It would be fair to say that after posting a 4.36 ERA in parts of three seasons with the Phillies, Jake Arrieta isn't especially popular in Philadelphia.
However, after making $75 million as a Phillie, Arrieta is picking some of his former teammates to capture the 2022 World Series title.
In an appearance on "Pardon My Take," Arrieta explained why he's taking the Phillies to upset the Houston Astros, who are -175 favorites to win the World Series:
"It's very hard to go against the Astros, and the reason I'm gonna do so is because I have ultimate faith in [Zack] Wheeler, [Aaron] Nola, Ranger Suárez ... the back-end of their bullpen ... and the best player on the planet right now in Bryce Harper ... guys like [Kyle] Schwarber, [Rhys] Hoskins, [J.T.] Realmuto, [Bryson] Stott.
"Like I think this is just the team that really has the ability to get the job done against this Astros team. I don't think anybody else would have. I think that what they've gone through ... how they've rallied towards the end of the season ... just the momentum ... it's like a snowball rolling downhill and this s--- doesn't seem to be stopping yet.
"So I think this series goes seven games. I'm gonna pick the Phillies to win it on the road in Houston."
Arrieta, of course, was teammates with Harper, Hoskins, Realmuto, Nola and Wheeler, among others, in Philadelphia. Both he and Kyle Schwarber were on the Chicago Cubs in 2016 when they snapped a 108-year World Series drought.
Nola will get the ball in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday.
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