NEW YORK — Resilient. Dominant. Historic. Road Warriors. And now, World Series Champions.
The Texas Rangers have finally done it. For the first time in franchise history, the Rangers are on top of the baseball world — defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 5 of the Fall Classic on Wednesday night by a final score of 5-0 at Chase Field — to seal the deal in the best-of-seven series (4-1), and clinch the 2023 World Series Championship.
Texas Forever. #WorldSeries
(MLB x @BudweiserUSA) pic.twitter.com/oxzuNOParC
— MLB (@MLB) November 2, 2023
From getting shut out on the final day of the regular season (October 1st), which resulted in losing the American League West division title, and becoming the No. 5 seed in the American League, to hoisting the Commissioner’s Trophy exactly a month later (November 1st). What a resilient, dominant, and historic run by the 2023 World Series Champion, Texas Rangers.
“This franchise waited 63 years to pick up that trophy,” said Rangers owner Ray Davis on the championship stage following the Game 5 clincher. “I can’t tell you what it means to the city of Arlington, and the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. We’re just thrilled right now.”
Rangers general manager Chris Young holds World Series trophy on Wednesday night after Game 5 clincher, Texas’ owner Ray Davis located behind Young to the left – Image Credit: MLB
Texas’ general manager Chris Young, who was born and raised in Dallas, then added: “our players, they did this. We have this trophy because of them. They made this happen. They deserve this, I love them all. Bruce Bochy, unbelievable. What a Hall of Fame manager, came back and led us to this.”
“And of course, most importantly, our fans. They waited a long time for this. The wait is over, they deserve this.”
Corey Seager named 2023 World Series MVP
The face of the Rangers franchise, and perhaps, the new Mr. October? Corey Seager was named the 2023 World Series MVP for his phenomenal performance throughout the five Fall Classic games — posting a .286 batting average (6-21) with three home runs, six RBI, and three walks, which resulted in an astonishing 1.137 OPS.
On top of it all, Corey Seager became the first player to win a World Series MVP in both leagues – Image Credit: MLB
“It truly is incredible,” said Seager after he was presented with the Willie Mays World Series MVP Award. “But it’s not just me. What this team did and how we competed and all the guys in there rallying, we don’t really have one leader. That whole clubhouse is the leadership.”
“They’re all professionals in there, and we all knew we had a job and task at hand. We competed and we did it. It’s pretty cool.”
Seager’s 2023 World Series MVP honors marks the second in his career, as the 29-year-old shortstop won the 2020 World Series MVP with the Los Angeles Dodgers at the age of 26. He is now one-of-four players in MLB history to win multiple World Series MVPs — joining Sandy Koufax (1963, 1965), Bob Gibson (1964, 1967), and Reggie Jackson (1973, 1977).
His thoughts on becoming a member of such a rare list: “I don’t think you can ever fathom that. It’s a pretty special group to be part of.”
Road Warriors
Throughout their memorable October run, the Rangers were completely unfazed while playing on the road — finishing with a perfect 11-0 record in postseason road games — the most road wins by a team for a single postseason in MLB history.
The reactions around the diamond the moment the @Rangers won the World Series ❤️
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/MoXh4P0zsJ
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) November 2, 2023
Rangers Postseason Run on the Road
Two wins vs. Tampa Bay in AL Wild Card
Two wins vs. Baltimore in ALDS
Four wins vs. Houston in ALCS
Three wins vs. Arizona in World Series
“It’s just a resilient group,” Seager explained. “We didn’t care where we were. We were coming out and competing. We were going to try to win that night and fortunately we won a bunch on the road.”
Four Rings for Bruce Bochy
Just about a year ago, Bruce Bochy, a longtime veteran in the game, who will one day end up in Cooperstown, was contemplating coming out of retirement to manage the Rangers, and let’s just say — he made the correct decision.
Pop pop. #WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/83vpWpvVl2
— MLB (@MLB) November 2, 2023
In his first season as Texas’ skipper, the 68-year-old led the franchise to the promised land, and achieved his fourth career World Series title, (three with San Francisco, and one with Texas), making him the sixth manager ever to secure four or more World Series championship rings.
Managers with most World Series Titles
Joe McCarthy (7)
Casey Stengal (7)
Connie Mack (5)
Bruce Bochy (4)
Walter Alston (4)
Joe Torre (4)
“It’s special — I’m not going to lie,” said Bochy as his team celebrated in the clubhouse. “It’s special to come here in my first year with a team that was determined to play winning baseball and had never won a championship.”
“But as far as me, that’s a byproduct of what those guys did out there and what the front office did. I was along for the ride, trust me. I was very fortunate and blessed to be able to get back into baseball in this type of situation.”
“I was in Nashville (Tennessee) just relaxing and had three years off, and to come back and be in this position, I’ve said so many times, I’ll say it again, I’m blessed.”
Bruce Bochy, a baseball lifer enjoys his fourth World Series title – Image Credit: MLB
And ultimately, just to make matters even more special, Bochy’s first World Series title came on November 1st, 2010 with San Francisco. His fourth? 13 years later on November 1st, 2023 with Texas.
Robert Rizzo is a journalist and editor of Latino Sports – Email: RobertRiz994@gmail.com
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William Coppola
November 2, 2023 at 10:08 am
This says it all. So many records tied or broken in this series. Great coverage of the entire series by you. Great reporting!