What do previous Royals-Giants matchups say about the World Series?

With the Royals and the Giants facing off in the World Series, one might be wonder what, if anything, we can learn from the two teams' previous meetings on the diamond. Yes, the two are regular Spring Training counterparts, but what about real, full-speed games? It turns out, there's not a lot to go on.

Before Interleague Play began in the 1997 season, the Royals and Giants had never played in a Major League game. In fact, the two clubs didn't face off for the first time until 2003 -- six years after the AL and NL began their regular season battles.

For a long time, the biggest moment of the Giants-Royals rivalry was probably this iconic moment from the 1989 All-Star Game:

That's legendary two-sport superstar Bo Jackson taking Giants pitcher Rick Reuschel deep to lead off the bottom half of the first inning -- with Vin Scully and President Ronald Reagan looking on.

Jackson aside, the Giants and Royals have played 12 regular-season games -- nine at Kauffman Stadium and three at AT&T Park. All in all, the Royals have won nine of those matchups, including a clean sweep when the two teams met earlier this year.

The Royals have had the Giants' number so bad, they actually have their greatest franchise winning percentage against them -- .750. The inverse is also true: the Giants' lowest winning percentage against any MLB team comes against the Royals: .250.

Sure, it's just 12 games, but you might think that bodes well for the Royals. But lest you get too confident in that prediction, think about this:

Since Interleague Play began, there have been five seasons in which the two teams in the World Series previously met during the regular season (1999, 2000, 2006, 2007, and 2009). In all but one of those Fall Classics (2000), the World Series-winning team just so happened to be the team that lost the series during the regular season. After dropping all three matchups back in June, maybe the Giants have the Royals right where they want them?

That is, until you look back at that three-game series and realize the Royals did everything they've become known for: flashy defense and aggressive baserunning:

But, then again, the Giants did their thing too, with Madison Bumgarner dealing and Hunter Pence keeping things loose in the dugout:

Well, when one statistic says one thing, and another says something else, you can be sure of just one thing -- whatever happens in the World Series, it'll be crazy and unpredictable. 

And, of course, there'll be plenty of Hunter Pence signs at the K: