Welcome to episode four of Run It Back! Today, we are taking some time to look back on last year’s World Series matchup between the American League (AL) champion Texas Rangers and the National League (NL) champion Arizona Diamondbacks. There was not a lot of excitement about this series, and I want to dive into why that was the case.
This year’s World Series combatants, the AL’s New York Yankees and the NL’s Los Angeles Dodgers, are two of the most storied franchises in MLB history. Since the first modern World Series was played in 1903, New York leads MLB in both World Series victories (27) and AL pennants (41), while LA’s 22 pennants lead the NL. 2024 was the 12th World Series meeting between the Yankees and the Dodgers, with Los Angeles prevailing in five games. Between New York’s Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, as well as the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani, there was no shortage of star power in this year’s Fall Classic.
On the other hand, the 2023 World Series did not have as much flashiness on display. It was the first World Series since 2016 to not feature the Dodgers or the Houston Astros; Houston and Los Angeles combined for seven World Series appearances between 2017 and 2022, with both teams reaching the Fall Classic in 2017. After they were both eliminated from the 2023 playoffs, the door opened for two new teams in the World Series. Sounds exciting, right?
Well, not according to most fans on the internet. I repeatedly saw people complaining about how the Rangers and Diamondbacks were not from major media markets, saying that 2023 would be the lowest-rated World Series and that they would not be watching because of this.
Although it is true that Dallas-Fort Worth and Phoenix are not massive baseball markets, I think it is unfair to not even give the World Series a chance just because the teams involved are not amongst the top teams in MLB. Of course, some teams are going to be more exciting to watch than others, but that is bound to happen no matter which championship is being played.
What intrigued me about this matchup was the amount of time it had been since either team had even appeared in the World Series, let alone won one. The Rangers and Diamondbacks had combined for one World Series championship, when Arizona defeated the Yankees back in 2001. Texas, meanwhile, had appeared in back-to-back World Series in 2010 and 2011, but lost them both. By 2023, the Rangers were in their 63rd season of existence and had never won it all.
In 2022, Texas finished with a losing record for the sixth consecutive season. The Rangers fired manager Chris Woodward after three-plus seasons with the organization, having started the 2022 season 51-63 through 114 games. After finishing 17-31 under interim manager Tony Beasley, Texas brought long-time MLB skipper Bruce Bochy out of retirement for 2023. Bochy had had a lot of success as an MLB manager, winning NL Manager of the Year honors with the San Diego Padres in 1996 and leading the San Francisco Giants to three World Series titles between 2010 and 2014.
With Bochy at the helm, Rangers fans were feeling more confident that the team was heading in the right direction. Through a series of trades and free agency signings completed over multiple years, general manager Chris Young had put together a solid team for Bochy to work with. These acquisitions included catcher Jonah Heim, outfielder Adolis García, infielders Nathaniel Lowe, Marcus Semien, and Corey Seager, and starting pitchers Dane Dunning, Jon Gray, Andrew Heaney, and Nathan Eovaldi.
In addition to Young’s free agent signings and trades, the Rangers also had some homegrown talent, such as second baseman Josh Jung and outfielder Leody Taveras, who had become Texas’s regular center fielder by 2023. With the core pieces in place, the Rangers needed someone with experience to lead the charge, and Bochy was the man for the job.
Texas got off to a fantastic start in 2023, leading the AL West by as many as 6 ½ games at one point. The Rangers had six players named to the AL All-Star team: Heim, Semien, Jung, Seager, and Eovaldi were elected to the starting lineup, while García was named as a reserve. Despite losing 24 of 42 to end the season, Texas led the AL in several offensive categories, including runs scored (881), hits (1,470), runs batted in (845), and home runs (233). On September 30, the Rangers defeated the Seattle Mariners 6-1 to clinch a postseason berth for the first time since 2016.
