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Before the beginning of this 162-game never-ending baseball season, who had picked the Texas Rangers to play the Arizona Diamondbacks in this year’s World Series? That’s what I thought.
Be honest now. Who selected the Texas Rangers to play the Arizona Diamondbacks for the title just a few weeks ago as the Major League Baseball playoffs began?
Almost no one.
The first game of this year’s best-of-seven World Series match-up begins Friday night at 7PM Central time in Arlington, Texas on FOX. On Saturday night, Game Two also takes place at the Rangers’ home stadium.
Games Three, Four, and (if needed) Five will take place in Phoenix, Arizona next Monday, Tuesday, and (if needed) Wednesday night at 7PM CDT.
If Games Six and Seven are needed, they will be played on Friday, November 3, and Saturday, November 4 at 7PM CDT in Arlington, Texas. All games will be televised by FOX.
These two teams have defied the odds for the entire baseball season to arrive at this unlikely match-up. Both the Rangers of the American League and the D-backs of the National League got off to a fast start in 2023. By the end of the season, neither team won its own division.
Texas held the lead for most of the season in the American League West only to lose the crown on the final day of the season to their hated in-state rival, Houston. The two teams finished in a tie with a 90-72 record. Since Houston had won the in-season series against Texas, the Astros were awarded the division crown and a week of rest. The Rangers received just one day of rest prior to being sent to Tampa Bay to begin the playoffs on the road against the Rays.
Over in the National League, the Arizona Diamondbacks jumped to win 50 games prior to July 1. After that, they dropped 25 of their next 32 games to fall eleven games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West. Ouch.
Those baseball playing sneaky snakes finally broke out of their lengthy slump after Manager Torey Lovullo held a closed-door meeting to motivate the troops.
It worked. Arizona won eleven of its next 13 games to position itself for a potential wild-card spot in the National League. Finishing with the worst record (84-78) to make the baseball playoffs this season, the Diamondbacks slithered their way into the playoffs anyway.
Just like the Texas Rangers, the Diamondbacks’ reward for their poor finish was being sent on the road for a best-of-three opening series. In their case, the first round games would be played at the home of the NL Central division champion Milwaukee Brewers.
Both Texas and Arizona were forced to travel to a best-of-three game opening round series with all games being played in the home stadium of their opponent. It is a daunting task for a road team.
Not in 2023, though. This has been the year of the Road Warriors!
The Texas Rangers took to the road and vanquished the Tampa Bay Rays in two straight American League playoff games. The Arizona Diamondbacks did the same thing. They swept Milwaukee in the Brewers’ home ballpark in two straight games.
In the Divisional round of games, the Rangers faced the top-seeded team in the American League, the surprising Baltimore Orioles. Winners of 101 regular season games, the O’s were the home team in the first two games of their five-game second round series against Texas. The Rangers won both of the games at Camden Yard and then swept Baltimore out of the playoffs by winning game three back home in Arlington.
Meanwhile, the National League’s Arizona Diamondbacks were dispatched to play their divisional round against their NL West divisional rival Los Angeles Dodgers. Just like Texas, the D-backs swept both games played in LA and won the third game at home in Phoenix.
The red-hot Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks both won five games in a row and two straight series to advance into their respective League Championships.
As the best of seven game American League and National League Championship series began in Houston and Philadelphia, Texas and Arizona were sent on the road for their first two games.
The Houston Astros were entering the ALCS for the seventh straight year and had home field advantage over their rivals located 240 miles north on I-45. In one of the strangest series in recent memory, neither Houston nor Texas won a home game as this series went seven games. Texas won the finale (in Houston, of course) 11-4 to advance into the World Series.
In the National League, things played out differently.
The Philadelphia Phillies (the highest wild card seed) carried the home field advantage in this best-of-seven series with Arizona. They stomped on the snakes from Phoenix during the first two games to grab a 2-0 lead. The resilient Diamondbacks said, “Watch this! We can do that, too!” as they took Games 3 and 4 in Phoenix.
The Phillies turned the tables and won Game 5 on the road in Arizona to take a daunting 3-2 lead. The final two games of the NLCS were heading back to the City of Brotherly Love. With one of the loudest baseball crowds in America jeering against them, Arizona never wavered. The D-backs grabbed a 5-1 win in Game 6 and survived a 4-2 nail biter in Game 7 in Philly to advance to the World Series.
It marked the first time in Major League Baseball history that two teams had won on the road in Games 6 and 7 to get into the World Series. That’s quite a remarkable achievement.
However, the World Series featuring these two unlikely teams isn’t exactly what the FOX television people had in mind a month ago.
There will not be a team from a major East Coast or the West Coast city playing in the World Series in the next week. Plus, the Houston Astros (America’s favorite team to hate due to an alleged cheating incident a few years ago) had been eliminated, too.
These two teams have no recent history in the World Series. If you like underdogs, this match-up is for you!
This match-up of baseball “Ugly Ducklings” could mean historically low television ratings for Fox.
But that doesn’t mean that the upcoming World Series games won’t be interesting!
Both the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks lost more than 100 games just two years ago. Their turnaround has been amazing.
The two teams have displayed exceptional defenses during the opening rounds of the playoffs.
The pitching, though, is another matter. Both the Rangers and the D-Backs are among the worst teams in the league in giving up runs. Both pitching staffs surrender about 4.5 runs per game. Don’t look for any no-hitters in this year’s World Series!
The Texas Rangers actually began playing as the Washington Senators back in 1961. The team relocated to the Dallas-Fort Worth area in 1972 and morphed into the Texas Rangers.
Over their 51-years in north Texas, the Rangers have played in the World Series twice (2010 and 2011). The Rangers lost both times. DFW fans still haven’t gotten over it.
The team’s current manager, 68-year old Bruce Bochty, has led two other teams (San Diego and San Francisco) into the World Series. He won three championship rings as the skipper of the Giants (2010, 2012, and 2014). Fans in the Dallas-Fort Worth area are hoping his experience can finally bring the Metroplex their first World Series title this year.
For Arizona, the Diamondbacks are 1-0 in World Series appearances during their brief 25-year major league history.
In 2001, the D-backs downed the New York Yankees in seven games. Fans in the desert are starved for another sports title. Neither the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals nor the NBA’s Phoenix Suns have earned a championship trophy for the city since 2001, either.
To be brutally honest, I haven’t followed either of these two teams during the season. The oddsmakers feel that the Texas Rangers home run hitters should be made a slight favorite to win the World Series against the overachieving Arizona Diamondbacks.
If you like low scoring pitching duels, you’re out of luck this year. Home runs and high scoring games should be the norm. Both teams will trot out pitcher after pitcher in hopes that someone will have the right stuff (for a few innings) to help get their team a victory.
Texas vs. Arizona in the World Series? We never saw it coming, so let’s enjoy the games.
There will be joy in Mudville soon as one of these two underdogs will bring home the 2023 World Series championship trophy to an overjoyed hometown!