By: Jovian Kwong

Photo by Wikimedia The World Series Trophy

The Texas Rangers have just won the World Series in 5 games, however, their matchup against the Arizona Diamondbacks became one of the most unlikely matchups of all time and some people have not handled it well. The outcome was so unlikely that a media personality said that he had to retire because of it. 

The Texas Rangers (with former Blue Jays’ star Marcus Semien) and the Arizona Diamondbacks (with former Blue Jays stars Lourdes Gurriel Jr and Gabriel Moreno) were outs away from being eliminated in the postseason. 

First, let’s talk about the Arizona Diamondbacks. At the beginning of the regular season, the Diamondbacks had a 0.5% chance to win the World Series. Their highest paid player, Madison Bumgarner was cut from the team in April. They were projected to finish 4th in the NL West. By August 11th, they had a 13% chance to make it to the playoffs. At the end of the season, they finished 14th in runs, 21st in starter ERA (earned run average) and 19th in reliever ERA. When they clinched the final Wild Card spot in the National League, it seemed like a great accomplishment for a team with a promising future. When Game 1 of the Wild Card started for them, their pitcher struggled. However the offence picked him up with some runs. They never looked back after that. They swept the Brewers, swept the Dodgers, and then faced the Philadelphia Phillies. They ended up, miraculously winning the NLCS against them in 7 games.

Now, let’s talk about the Texas Rangers. The Rangers were projected to finish 4th in the AL West but, unlike the D-Backs, the Rangers had big name talent and held the division lead for 138 days of the season. However, with a 91% chance, they ended up not getting the division title. In the last game of the season, theHouston Astros took control of the lead and won the AL West with the Rangers going into a Wild Card spot. The two teams ended up meeting again in the ALCS with Texas taking Game 1 and 2 in less than a 3 run lead for both games on the road. They were feeling good but the state of satisfaction did not last long. Houston ended up taking Games 3 and 4 in Arlington which led to Game 5. Jose Altuve hit a clutch homer in the 9th to win it for the Astros. In Game 6 and 7, the Rangers had blowout wins which led them to advance to the World Series.

This year’s postseason was one of the most unpredictable seasons ever for the MLB. The Rangers have taken the World Series title home against the Diamondbacks and they will be going home, happy after a very unpredictable postseason.

Works Cited

Drost, Erik. “World Series Trophy.” Wikimedia Commons, 5 July 2019, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=world+series&title=Special:MediaSearch&go=Go&type=image


“The MLB Playoffs Have Made Zero Sense.” YouTube, uploaded by Baseball Doesn’t Exist, 28 Oct 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTKoq2azwPQ