Your rooting guide to the 2015 World Series

The Kansas City Royals beat the Toronto Blue Jays in a wild, 4-3 nailbiter on Friday night to win their second consecutive AL pennant. In this year's World Series, they will face the upstart New York Mets, who many thought were still a year away from contention at the start of this season.

The matchup is a major contrast in styles, with the Mets relying on power in their lineup and a rotation full of young aces. The Royals are more balanced than their 2014 small ballin' counterparts, but are still paced by their incredible defense and lockdown bullpen.

With the Detroit Tigers not involved, however, we're not interested in actual baseball analysis. However, we do need to figure out which team to root for in this exciting matchup. To do that, we turn to an extremely scientific set of criteria. Here is our peer-reviewed analysis.

Disproportionally shaped athlete

Mets: Bartolo Colon
Royals: /shifts awkwardly, quietly withdraws from contention

Advantage: I mean...

Path to the World Series

Mets: Beat Dodgers (3-2), Beat Cubs (4-0)
Royals: Beat Astros (3-2), Beat Blue Jays (4-2)

Advantage: Mets

This category seems ambiguous, and the Mets receive a harsh penalty for (a) beating the championship-starved Cubs and (b) sweeping said Cubs to deprive us of more baseball. However, the Royals (a) won our division, (b) deprived us of more Carlos Correa, and (c) beat David Price.

Also, the Mets had to beat the Washigton Nationals to reach the playoffs, further deepening Washington D.C.'s very real inferiority complex with New York. As someone that lives in D.C., I find this hilarious.

Really fast guys

Mets: ?
Royals: Jarrod Dyson, Terrance Gore

Advantage: Royals

Stolen bases are an underrated exciting part of baseball, especially in the playoffs, and the Royals have two of the most fearless base thieves in the game on their roster. Gore has never been thrown out at the major league level, and Dyson has enough swag to get Billy Butler to do this.

Dudes who throw really hard

Mets: Everyone but Bartolo
Royals: Everyone but Chris Young

Advantage: Draw

Technically, the Mets were the hardest throwing team in baseball this year while the Royals have a few other guys who don't quite light up the radar gun, but Wade Davis' COME GET SOME ninth inning to close out the Blue Jays on Friday is exactly what you want out of the playoffs.

Former Tigers

Mets: Curtis Granderson, Yoenis Cespedes
Royals: Joba Chamberlain, Omar Infante

Advantage: Mets

Curtis Granderson was an integral piece of the revitalization of baseball in Detroit. He helped lead the team to the 2006 World Series, had one of four 20-20-20-20 season in MLB history in 2007, and represented the Tigers organization with class the entire way. Yoenis Cespedes had an All-Star worthy first half in 2015 and hits a lot of dingers.

Joba Chamberlain had a few good months in 2014, I guess, and Infante is hurt.

Last World Series

Mets: 1986
Royals: 1985

Advantage: Nobody

Both of these titles came after 1984 and I have no sympathy for either fanbase.

SB Nation blogs

Mets: Amazin' Avenue
Royals: Royals Review

Advantage: Draw

BOTH OF THESE SITES ARE AWESOME AND YOU SHOULD READ ALL OF THEIR STUFF. If you're looking for a winner, though, Amazin' Avenue has this.

Actual baseball-y stuff

Advantage: Royals in 6

The Mets have a sizable advantage in their starting rotation, but this Royals lineup has shown time and again that it is one of the toughest outs in baseball, from top to bottom. They don't strike out, and no matter how punch-less they look at times, they always seem to break through when it matters. Then, there are the bullpens. If the Royals take any leads into the seventh inning, the game is all but over, while the Mets are a bit shaky after closer Jeurys Familia, enough so that they're using starters Bartolo Colon and Jon Niese over their actual relievers.

Final score: 3-2-2 Mets