In Game 5, the Texas Rangers won the World Series for the first time in the franchise’s 63-year history, triumphing over the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-0 on the first day of November 2023 in Phoenix.
It is the Rangers’ inaugural championship, having debuted in 1961 as the expansion Washington Senators. The team relocated to Texas for the 1972 season and narrowly missed out on a World Series title in 2011 with defeat at the hands of the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Rangers endured 10,033 games, five stadiums, and approximately two dozen managers and have finally earned the championship.
Join us as we reflect on their historic season and what led the Lone Star State franchise to MLB glory.
2023 Rangers in the regular season
Despite holding the AL West lead for most of the season, Texas relinquished the division championship to rival Houston on the last date of the regular season. The Rangers overcame a season-ending injury to rookie standout Jacob deGrom and a major setback to Seager in April before Game 3 of the World Series, where scorching batter Adolis García and three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer were sidelined.
However, despite this, the resilient Rangers relied on players such as backup outfielder Travis Jankowski, replacement closer José Leclerc, and trade-deadline acquisition Jordan Montgomery to complete a swift and impressive turnaround led by general manager Chris Young. Texas lost 102 games in 2021 and finished last year with a 68-94 record, marking its sixth consecutive losing season.
The Rangers were seeded fifth in the American League playoffs following a discouraging 1-0 loss in the regular-season finale at Seattle. Disappointingly, they were dispatched to Tampa Bay to begin the postseason as part of a two-week journey that visited four cities—two on each coast.
However, following sweeps against the AL East champion Orioles and the Rays, the two most successful teams in the AL, Texas exacted vengeance on 2022 World Series champion Houston by triumphing in a thrilling AL Championship Series in which the road team prevailed in all seven games.
As a result, the Rangers qualified for their first Fall Classic in twelve years. They became the first team since the 1966 Baltimore Orioles to win the World Series without committing an error.
Road games? No Problem
The Wild Card route was ultimately utilized by the Rangers, despite their 90-72 record concluding deadlocked atop the American League West with the Houston Astros. The Astros had the opportunity to reclaim the AL West by defeating the Rangers in their head-to-head series.
The Rangers were unfazed by the road. En route to the championship, they won an MLB-record eleven road games in the postseason for a perfect 11-0 record. Furthermore, the path that led them to attain the title reveals the key to their triumph. Fort Worth native and devoted Rangers supporter Nancy Calaway documented the incident on social media.
In the Wild Card round, the Rangers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays twice in St. Petersburg, Florida. Then they beat the Baltimore Orioles 3-0, with both opening games being played at Camden Yards.
This resulted in an ALCS matchup between the Lone Stars and the Astros, who had a home-field advantage. Not a problem. Destroying the defending champions and their supporters, the Rangers won all four contests at Minute Maid Park.
Bettors supporting the Rangers naturally grew with such dominance. Still, I don’t believe anyone would’ve used their BetMGM bonus code on eleven consecutive road games, no matter how confident they were in Bochy’s team.
As the plus-money betting value became available, the Rangers became one of MLB’s most profitable road teams wagering during this stretch.
They ultimately met the Arizona Diamondbacks at the 119th World Series. Although the Rangers had home-field advantage, they did not depend on it. They were tied in the first two games played at Globe Life Field before dominating the last three at Chase Field in Phoenix, which included the decisive Game 5 5-0 victory on November 1.
A fourth World Series title
In his inaugural campaign with the Texas Rangers, Bruce Bochy delivered his fourth World Series championship thirteen years and one day after the Giants triumphed over the Rangers in 2010. In 2012 and 2014, he also claimed championships with San Francisco.
Bochy has become the sixth manager to amass a minimum of four World Series championships with this triumph. Bochy, who had three victories with the San Francisco Giants, emerged from retirement to accomplish the feat.
MVP
Corey Seager paced Texas throughout the entirety of the series. His selection as series MVP made him the fourth player in World Series history to earn two MVP honors.
Seager, who claimed his second Fall Classic award in 2020 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, set a Fall Classic record with three home runs during this series as a shortstop. Currently, he ranks second in postseason history among shortstops with 19 home runs during the playoffs, one behind Derek Jeter’s 20.
