This is the 114th World Series. And it feels just like the second one. Literally.

Who doesn’t still remember that classic matchup of these two storied franchises way back in 1916? The Dodgers were in Brooklyn. And the Red Sox were called the Americans. But everything else was exactly the same.

Except they didn’t have home run fences. And teams bunted. And there was no television. And no domed stadiums. And pitchers hit. More shockingly, pitchers pitched. And there was no such stat as a save. Or unearned runs. And there was no instant replay. No night games. No artificial turf. No launch angles. And no black or Hispanic or Asian players.

And although Fenway Park had already been around for two seasons, the Red Sox chose to play in the park of the Boston Braves because it held more fans.

Fast forward 102 years. Back to the future. Back to the dead ball era.

The second ever meeting of these two iconic teams. There will be a lot of interesting matchups.

Perennial Cy Young favorites Chris Sale and Clayton Kershaw.

Offensive juggernauts Mookie Betts and Justin Turner.

Discarded and reclaimed stars J. D. Martinez and Max Muncy.

Rangers-killers David Freese and Ian Kinsler.

The two biggest jerks in baseball in Manny Machado and Yasiel Puig and one of the nicest guys ever in ex-Ranger Mitch Moreland.

A first-year manager and a third-year manager.

The storylines just write themselves. I’ll put the computer on cruise control and see what it comes up with. I hope it’s not lame.

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TODAY’S GAME:
(Time listed is Eastern)