This year’s World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Tampa Bay Rays is about as an unlikely matchup as we’re ever to find.

Despite only being in the major leagues for 10 years, the Rays have the worst winning percentage of any team in the league. They have won just 42% of their 1779 games, four percentage points worse than the next worst team, the San Diego Padres. Until the 2008 season, the Rays were better than last place just once, and that was in 2004 when they were in fourth place in the AL East.

The Phillies, as we all know, have more losses than any other franchise in professional sports history. That is due in large part to the fact that the franchise has been around for 125 years. It is also a result of them having a winning percentage of just 47%, 26th worst in major league history. The Fightin Phils have a better winning percentage than just the Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, Padres and Rays. The Phillies also have the major league record for consecutive losing seasons with 16.

From a historical perspective, these teams make unlikely championship bedfellows. However, this World Series is a great example of the parity in baseball. It shows that it is possible to win without buying the talent, that teams other than the Yankees and Red Sox and Mets have a fighting chance. The Florida Marlins have been a great example of that opportunity.

This World Series is not breaking the ratings records, but it is a more interesting contest than we’ve seen in some time.