Like Texas, Arizona had also been in a rut. Following a playoff appearance in 2017, the Diamondbacks progressively declined, plummeting to 110 losses in 2021. In 2023, manager Torey Lovullo was in his seventh season as the Snakes’ bench boss, having stuck with the Diamondbacks through a rebuilding period. After being swept out of the 2017 postseason, Arizona said goodbye to first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, outfielder A.J. Pollock, and starting pitcher Zack Greinke, just to name a few.
The Diamondbacks did not have much success competing with the Dodgers in the NL West, having not won a division title since 2011. Los Angeles, meanwhile, had finished atop the division in nine of the last 10 seasons, and finished one game out of first place the other time. If Arizona wanted a shot at the postseason, they would have to compete for a wild card berth.
A few members of the Diamondbacks’ core lineup were quite young; catcher Gabriel Moreno and outfielder Corbin Carroll, for example, both entered 2023 under the age of 24. Both players became essential parts of Arizona’s lineup, with Moreno starting 94 games at catcher and Carroll starting over 140 games in the outfield. First baseman Christian Walker and second baseman Ketel Marte served as reliable on-field presences, starting nearly every game at their respective positions. Shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, center fielder Alek Thomas, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. played key roles as well, and MLB veteran Evan Longoria provided valuable leadership and experience, hoping to finally win it all in his 16th season.
Arizona’s pitching staff was headlined by Somerdale, N.J. native Zac Gallen, who pitched 210 innings over 34 starts. Gallen finished 2023 with a career-high 220 strikeouts, earning his first All-Star selection. Merrill Kelly and Ryne Nelson were right behind Gallen in the rotation, with both pitchers making over 25 starts in 2023. Kelly’s 3.29 earned-run average (ERA) was the best amongst Arizona’s starting rotation, and it was the lowest of his career over a 162-game season.
The Diamondbacks were 52-39 at the All-Star break, tied with the Dodgers for the division lead. Arizona sent four players to the NL All-Star team: Carroll and Gallen were starters, while Gurriel and Perdomo were elected as reserves. After the All-Star Game, though, the Diamondbacks floundered in the standings, losing 20 of 25 to fall to 57-59 in August. Following this stretch, however, Arizona went 27-19 over the remainder of the season, securing a playoff berth for the first time in six years.
The Rangers and Diamondbacks had eerily similar paths to the World Series: both teams earned wild card berths, they had played the same number of games through the first three rounds (12), and they both took down a division rival along the way. That part about both teams being wild cards was definitely a factor in why people were not excited about this matchup; they wanted the top seeds, the division champions, to advance to the World Series, not some 85-win team that barely snuck into the playoffs.
The developing narrative was that ever since the postseason field expanded to 12 teams in 2022—six per league—it didn’t matter if you won over 100 games; if you got hot near the end of the year, you were likely going far. It was not wrong to assume this, as the Dodgers finished with a franchise-best 111 wins in 2022, only to lose to the Padres in four games in the NLDS. Furthermore, the Philadelphia Phillies qualified as the NL’s sixth seed, finishing the regular season at 87-75 before winning nine of 11 to advance to the World Series.
This trend continued in 2023 with the Diamondbacks’ place as the NL’s sixth seed. Arizona finished at 84-78—three games worse than the ‘22 Phillies—just one game ahead of the 83-win Chicago Cubs and 16 games behind the Dodgers. The fans who were against the idea of MLB expanding the postseason format must have been livid about this.
The Rangers, meanwhile, were stronger during the regular season. Yes, they were a wild card team, but they came very close to winning the AL West division title. Texas finished the season tied with the Astros at 90-72, but Houston claimed the division championship due to their superior record in head-to-head matchups. The Astros won nine of the teams’ 13 regular season contests, finishing atop the AL West for the sixth time in the last seven seasons.
