It is a World Series designed by someone with a golden heart.
The match-up ensures that long-suffering fans of the Chicago Cubs or the Cleveland Indians will finally embrace their team as champions again.
For Cleveland, the void stretches to 1948, the longest-running drought in the American League. For the National League’s Cubs, the losing famously goes back much longer to 1908, a sorry spell that has branded the Cubs as North America’s most wretchedly futile franchise.
So somebody’s bad run will come to an end over this best-of-seven-games competition.
The Cubs are viewed as favourites.
They led all of Major League Baseball with 103 regular season wins and feature a team with no apparent weaknesses.
Their formidable offence is led by second-year third baseman Kris Bryant and first baseman Anthony Rizzo.
Their enviable starting pitching is anchored by left-handed Jon Lester and right-handed Kyle Hendricks, who seem to be inspired by post-season pressure.
Their solid bullpen has turned intimidating with the acquisition in July of closer Aroldis Chapman, king of the 161-kilometre-per-hour fastball.
Cleveland has spent much of the season in relative anonymity, winning their division without superstar power.
The Indians were about competency across the board, not Most Valuable Player candidates or Cy Young Award contenders.
Sluggers Mike Napoli and Carlos Santana have belted 34 home runs each.
Infielders Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez have both hit .300 and combined for 41 stolen bases.
And tonight’s Game 1 starting pitcher Corey Kluber has won 18 games with a 3.14 earned run average.
But few outside of Northern Ohio knows that or cares.
Despite their own unprofitable history, the Indians will not have the sympathy vote of neutral baseball fans.
After all, the Cubs’ ingloriousness is an American touchstone.
Plus, the Cubs have not even been in a World Series since 1945, while the Indians had a visit as recently as 1997.
It is because of Chicago’s notorious famine that this October has much the same feel as the 2004 World Series when the Boston Red Sox ended their 86-year fruitless journey.
Intriguingly, the baseball executive who oversaw the construction of the curse-ending 2004 Sox team, Theo Epstein, was hired five years ago by the Cubs to perform a similar magic trick in Chicago.
Improbably enough, Epstein now is four victories away from completing his mission.
Boston baseball fans will certainly recognise numerous characters in the Cleveland-Chicago drama.
Terry Francona managed the 2004 and 2007 title-winning Red Sox and now manages the Indians. Napoli and Cleveland relief pitcher Andrew Miller played together on the Boston team that won in 2013.
Outfielder Coco Crisp played for the 2007 champions.
Chicago counter with their own squadron of former Red Sox champions. Lester, who will be the starting pitcher in Game 1, was a titan on the mound for Boston in 2007 and 2013.
Cubs starting pitcher John Lackey and catcher David Ross were key performers for the 2013 Sox.
Speaking of teammates, relief pitchers Miller of the Indians and Chapman of the Cubs began the season with the New York Yankees and were traded within days of each other.
Now they meet again as opponents in one of the most epic and compelling World Series of recent years.
Odd that “epic” and “compelling” refer mostly to the anguish of generations, but there you have it.
Sadly enough, one of these forlorn forces of futility still have to lose.
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