After losing back-to-back World Series in 2010 and 2011, many fans of the Texas Rangers never thought they would see their team lift the trophy. Texas has gained a reputation for “choking” in the postseason, which has led many fans to give up hope on their team for some time. That all changed in the 2023 season, as the Texas Rangers lifted their first World Series trophy, defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks three games to one.
In games one and two, it looked like the series would be a tight, wire-to-wire affair. Game one was a nailbiter and saw the Rangers trail 5-3 in the bottom of the ninth. Adolis Garcia hit a walk-off in the bottom of the 11th to give Texas the early series lead. Arizona would come out firing on all cylinders in game two, rocking the Rangers bullpen win by a comfortable score of 9-1.
The Rangers took that game personally and completely controlled the series. Game three saw Corey Seager hit another two-run home run, and game four saw Seager, Marcus Semien and Jonah Heim hit long balls while pitcher Andrew Heaney had a solid outing. With a three-to-one series lead, Texas was one game away from being crowned world champions.
In game five, Texas turned to undoubtedly their best pitcher of the postseason, Nathan Eovaldi. The 2023 All-Star went six innings and gave up no runs, while the Rangers were finally able to get a run off of D-backs pitcher Zac Gallen via a Mitch Garver RBI single. The ninth inning would see Texas tack on four runs, which included a massive error by Diamondbacks center fielder Alek Thomas and a two-run homer from Semien. Josh Sborz came in to close out the game, and the Rangers became World Series champions.
Eovaldi, the best pitcher for Texas this entire playoff run, became the fourth player in history with five wins in a single postseason. The Texas native had been a standout for the Ranger’s pitching staff and carried the load despite numerous injuries to Jacob Degrom and Max Scherzer.
Speaking of Scherzer, “Mad Max” has now won his second World Series title after previously winning one with the Washington Nationals in 2019. The future Hall of Famer was acquired just before the trade deadline from the New York Mets and proved to be a vital pickup as the season progressed, despite a few injuries.
The rest was history, and it shows that despite all the adversity the team had faced, they got it done when it mattered most. Now, they will be immortalized as world baseball champions in 2023, giving the Dallas-Fort Worth area the glory they have so desperately wanted.