Texas eliminated the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL Wild Card Series (ALWCS) in two games, upset the top-seeded Baltimore Orioles in three games in the AL Division Series (ALDS), and got some revenge against Houston in a seven-game duel in the AL Championship Series (ALCS). Similarly, Arizona downed the Milwaukee Brewers in two games in the NLWCS, swept the Dodgers in the NLDS, and prevailed over Philadelphia in the NLCS in seven (sorry, Phillies fans).
This brings me to another similarity between the Rangers and D-Backs: both teams came back from a 3-2 series deficit in the League Championship Series to win the pennant in seven.
Texas went ahead 2-0 in the ALCS after taking the first two games at Minute Maid Park, before Houston won three straight in Arlington to rocket in front 3-2. The Rangers responded by winning Games 6 and 7 in Houston to defeat the Astros and advance to the World Series for the first time in 12 years, winning both games by seven runs to cement their status as AL champions. The 2023 ALCS was the first best-of-seven series in MLB history since 2019 in which all seven games were won by the road team; coincidentally, the Astros were on the receiving end of that series as well, losing to the Washington Nationals in seven games in the 2019 World Series.
In the NLCS, the opposite outcome almost occurred. Through four games, the series was tied at 2-2; after being outscored 15-3 over the first two games at Citizens Bank Park, Arizona pulled even with Philadelphia following two close wins at Chase Field. Then, the Phillies snapped the streak of wins by the home team by defeating the Snakes on their home turf with seven innings of one-run ball by Zack Wheeler in Game 5. Arizona was down 3-2 heading back to Philadelphia, needing to win Games 6 and 7 on the road in order to survive.
Sure enough, the Diamondbacks did the impossible, winning back-to-back road games to clinch the NL pennant for the first time since 2001. Over 12 postseason games, Arizona’s top four relief pitchers—Andrew Saalfrank, Ryan Thompson, Kevin Ginkel, and Paul Sewald—dominated out of the bullpen, allowing just five earned runs over 31 innings of work.
After it seemed as though a 2022 World Series rematch was all but a certainty, both the Astros and Phillies lost their last two games at home, and two teams that hadn’t seen postseason action in over five years advanced to the Fall Classic. With that, the stage was set: one team would win a championship for the first time ever, or the other would win for the first time in over two decades.
Former Rangers co-owner and former U.S. President George W. Bush threw out the ceremonial first pitch for Game 1, in front of a crowd of 42,472 at Globe Life Field. The first inning was all Texas—Eovaldi sent Carroll, Marte, and Moreno down in order, and the Rangers’ offense scored two runs to take an early lead. Following a scoreless second, Arizona got to Eovaldi in the third, jumping in front 3-2 with a series of hits. Texas tied things up later in the inning, as Gallen walked three batters after striking out Taveras and Semien.
Tommy Pham put the Diamondbacks back in the lead in the fourth, sending a towering shot to left field to break the 3-3 tie. Marte added some insurance in the fifth, recording an RBI double to increase Arizona’s lead to 5-3. Eovaldi’s night ended after Walker walked, putting runners on first and third. Dunning got the Rangers out of the fifth with no further damage, tagging first base to get Pham for the third out.
No runs were scored between the sixth and eighth innings, and the Texas offense came to bat in the ninth down by two. Lovullo sent Sewald, his trusted closer, into the game to pitch the ninth. Sewald, who had saved 13 games in 15 save opportunities after being traded to Arizona in July, surrendered a two-run homer to Seager, giving the Rangers life in the bottom of the ninth. Evan Carter and Austin Hedges struck out later in the inning, forcing Game 1 into extra innings.
Rangers relief pitcher José Leclerc did not allow a hit in the 10th, but Texas could not bring a run home, necessitating an 11th inning. After another scoreless frame by Leclerc, García hit a walk-off home run off Diamondbacks reliever Miguel Castro to give the Rangers a 6-5 victory and a 1-0 lead in the World Series.
