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The wait is over. At last the Texas Rangers are World Series champions for the first time ever. Arlington it's time to get your party on, baby.
It took 63 seasons and 51 in Texas for the Rangers to finally have the honor in calling themselves world champions. The second longest championship drought is over. The longest drought without a championship is over. They finally did it, and in special fashion. The pitch and celly that will be replayed in Rangers' galore for eternity:
video via Fox Sports: MLB//X
The third time was the charm as Texas wins in their third World Series appearance. This was only the 9th playoff run in 63 seasons (including Senators). None of that matters now. The quest has been conquered as they ended the playoff run with a surreal 11-0 record on the road- ending it with a celebration in the desert. It didn't come easy, not a surprise for a 'chise that had 63 years of waiting. Pushed to the finish line by a relentless gladiator of a starting pitcher; a united lineup; and a legendary shortstop- the 2023 Rangers are immortal.
Texas had production from many players and pieces to secure the ring. After losing the ALCS MVP and one of the clutchest hitters on the planet in Adolis Garcia- Travis Jankowski of all cats stepped up to play right field and batted 2-for-4 with two RBIS; two runs; and 4 putouts in Game-4. Travis Jankowski! The middle of the order stepped up with Mitch Garver and Evan Carter havin some clutch hits and ABs. Many guys stepped up in certain moments but, the Rangers don't win the series without Corey Seager; Nathan Eovaldi; and Marcus Semien. Let me rephrase that to give everyone the right acknowledgment: The Rangers don't win the Series without the GM hire of Chris Young, who brought in Eovaldi (2023), Semien (2022), and Seager (2022) after losing 100 plus games in 2021.
Chris becomes just the third man (since at-least 1950) to win a World Series as a player ('15 Royals) and a general manager joining Johnny Murphy and the legendary Stan Musial. In even larger light, he helped orchestrate just the third team ever to win the World Series two years after losing 100 games joining the 1969 Mets and the 1914 Boston Braves. Young spent big in free agency; lured an iconic manager out of retirement; and went for broke to deliver greatness. The three mega additions played unreal and now are heroic legends in the state of Texas and across Rangers Nation.
Lets talk about the ace, first. Nathan Eovaldi lives up to the "Him" metaphor on the mound in the biggest moments of the playoffs. First it was for the World Series winnin' Red Sox in 2018 and now he does it again, in a higher degree for the World Series winnin' Rangers. Valdi is clutch in clinching games in the playoffs, puttin' that in stone last night as he pitched six scoreless innings on the road that saw outta-jams mastery and pure stone cold killin' motives:
video via Fox Sports: MLB//X
video via MLB//X
Eovaldi didn't give a damn about their RISP, the cat was laser focused and wanted each important at-bat more than the hitter. Ace was a stone cold assassin in this title run, posting a 5-0 record with a 2.95 ERA; and 41 Ks. Valdi tied a MLB record winnin' 5 games in a single postseason joining Randy Johnson; Francisco Rodriguez (K-Rod); and Stephen Strasburg. All four cats won a World Series ring in those iconic postseason performances. Valdi now has 9 total playoff wins in three postseasons- the all-time postseason wins king Andy Pettitte has 19 wins across 14 separate postseasons compared to Eovaldi's three postseasons. Just unreal. The Rangers won all six of Eovaldi's starts this postseason. The grittiness he showed on the mound reflected off his teammates.
Marcus Semien and Corey Seager stepped up in the grandest of fashion to help push the Rangers to the finish line. Semien was an IRON MAN as he played in every single game for the Rangers this season; regular and post. 179 games this cat played and his best and most elite play came in the final 5 games. He even broke a MLB record with the most plate appearances in a season with 835. None more important than the 24 he had in the Classic. Semien went 7-for-24, with 2 homers, and 8 RBIs. His seven hits led the team. Marcus was the grim reaper to Diamondbacks fans as both his homers were utter daggers to kill the hopes for D-backs nation:
video via Fox Sports: MLB//X
video via Fox Sports: MLB//X
Semien was great but, Corey Seager was LEGENDARY. Mister MVP. Mister October. Seager was unreal as he became just the fourth player in history to win two World Series MVP awards, joining a legendary club with Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, and Reggie Jackson. He joins Jackson as the only two position players to do so as well as the only two players to win with two different teams (Dodgers & Rangers). Seager is the only one of the four to achieve the honor in both the AL and NL. The cat was locked in and refused to face failure. It was one of the greatest performances known.
