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The World Series starts this weekend and it is the first time that two wildcard teams have made it to the big dance. Cinderella versus Cinderella also features the first All-Californian World Series since the Loma-Prieta Earthquake series in 1989. The Anaheim Angels and San Francisco Giants take center stage and the matchup is just as exciting the statement an All-California series makes to the rest of the country.

Over the past decade, baseball fans have been accustomed to the World Series being a matchup between either Midwestern or Eastern-based teams. The Braves, Indians, and of course, the Yankees, have taken the October spotlight. This has added to the East Coast bias that pervades the SportsCenter highlights and sports talk radio across the nation.

Now the East Coast will be forced to stay up late and watch a World Series that features two teams who have shattered the myth of Eastern dominance. Drink your coffee, baseball fans.

The Angels were underdogs to the mighty Yanks, but disposed of the Bronx Bombers with relative ease. The series was billed as the upstart Angels versus the perennial champs. But in the end, reality showed us that the Angels were not upstarts -- they were the better team. Not surprisingly, the Angels lack the well-known superstar, the main attraction pitcher, and the larger-than-life manager.

What the Angels do have is a well-balanced team that features a group of talented players who don't command media attention, but do demand respect on the field. Garret Anderson and Troy Glaus are legitimate underrated superstars and the Angels pitching staff has been almost perfect throughout the playoffs. Mike Scioscia manages with the same grit that made him a consistent catcher with the Dodgers.

Up the Golden State Freeway in San Francisco, the Giants have overcome the stigma of being a team whose best player, Barry Bonds, seems to garner more attention than the team. The media focus has always been Barry first and the Giants second. But all of the sudden, the Giants begin to gain some respect even though they have played great baseball all year. The playoff run has been billed as Barry Bonds exorcising his playoff demons, but no one player wins or loses a series in baseball. Barry has done well, but the Giants as a team have done better.

With players such as Benito Santiago, Kenny Lofton, Jeff Kent, and Reggie Sanders, the Giants have molded themselves into a championship-caliber team. With the exceptions of Bonds and Kent, the Giants resemble a baseball player recycling center. Lofton, Santiago, and Sanders have been cast off from several other organizations. Together, they solidify the Giants lineup and have redeemed each other.

When the first pitch is thrown out on Saturday, the unheralded teams of the West Coast will finally receive the national attention that they merit. Surely, there will be no Yankees or Braves, but maybe what baseball needs now is a World Series that highlights the game of baseball from coast to coast. A World Series that pits Cinderella versus Cinderella can only inspire fans around the nation, and it will introduce the nation to the game's lesser-known superstars. The only problem might be that East Coast children might be staying up passed their bedtimes to accommodate the Pacific Standard Time starts.

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