The 2018 World Series opens Tuesday night and there are a host of great narratives.

Both teams have displayed consistent excellence, with the Boston Red Sox posting the best record in baseball (108 wins). The Los Angeles Dodgers are also attempting to rewrite history by winning their first World Series in three decades.

But my favorite World Series story line is the tale of the underdog. Last year, the Dodgers’ first baseman Max Muncy was banished to a Triple-A team in Oklahoma City, a castoff from the Oakland A’s. His career was hanging by a thread. In April, Muncy was called up to the big league and made the most of it. He led the Dodgers in home runs, with 35. All that from a guy who hit just 12 homers in his first five years in and out of the majors. Muncy is “a testament to sticking it out, a shining beacon to all those who follow their dreams...,” writes Scott Miller for the Bleacher Report.

But if you want to see this baseball season’s funniest portrait of persistence, check out 3-year-old Lennox Salcedo’s “dash” to home plate. It’s captured in this now-viral video of the toddler pretending to run in slow motion. His coach (Dad) is trying to hurry him along. But he won’t have it. Lennox is going to savor the moment, ever so sloooooowly.

Now to our five stories, including paths to progress on women’s rights in Iran, US political polarization, and understanding the Battle of the Alamo in Texas.