Seager led the Rangers with 6 runs and 3 homers to go with his elite defense throughout the Classic. He was the fire starter with a homer up 1-0 in Game-3 off Brandon Pfaadt and another blast up 3-0 early in Game-4 that broke out the flood gates and lifted his lineup to an onslaught. The other homer? That one was the biggest play of the entire series in my opinion. Down 5-3 in the bottom of the ninth of Game-1 and then BOOM:
video via Fox Sports: MLB//X
One of the most thrillingly clutch at-bats in recent memory on the diamond. In the grandest of moments off one of the most elite closers in the Show. The crazy thing? Just like with Bryce Harper, you knew Seager was going deep in that moment. That's how strong his aura was going into that AB. I just knew deep into the core that if he wasn't gettin' walked, he was going yard: boom off the first pitch. In my opinion it was the most important at-bat of the series despite Adolis Garcia being the man who hit the game winner in Game-1 in the 11th. Check that blast out too just for the feels, baby:
video via Fox Sports: MLB//X
Adolis being clutch was a norm in this title run but, that swing doesn't happen without Seager's game tying blast in the ninth. The series takes a complete different turn if the Diamondbacks win that Game-1. Not saying the Rangers would have lost, but only a fool would say the series doesn't look different. A swing to beat more adversity, which was the morale to the Rangers' championship story. A swing that will be replayed forever. A swing that helped catapult the Rangers to win the series. The epitome of grit:
via USA Today Sports
Seager now has put his name in tiers of legendary status. This postseason run collectively is one of the best of all-time. The season in full by Seager, considering both the regular season and postseason, may just be the greatest season by a shortstop in MLB history. That's not cap:
In the winter of 2000, the Rangers shocked the baseball world and broke the bank for a superstar free-agent shortstop named Alex Rodriguez, two decades later they did the same agreeing to a 10-year $325 million contract with free agent shortstop Corey Seager. Rodriguez didn't pan out to the aspirations; Seager did- becoming a jackpot addition for Chris Young and the Rangers' franchise. Rangers now have the new Mr. October and a ring. Seager and proclaimed "Mr. October" Reggie Jackson have both played in 77 playoff games. Seager has 19 homers to Jackson's 18; 150 total bases to 148; and the same amount of RBIs (48). Safe to say that Seager is the 21st-century Mr. October. What a signing for Texas. Semien and Seager became Rangers on the same cold December day, just under two years later they end a joyful November night in pure content with a champagne shower as champions of the baseball world. Greatness.
Can't talk greatness without the skipper who led those cats to the wonderland: Bruce Bochy. The Bochy Effect. Chris Young callin' the skipper out of his short four year retirement was a golden decision. Bochy had been there before, winnin' a legendary three World Series in a five year span (won '10; '12; and '14) for the San Francisco Giants. Those three Giants squads have many similarities to the Rangers squad. The biggest similarity? The will to overcome adversity: The Bochy Effect.
Just like those squads in San Fran, Bochy's Rangers were counted out from the very beginning. Blowin' the AL West title in the final weeks of the regular season was brutal, and many felt was so brutal, that it was demoralizing to the point they would be an easy exit in the Wild-Card round. They shot those claims down, doing so by changing their negative narrative completely. The collapse of the division title happened on the road, they flipped that switch by going 11-0 on the road for the world title.
The division collapse was just one straw, they faced adversities all year long. They lost their ace Jacob deGrom in June (UCL tear) after he signed a 5-year $185 million contract and started the season 2-0 with a 2.67 ERA in just 6 starts. They faced injuries throughout the regular season, and even got faced them deep into the World Series. Adolis Garcia was having one of the best playoff runs in his own right, being an automatic gamebreaker in the cleanup spot and becoming the most hated man in Houston. The Rangers had to pull him and Max Scherzer off the postseason rosters prior to Game-4 of the Classic due to oblique injuries. It still didn't matter. No adversity or challenge was stoppin' this club of finally reaching the wonderland. Zac Gallen had a no hitter though seven innings last night and it didn't matter in the end. The third time is the charm held more weight.
Bochy knows how to get his teams through adversities. What a manager. He becomes just the sixth manager in MLB history to manage four World Series winnin' teams. An even greater feat: he took over the San Francisco Giants who had never won a World Series since moving to San Francisco in 1958, and brought them to the wonderland three times. It only took him four years to win the first in the bay. Then Bochy comes out of retirement to take over the Texas Rangers who had never won a World Series since being established in 1961 and won the whole damn thing in his first season with the club. Legendary:
I am not kiddin' when I say everyone doubted them out. Here is a post showin' a snippet from a deGrom press conference explaining that the goal of a title is why he chose Texas:
Now, look at some of the notable replies by folks under the post:
Mmm mmm mmm, boy were they wrong! Definition of provin' the doubters wrong. I love seeing that. Receipt on top of receipt. Glorious. The Rangers had a slew of records and fun facts come from their first title win. On top of Seager; Valdi; and Bochy, we had Adolis Garcia playin' like MJ after being trash talked with clutch runs batted in and gun-downs at the plate. Then we had reliever Will Smith go Pat Maroon mode and then some. Like Maroon (NHL), Smith has won three championships in a row, doing so in a legendary fashion: he is the first player in the history of the Big-4 to appear in at least one game with three different championship winning teams in three consecutive seasons. Maroon won with two different teams. Talk about being in the right place in the right time. To be able to celebrate as a champion three years in a row, must be an electric feeling. Another electric feeling is being a part of two teams that ended two of the longest championship droughts of all-time.
Aroldis Chapman has celebrated being a world champion in epic fashions. First he helped the Chicago Cubs win their first championship in 108 years; one of the biggest celebrations in sports history. Now the cat celebrates being a champion helping the Rangers end a 62-year drought to secure their FIRST title. That man was on cloud nine, I am sure. So much greatness. Just epictry (Yes, that's not a real word).
I love seeing franchises win their first title and end long championship droughts. It's one of the best things to come from sports. Seeing the pure joy from fans and the winning city. Especially the OGs who have decades long fandom. Such great stuff. Denver eliminated their 47 to win the last NBA title and now Texas has eliminated their 63 to be crowned champions of the MLB. Those parades are the best, I can't wait to see how electric Arlington will get. This is a teaser of what to expect:
video via Derek Holland//X
Going to be an electric parade for an electric team. 9 playoff appearances in 63 seasons, 24 years before seeing their first playoff- these fans have DREAMT of this moment- now it's here. Congratulations to the Texas Rangers. Congratulations to the NEW World Series champions. Hey Arlington, go getcha party on, cha heard!
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