By Allen Bacon, The Daily Bosco
It's that time of year again, with less than two weeks left in the baseball season, when fans start looking toward the postseason and possible World Series match ups.
This year, at least seven intriguing possible scenarios for World Series match ups are developing.
The Los Angeles Angels have the best record in major league baseball and have won the American League West Division going away.
31 Miles North, the Los Angeles Dodgers have a three game lead over their long time rival the San Francisco Giants.
This could be the first time in baseball history where there could be a "Freeway" Series between the Dodgers and Angels. Baseball fans in Southern California have been waiting and anticipating this for 53 years.
It has been 26 years since the Dodgers were last in the fall classic and it's hard to believe but it has been 12 years since the Angels made their only appearance and five years since the Halos have been in the Playoffs.
Meanwhile, there is a definite possibility we could be headed toward a "Beltway" World Series between the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals who are separated by a 38 mile drive on Interstate 295.
The Orioles and Nats both have both clinched their respective divisions.
Baltimore is right behind the Angels for the best record in baseball. Meanwhile in the NL East Washington have overtaken the Dodgers for the best record in the National League.
When it comes to long-suffering fans, the folks in the beltway have waited longer than the Southern California fans for a World Series involving one or more of their teams.
Washington DC has had a major league team (with a 35 year break between 1971 and 2005) since 1891. The last time a team from the Nation's capitol was in a World Series was 1933. The last time they won was in 1924 when the Washington Senators won behind the dominating pitching of Walter "Big Train" Johnson.
The Washington Nationals have never been to the World Series since moving from Montreal in 2005.
All of a sudden it has been 31 years since the Baltimore Orioles (who started in 1901 as the original Milwaukee Brewers before moving to St. Louis and then Baltimore) have made a World Series appearance.
The proximity of the teams involved in a possible Freeway Series or a Beltway Series at around 35 miles may be close but not the closest in the history of baseball.
The two St. Louis teams (Cardinals and the Browns) who played each other in the 1944 Fall classic actually shared the same ballpark (Sportsman Park) as did the New York Giants and New York Yankees (Polo Grounds) in 1921 and 1922.
The Yankees and Mets were less than ten miles from each other in the 2000 Series as were the two Chicago teams (White Sox and Cubs) in 1906.
Northern California vs. Southern California match ups are always interesting and that is still in play at this point of the season with a re-match of 2002 World Series between San Francisco and the Los Angeles Angels a possibility.
And don't forget another I-70 All-Missouri Series between the Kansas City Royals (which haven't been back to the Series since the last All-Show Me State Series in 1982) and St. Louis Cardinals is still a possibility.
Whatever the matchup in this year's fall classic, it is shaping up to be a fun next few weeks for baseball fans.
Buckle up and prepare for the ride.
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