ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Hey, Freddy Sanchez, there's hope for you and the foundering Pittsburgh Pirates.

Tampa Bay, Colorado, Detroit. All perennial doormats before reaching the World Series the past three years. Even the Chicago White Sox were a surprise in 2005.

So pick a long shot. The days when the New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves could book their playoff trips in April are long gone.

Parity. Competitive balance. Those are the new buzz words in baseball, and even downtrodden franchises are finding fast success.

"You didn't have to be Albert Einstein to figure out that there was a significant problem," commissioner Bud Selig said. "We need to have a sport that produces the kind of hope and faith I'm talking about. Because that hope and faith is the thing that sustains the sport from one end of the country to the other, and including in middle America."

That's why Selig said he's thrilled about this matchup between Tampa Bay and Philadelphia. He likes seeing the upstarts on a grand stage, even if network TV executives might prefer two big-market teams with national followings.

"Whatever the system produces," Selig said. "They're big boys. They understand."

With their stunning run to the AL pennant, the worst-to-first Rays became the third team to reach the World Series after 10 or more consecutive losing seasons. Detroit had endured 12 straight losing years before its 2006 turnaround.

Who's next, Kansas City? The Royals haven't been to the playoffs since 1985, but they improved in September and have a smart regime in place.

Maybe the Pirates, who just matched a major league record with their 16th losing season in a row.

"I think some of those are stretches, just because they can't afford the payroll to compete," Phillies general manager Pat Gillick said. "If they make it I wouldn't say the word fluke, but it's going to be very difficult."

Sure, but struggling teams can draw inspiration from the Rays, Rockies and Tigers.

Tampa Bay opened the season with a $44 million payroll, lower than every other major league club besides the Florida Marlins. Yet the Rays had reason to dream.

Back in February, when they gathered in spring training, general manager Andrew Friedman addressed the players and pointed to last year's NL championship series between Colorado and Arizona.

Look how fast those teams went from losers to winners, he said. Look at their young rosters.

"We felt like talent-wise we matched up and there was no reason why we couldn't do something similar," Friedman recalled. "Didn't necessarily expect it to be this year, but I'm not complaining."

Eight months later, Tampa Bay became the latest big underdog to reach the World Series.

"I think it's really cool," first baseman Carlos Pena said. "That's what baseball's all about. Anything can happen. I love that part about this game, the unpredictability."

And many agree it makes for a healthier sport.

"Some people may argue they want the big-market teams for television ratings, etc. But as a fan myself in the past I always enjoyed when quote-unquote underdog would rise to the top," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "I always thought it made things a lot more interesting, it leveled the playing surface out a bit, and whenever you can create hope for a larger group of people I think it benefits everybody."

There are several reasons for this surge in playoff surprises.

The switch from four divisions to six and the arrival of the wild card in the mid-1990s created more postseason opportunities. Revenue sharing and the luxury tax helped small-market clubs compete (for example, the Rays received about $30 million in revenue sharing this year). And technology has aided scouting and player development, the longtime lifeblood of the game.

All those factors have contributed to eight different teams reaching the World Series in the last four years. Ten clubs have won a National League pennant over the past 11 seasons. And the Boston Red Sox are the only franchise to win more than one championship this decade.

"I don't think you try and explain it, you just accept it," Phillies bench coach Jimy Williams said. "You might have hope, but you have to do something about it."

AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.