Strength in big numbers: the Red Sox continue to prove their best defense is a relentless offense.(The World Series)(Boston Red Sox)

Before Game 1 of the World Series, Johnny Pesky walked up to the batting cage at Fenway Park and gave a big ol' hug to a fellow octogenarian, Red Schoendienst. The scene added a nice feel--and a historic touch--to a Red October Series that began with all the ingredients for a classic:

* The two best teams. The Cardinals, picked to finish third in their own division before the season, won a major league-best 105 games. The Red Sox overcame a three-month stretch of mediocrity by going a major league-best 42-18 after July. That, however, served as a mere tuneup for the American League Championship Series, when they became the first team to overcome a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven postseason series. Against the mighty Yankees, no less.

* Courageous performances. Red Sox starter Curt Schilling had a dislocated ankle tendon stitched down inside his skin just for the chance to pitch. The procedure worked well enough in Game 2 when the right-hander, even though he did not think he could take the ball earlier in the day, earned the victory by lasting six innings and allowing only an unearned run. Schilling, admitting he felt "beat up" after the game, left Boston hoping he would not have to make another start.

* Super sluggers. Boston's David Ortiz was providing late-inning heroics like no one ever before with five game-winning hits in the Red Sox's first 12 postseason games. St. Louis' Albert Pujols was doing his best to keep pace, with six homers and 14 RBIs to Ortiz's eight and 19, through 13 games.

* Of course, history. Two proud franchises representing two great baseball cities, both seeking an elusive championship. It has been 22 years since the Cardinals last won a World Series. The Red Sox have one of the most famous losing streak in sports, having gone 86 years since their last championship. Two of the Sox's past four Series defeats--all of which have gone seven games--came against the Cardinals, in 1946 and 1967. In '46, Pesky was blamed--he says unfairly (historians say he's probably right)--for hesitating on a relay throw that allowed the most crucial run of the Series to score. Schoendienst was a young second baseman on the '46 Cards, then manager of the '67 club.

Now 81, Schoendienst still puts on the uniform and carries around a fungo bat on occasion during Cardinals' batting practices. Pesky, 85, likewise hangs around the Sox sometimes--offering advice "only when someone asks"--and remains as beloved as any of the old-time Red Sox. "It's an honor to have him in the clubhouse," Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein says. A Red Sox fan since his youth, Epstein says Pesky will be one of the first to hold the trophy if there's a trophy to hold.

The likelihood of the Sox hoisting the trophy was high when the Series moved to the Midwest. Showing how their offense can cover up all kinds of mistakes, the Red Sox bashed their way to victory in Game 1 and came through with three 2-run, 2-out hits for the difference in Game 2. The likelihood of a classic Series, lessened as the Cardinals' finesse pitchers--which is basically all the team has--were worked over by the deep Red Sox offense.