2013 World Series

With Major League Baseball's 8-team and now 10-team playoff format, it's actually become somewhat rare to see teams with the best regular season records reach the World Series. Fans of the 97-win St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox certainly aren't complaining.

The 2013 World Series begins on Wednesday night as the St. Louis Cardinals head to Boston to take on the Red Sox in what promises to be a great series.

The matchup pits two of the most storied franchises in MLB history and two of the most passionate fanbases in the league against one another, as the Cardinals look to win championship No. 12 and the Red Sox push for title No. 8.

Back in 2004, the Boston Red Sox made their glorious return to MLB's World Series and swept their NL opponents—the St. Louis Cardinals. 

There a zillion different ways for the St. Louis Cardinals to win the 2013 World Series, but trusting each step in this guide would put them in the best position to knock off the Boston Red Sox.

The 2013 World Series is set to begin on Wednesday night at Fenway Park, as the Boston Red Sox play host to the St. Louis Cardinals in the 109th edition of the Fall Classic.

Given that both clubs matched each other with the best record in the MLB regular season at 97-65 and that both have strong starting pitching and star-studded batting orders, this has the makings of an epic championship showcase.

There is no question that excellent play from their superstars helped both the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox reach the World Series.

Role players, however, have a way of making a big difference during the Fall Classic, and both the Cardinals and Red Sox have plenty of role players who are just waiting for their opportunity to bust out.

The St. Louis Cardinals punched their ticket to the 2013 World Series on Friday night, and the Boston Red Sox will attempt to join them with a win Saturday. The Cards pounded Clayton Kershaw for seven runs in just four innings, while Michael Wacha and two relievers kept the harmless Dodger bats in check. When the assault was done, the Cards were victorious, 9-0. 

With a systematic thumping of likely NL Cy Young award winner Clayton Kershaw, the St. Louis Cardinals dispatched the Los Angeles Dodgers and cemented half of our 2013 World Series field.

A series defined by great pitching met up Friday night in St. Louis for yet another duel—only half of the duel never showed.

The St. Louis Cardinals continued their ownership of one of the game's greatest left-handed pitchers, Clayton Kershaw.

As Mick Jagger once half-sung, half-rasped as only he could, "You can't always get what you want / But if you try sometime, you just might find / You get what you need."