Hans Wagner:  Cincinnati Reds are in first class condition.  I am picking the Reds to win.
John Evers:  Detroit power at bat offsets Cincinnati pitching.  Detroit to win in five games.

Henry McLemore, UP sports writer, says:
Cincinnati's Reds will win the 1940 world series by taking four of six games from the Detroit Tigers.  I furnish this information with all the confidence of a snowshoe salesman in Florida.  The players just won't behave in the series as they did over the regular season.  Players who couldn't hit their glove size suddenly come to life.  Pitchers who were invincible sometimes lose their stuff overnight.  Great fielders suddenly start making errors, and ordinary fielders develop the skill of a Wagner.

In short, no sportswriter has ever devised a scheme whereby he could outfigure the human element.  But, I still give you Cincinnati.  I like the strength of the Reds' great pitchers better than I do the Tigers' batting power.

Cincinnati has another advantage, too.  The Reds are rested.  They won their pennant weeks ago and have been able to relax and husband their strength.  The Tigers, on the other hand, had to fight right down to the last second.  They are bound to be a bit exhausted.

-from the Times-Picayune, October 2, 1940, p. 15

There was a list of predictions of 60 writers polled by AP, 34 of whom picked the Reds.

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