过去了，没有再发生什么意外的事。