While media experts are predicting low television ratings, this year’s World Series could be a very interesting game for avid baseball fans.

Tony La Russa is a very clever manager and he may continue to implement some innovative strategies with his pitching staff. If he does, this could make things tough for Texas.

Albert Pujols may be the best player in the game, so, in some ways it is hard to be against St. Louis. St. Louis also has the extra game at home.

However, there are a number of compelling statistics which point a victory by the Texas Rangers.

Carlton Chin, my colleague and the coauthor of one of my books, (Who Will Win The Big Game), and I looked at some statistics to help us to determine the likely winner of this year’s Fall Classic.

Interestingly, Texas is the fourth team to return to The World Series after losing the contest in the previous year. The other three teams have all gone on to become world champions when they returned to the series. This statistic might indicate that getting close to winning provides baseball teams with increased motivation to win in November. Also, the big game experience appears to be valuable in preparing teams for this big contest.

A few other numbers favor Texas.

Texas has a big lead in stolen bases. They stole three times as many bases as did St. Louis. Team speed could be an important factor in these games.

Total bases accumulated also favors the Rangers powerful offense. Slugging percentage also favors Texas. Total runs also point to the Rangers.

Last, the Texas Rangers seem to have a great team chemistry and behave as if they are a well functioning family or company. Ron Washington and Nolan Ryan seem

to be easy going but highly competent leaders.

The research for our book indicate that quality leadership like this plays an important role in big games, like the World Series.

I think Nolan Ryan was right. I believe Texas will win in six games.

Author's Bio: 

Jay P. Granat, Ph.D., is The Founder of www.StayInTheZone.com. Dr. Granat is available for individual coaching and for seminars. He has developed many programs for elite athletes and for weekend warriors. He can be reached at info@stayinthezone.com or at 888 580-ZONE.