You could dissect the 10 teams who have made it to Major League Baseball’s post-season tournament and not find two more dissimilar outfits than the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros.
Just one of them will survive after Tuesday night’s American League wild card game at Yankee Stadium.
For starters, the Astros have the smallest payroll in the AL at just over $70 million. The Yankees have the largest at $216 million, or more than three times that of the Astros.
The Astros are shiny and new, a young team just starting to scratch its potential.