Determined to not let another game slip away from them, Arizona struck back in Game 2. Kelly and Rangers starter Jordan Montgomery kept things scoreless before the Diamondbacks scored two in the fourth. Moreno opened the scoring for Arizona with a home run to left-center field, and Gurriel extended the D-Backs’ lead to 2-0 with an RBI single.
Texas responded in the fifth with a home run from Mitch Garver, cutting Arizona’s lead in half. Unfortunately for the Rangers, though, Garver’s home run would be the only run they would score in this game. After a scoreless sixth inning, the Diamondbacks pulled further ahead in the top of the seventh. Longoria’s ground ball single scored Thomas from second base, providing some insurance for Arizona’s lead. Montgomery’s outing was done after this, with Heaney coming in to replace him.
Perdomo’s sacrifice bunt advanced Longoria to second, and Carroll’s RBI single widened the Diamondbacks’ lead to 4-1. Bochy then took Heaney out of the game and replaced him with Dunning, who finally ended the inning by forcing Walker to ground out. Kelly kept Texas off the board in the bottom of the seventh, and Arizona continued to pad their lead in the top of the eighth.
After Pham reached base with a single, Rangers relief pitcher Martín Pérez walked two batters to load the bases. Marte singled to make the score 6-1 Diamondbacks, putting the game out of reach for Texas. Carroll then got another hit, which scored Perdomo from second to make it 7-1 Arizona. Marte’s RBI hit gave him the MLB record for most consecutive postseason games with a hit, which was now at 18 games.
Saalfrank entered the game in the bottom of the eighth and did not allow a hit, keeping Arizona’s six-run lead intact. With runners on second and third in the top of the ninth, Emmanuel Rivera got a ground ball single to increase the Diamondbacks’ lead to 9-1, which was the final score of the game. The Rangers attempted to stay alive in the bottom of the ninth, getting two runners on base, but Arizona reliever Luis Frías shut the door for good, preserving the victory for the Snakes. The series was tied 1-1 heading to Phoenix’s Chase Field.
Momentum had seemingly shifted in Arizona’s favor after Game 2, but Texas had one more trick up their sleeve: road dominance. The Rangers were a perfect 8-0 on the road in the 2023 postseason, and they were looking to continue to win away from home in Game 3. Would the Diamondbacks keep their momentum going? Or would Texas steal another win on the road?
Game 3 was the first World Series game played in Phoenix in nearly 22 years, as the city last hosted Game 7 of the 2001 World Series. Randy Johnson, the winning pitcher of that game, threw out the ceremonial first pitch for Game 3. Arizona threatened in the second inning, but García threw Walker out at home plate to deny the Diamondbacks from scoring.
The Rangers seized the opportunity to score first, as Semien singled to get Lowe home from third base in the top of the third. Seager then expanded the lead to 3-0 with a two-run shot to right field. Following two scoreless innings, Arizona starting pitcher Brandon Pfaadt had given up three runs as the Diamondbacks fell behind in the third inning.
Texas starter Max Scherzer left the game with back tightness, prompting Bochy to put Gray in for the fourth. The Rangers had two runners on in the sixth, but did not score after Garver and Heim both failed to reach base. No more runs were scored until the eighth inning, when Perdomo singled to score Rivera from second to cut Arizona’s deficit to 3-1.
Texas reliever Aroldis Chapman prevented any more runs from scoring in the eighth, and Leclerc got through Moreno, Walker, and Pham to close things out. The Rangers took a 2-1 lead in the World Series, and were now 9-0 on the road in the 2023 postseason. However, it came at the cost of García, who sustained an oblique injury during the game.
Marte opened Game 4 by getting a hit for the 20th consecutive postseason game, extending his MLB record. However, Marte was caught attempting to steal second base, with Heim throwing him out to end the inning. Things would further unravel for the Diamondbacks in the top of the second, as Castro’s wild pitch allowed Jung to score from third base. Two more runners reached base, and Semien brought them both home with a triple, upping Texas’s lead to 3-0.
