Sixty three years after the foundation of the team, 53 years after its relocation to Arlington, the wait is finally over. The Texas Rangers are world champions.
After a very dramatic season, the Rangers managed to sneak their way into the playoffs earning the sixth seed and beginning a very challenging road to the world series. Led by right fielder Adolis Garcia (#53) and short-stop Corey Seager (#5), the Rangers had one of the most exciting post-seasons in recent baseball history.
Away Field Advantage
The Rangers went undefeated on the road, sweeping teams such as the Rays and the Orioles. The postseason run reached its most ex-citing moment during the Astros series, where the Rangers started off by winning the first two games at Houston, losing three in a row home, and then winning the series at Houston, sending the Rangers to their first World Series in 12 years. The first two games of the World Series were concerning at first, with the Diamondbacks looking like the stronger team. The Rangers then brought the heat and scored 19 runs in the next three games to win their first series in franchise history.
A High Powered Offense
The Rangers gave us some of the most exciting baseball this entire season, both in regular and postseason play. With Garcia leading the charge, the Rangers scored a grand total of 881 runs throughout the regular season, while boasting a score differential of over 165 runs, making them the third highest scoring team in the MLB. With 1470 hits throughout the entire season, the Rangers found themselves in second in the MLB in that aspect, making their offensive innings longer and thus resting their pitchers more than other teams, something that more than likely helped in their journey to a World Series.
Seager (SS #5) led the team in batting average, in which he was ranked fifth in the MLB, while Garcia was seventh in home runs with 39 and sixth in RBIs with 107. Through-out the postseason, the Rangers scored 97 times in 17 games, averaging almost six runs per game. No matter where the Rangers were, they felt like they could beat whoever was on the opposite side of the diamond.
Seager said: “It’s just a resilient group, man. We didn’t care where we were. We were coming out and competing. We were going to try to win that night and fortunately won a bunch on the road.”
Player Spotlights
Adolis Garcia: The right fielder from Cuba was one of the two key players for the Rangers this season. He slugged a grand total of eight home runs throughout the post season and hit 22 RBIs before getting injured in Game 3 of the World Series.
Many players said they were inspired by Garcia’s speech before Game 4. Garcia also came in clutch when the Rangers needed him most. He scored a walk-off home run in Game 1 to kick things off in the right direction for the Rangers. The legend from El Bombi was also responsible for the grand slam in Game 6 against the Houston Astros that sealed the deal for the Rangers in that game by putting in the final nail in the coffin for the defending champs. If you somehow weren’t a fan of Garcia before this season, don’t worry, there’s plenty of room on the bandwagon.
Corey Seager: Mr. Reliable. If the Rangers ever needed someone to come up to bat and definitely hit the ball, their best call would be to dial #5. Throughout the entire season, Seager was finding ways to whack the ball and end up on base. His .327 average had him ranked fifth in the MLB, with a very respectable 33 home runs and 96 RBIs. Seager ultimately was honored with the MVP award at the end of the postseason. Seager was vital to the Rangers’ defense, recording 139 putouts and 276 assists. Seager then led the charge against the Diamondbacks to help the Rangers reach the pinnacle of baseball.
Nathan Eovaldi: What is a baseball team without a pitcher? Eovaldi played an extremely important role in the postseason for the Rangers. Being one game away from winning it all, the Rangers put their faith in Eovaldi and boy did their decision prove to be the right one. Eovaldi pitched through the first six innings of the game, not conceding a single run. Throughout the season, Eovaldi got 132 strikeouts. However, it was his postseason play that was most impressive.
In the six games he pitched, Eovaldi recorded 41 strikeouts, making him a very tough pitcher to play against.