It’s time to get excited! First of all, amazing, crisp fall temperatures have finally taken hold over our area. The mercury is finally done sneaking into the 80’s and 90’s… I mean, it IS late October, people. Watch the leaves start to fall, the bonfires burn and most importantly, watch the St. Louis Cardinals make their 19th World Series appearance.

That’s right folks, it’s time to go crazy! Can you believe it?

They’ve not only been to the big game 18 times in the past, they’ve actually won it 11 of those times. Hence the reason you’ll see many “12 in 13” phrases being drawn on cars, posted online or heard by the water cooler. We are extremely lucky to have such a powerful, winning baseball team to cheer on, aren’t we?

World Series games are extremely fun — especially if you’re lucky enough to snag tickets to a game at home.

Speaking of the “World Series” — where exactly did that phrase come from? Recently, some bad information has been traversing the internet about the origins of the reason it’s called the World Series. Somehow, a rumor spread that the series was being called the World Series because it was created and sponsored by the New York World newspaper. This is definitely not true, according to the knowledgeable masters of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

After digging around, I found a pretty simple reason why it ended up being known as the World Series.

Back in Major League Baseball’s early days (think the beginning of the 1900s), these games were officially known as “The Championship of the United States.” But the media is responsible for changing and shortening that. The newspapers would eventually call the winners “World Champions,” and not long after that the games simply became known as the “World Series,” even though only American teams played in it. (Of course, later on down the line, we let Canada join the show).

Oh, one more interesting tidbit. This is the first time since 1999 that the best team (record wise) in both the American League and National League will face each other in a World Series. This is a pretty rare event, as the wild card system usually changes that possibility.

Let’s just hope 2013 goes better than 2004, when Boston made quick work of the boys in red in a nasty, four-game sweep. I have a feeling that with all the talent we’re packing this time around, almost superhero-level talent, it’s not going to end well for the Sox.

What’s that, Boston? You say you have David Ortiz? Yeah, well, we have Wacha.

This year, I can’t help but imagine thinking of the Cardinals as a team of Avengers, battling to reclaim their rightful title and save the world from the evil Boston Red Sox empire.

Cardinals assemble!