After Castro failed to get the third out, Lovullo sent in Kyle Nelson. Nelson promptly gave up a two-run home run to Seager, putting Arizona in a 5-0 hole. The Rangers doubled their lead the following inning, scoring five runs on four hits, including a three-run blast by Semien. Gurriel got one back for the D-Backs in the fourth with a sacrifice fly, but the score remained 10-1 through the seventh.
Arizona continued to chip away, scoring six more runs over the last two innings. It was all for naught, however, as Texas prevailed 11-7. With a 3-1 series lead, the Rangers needed just one more win for their first World Series championship in franchise history.
Game 5 tested Texas’s defense early on. The Rangers’ infield kept the Diamondbacks off the board, despite multiple scoring threats. Eovaldi walked five batters and allowed four hits, keeping the Rangers’ defense busy for much of the game. In the fifth, Eovaldi gave up a hit and walked two to load the bases. He then got out of the jam by getting Gurriel to ground out, holding Arizona without a run through five innings.
On the other side, Gallen was dealing for Arizona, facing the minimum number of batters through four innings. Over the first six innings, Gallen allowed just one walk, preventing Texas from getting any hits or runs. Then, Gallen ran into trouble in the seventh, surrendering the game’s first run after allowing three consecutive hits. Lovullo took Gallen out of the game after he struck out Jung, and Ginkel got the Diamondbacks through the rest of the seventh. Arizona had plenty of time to even things up, but they needed to get past Texas’s bullpen.
Eovaldi exited the game after six shutout innings, striking out five and preventing nine baserunners from scoring. Chapman kept the shutout going, walking one batter over ⅔ of an inning. Josh Sborz then closed out the inning with a lineout to center field, maintaining the Rangers’ narrow lead into the eighth.
After neither side managed to score in the eighth inning, Texas blew the game open in the ninth with a sequence of base hits. The Rangers got to Sewald quickly, with Jung, Lowe, and Heim recording three consecutive hits to open the inning. Three batters later, Semien hit a two-run home run, extending Texas’s lead to 5-0. Then, in the bottom of the ninth, Sborz struck out two to close the door on the Diamondbacks, giving the Rangers their first World Series title.
At the end of the series, Seager won World Series MVP honors for the second time in his career. Having previously won the 2020 World Series MVP Award while with the Dodgers, Seager became the first player in MLB history to win the award in both leagues.
The Rangers’ award wins continued into the off-season, with their standout players being recognized for their strong performances. Semien and Seager won Silver Slugger Awards, and Heim, Lowe, and García all won Gold Glove Awards. Six players were named to the All-MLB Team, the most of any club: Semien and Seager were selected to the first team, and Heim, García, Eovaldi, and Montgomery were named to the second team.
Bochy won his fourth World Series title as an MLB manager, his first as an AL manager. He became the third manager to take three teams to the World Series, as well as the first since MLB expanded to include the League Championship Series (LCS) in 1969.
Despite not getting the outcome they wanted, Arizona still had an impressive season, their best in several years. Carroll won NL Rookie of the Year honors, finishing as the NL’s triples leader for 2023; for his efforts, he was named to the All-MLB First Team. Gallen joined Carroll on the first team, placing third in NL Cy Young Award voting. Moreno and Walker won Gold Glove Awards, with Walker winning his second consecutive Gold Glove.
While I would not say that this was a perfect World Series, it was better than most people say it was. Game 1 was a back-and-forth thriller, and Gallen’s performance in Game 5 was one for the ages, even though Arizona lost the game. The other three games were not quite as interesting, with the eventual victor leading for most of each game, but there were still plenty of exciting moments from the series as a whole.
If you are like me and you enjoy seeing new teams get a chance to win a title, you would appreciate this series. There’s nothing like seeing a team finally win a long-awaited championship, even if it isn’t your team. In short, the 2023 World Series deserves more respect from baseball fans, especially those on social media.
