[Tiger Fan]

Our opponent in the 1927 World Championship Series will be the Philadelphia Keystones. The Keystones blanked Detroit 7-0 in Monday's playoff game to decide the Federal Association pennant winner. Pitching isn't their strong suit but Philadelphia's Bill Ross (16-8, 3.44) spun a masteful 4-hit shutout while the potent Philadelphia offense gave him plenty of support.

Like Brooklyn, the Keystones have never won the World Championship Series. Actually, they have never really won anything since the FABL was established in 1893. They have a long history, going back to the original Century League in 1876 when they were known as the Centennials. They won 4 Century League titles but have spent most of the past 4 decades at our near the basement of the Federal Association. That began to change 3 seasons ago with the emergence of a young superstar from Memphis by the name of Rankin Kellogg. Kellogg hit 35 homeruns as a 22 year old rookie 3 seasons ago and has never looked back. This season he appeared in all 155 games (his third straight year of never missing a game) and, thanks in part to a season-ending injury suffered by St Louis great Max Morris, Kellogg became just the 4th hitter in baseball history to win the triple crown, joining the aforementioned Morris, who turned the trick 3 times, and a pair of players from the 19th century by the name of Bob DeVilbiss and Fred Roby.

Kellogg hit .364 with 32 homers and 134 rbi's and those without a rooting interest in the Series will be entirely focused on the first-ever matchup between Kellogg and Brooklyn's Doug Lightbody. The two young stars are quickly becoming the new faces of the sport as former legends like the retired Powell Slocum and an aging but still very relevant Max Morris look to pass the torch.

Kellogg is a 24 year old first baseman who the Keystones selected first overall out of high school in the 1922 draft. He would spend two seasons in A ball before joining Philadelphia full-time in the 1925 season. In 3 years he has never missed a game, batting .340 with 96 homers and a .615 slugging percentage during that time. He finished second in Whitney Award voting as a rookie and seems a shoe-in for the award this season.

Lightbody was selected 6th overall out of Ole Miss in 1925, had a great spring as a rookie pro and went straight to Brooklyn, bypassing the minors altogether. He was challenging for the Continental Association batting title as a rookie, hitting .356 in 79 games before his season came to an end in July with an arm injury that required surgery. He returned completely healthy this spring and flirted with a .400 average for much of the season before finishing with a .384 mark, 15 homers and a .586 slugging percentage. Lightbody won the CA batting title and is the favourite to capture his first Whitney Award.

There should be no shortage of hits in the series as it will feature the top offense in each league. The Kings hope their starting pitching will be enough to tilt the balance in their favour in what is likely to be a long series.