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The Cardinals are going to the World Series again. Get used to it

• There is still hope for the Tigers. The theory still holds true that as strikeouts rise in baseball the teams that are best at avoiding them thrive in the

Tom Verducci

The Cardinals are going to the World Series again. Get used to it
The Cardinals are going to the World Series again. Get used to it /
Young stars like NLCS MVP Michael Wacha have St. Louis in its fourth World Series since 2004.
Young stars like NLCS MVP Michael Wacha have St. Louis in its fourth World Series since 2004 :: David J. Phillips/AP

• There is still hope for the Tigers. The theory still holds true that as strikeouts rise in baseball the teams that are best at avoiding them thrive in the postseason. The Cardinals' hitters ranked 14th -- next to last -- in the NL in strikeouts. Here are the league rankings in strikeouts for the past nine World Series teams: 14, 15, 9, 16, 14, 12, 11, 13, 9. Meanwhile, with Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Cleveland bowing out, teams that finished in the top five in strikeouts over the past four years are 4-13 in postseason series. Boston ranked fourth this year. Detroit ranked 13th.

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Tom Verducci
TOM VERDUCCI

Tom Verducci is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated who has covered Major League Baseball since 1981. He also serves as an analyst for FOX Sports and the MLB Network; is a New York Times best-selling author; and cohosts The Book of Joe podcast with Joe Maddon. A five-time Emmy Award winner across three categories (studio analyst, reporter, short form writing) and nominated in a fourth (game analyst), he is a three-time National Sportswriter of the Year winner, two-time National Magazine Award finalist, and a Penn State Distinguished Alumnus Award recipient. Verducci is a member of the National Sports Media Hall of Fame, Baseball Writers Association of America (including past New York chapter chairman) and a Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 1993. He also is the only writer to be a game analyst for World Series telecasts. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, with whom he has two children.

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