2023 World Series: An Exciting Turn of events as Underdogs Rise to the Top
The World Series just came to an end for the 2023 MLB season, with the Texas Rangers beating the Arizona Diamondbacks in a 7 game series. The Rangers had 4 wins over the Diamondbacks, only having only 1, giving the Rangers their first ever World Series victory. But, these teams were barely even thought of as World Series teams; being the least likely to actually survive the playoffs and win it all.
On November 1st, 2023, the Texas Rangers triumphed over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the world series, which would be the franchises first world series victory of all time. The World Series is a sporting event held by Major League Baseball (MLB) where the two best teams from the two leagues within the MLB, the American League and the National League, go head to head in a “best of seven” series.
Before it can be determined which teams play in the world series, they must first go through the post season. The postseason consists of three levels; Wild Card, Divisional Series, and the Championship series.
The Wild Card round consists of the teams that are below seeds (rankings) 1 and 2 in the playoff brackets. For example, the 1 and 2 teams for the National League were the Atlanta Braves (seed 1) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (seed 2) so they got to skip the Wild Card and be automatic contenders for the Divisional Series where they would play a winner from one of the Wild Card matchups.
The Texas Rangers were the 6th seed in the AL bracket making them the lowest ranked team in the AL. The Diamondbacks were the 5th seed in the NL bracket.
The Rangers dominated in the postseason, sweeping the Tampa Bay Rays in the Wild Card and sweeping the Baltimore Orioles in the Divisional series. The Houston Astros put up a massive fight to the undefeated Rangers but would fall in the ALCS( American League Championship Series) with the Rangers having 4 wins compared to the Astros’ 3.
The Diamondbacks had a similar postseason; sweeping the Milwaukee Brewers in the Wild Card and sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Divisional Series. The Philadelphia Phillies were all that stood in the D-backs way of the World Series. The Diamondbacks would go on to win the series 4 wins to 3, and a last, two of the most unlikely teams, were going head-to-head in the biggest game of the year.
The World Series started off neck-and-neck, with both teams attaining 1 win each. But it would soon slip away from the Diamondbacks as the Rangers would win the next 3 games, crowning them champions.
The World Series was full of defining moments. For example, in the first game, at home, the Rangers were down 5-3 going into the 9th inning. But Corey Seager would crush a 418 foot 2-run-homerun off of Diamondbacks pitcher Paul Sewald to tie the game sending it into extra innings where Rangers’ Adolis Garcia would hit a solo home run of his own in the bottom of the 11th inning walking off the game, giving the Rangers a game one win, score 5-6 after a thrilling battle from both sides.
Hero of the World Series
Corey Seager currently plays shortstop for the Texas Rangers and has won the MVP (Most Valuable Player) award for the world series. It is no surprise that he won this award for he absolutely dominated the competition in the World Series. According to Baseball Almanac, Seager had a batting average of .286(6 hits out of 21 total at-bats) consisting of 1 double and 3 home-runs. Half of his world series hits were home-runs.
The World Series marks the end of the MLB season but not necessarily the end of baseball. The World Baseball Classic starts up soon in early 2024. The World Baseball Classic is an annual sporting event similar to the world cup. National teams from all over the world compete in a system similar to that of the world cup and compete in a championship game.
