The Texas Rangers clinched their first World Series championship after beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-0 in Game 5. The win ends a 52-year wait for the franchise’s first title, 62 years if counting 10 years as the Washington Senators before the franchise relocated to Arlington in 1971.
Shortstop Corey Seager was awarded the Willie Mays World Series Most Valuable Player Award. Seager became the only player besides outfielder Reggie Jackson to win a World Series MVP with multiple teams, going 6-for-21 with three home runs against the Diamondbacks. Seager won his first World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020.
The Rangers set several records in their unprecedented run to the championship. The team was a perfect 11-0 on the road throughout the playoffs. ALCS MVP outfielder Adolis Garcia, who missed Games 4 and 5 with an oblique strain, set the record for RBIs in a single postseason with 22. The previous record was 21, set by third baseman David Freese in the 2011 World Series in which the Cardinals defeated the Texas Rangers 4-3.
In his first year with the team, manager Bruce Bochy became the sixth manager to win four championships. He has now taken three different teams to the World Series and has won with both a National League and American League team.
Bochy is also the only manager in MLB history to beat a team in a World Series, then win one with the team he beat. He won his first championship with the San Francisco Giants 4-1 over the Rangers in the 2010 World Series.
Including Arlington as part of the Dallas area, the city joined Boston, Chicago, New York and Philadelphia as the only cities to win a championship in all four major North American sports leagues (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL). The Arlington entertainment complex, where the Rangers’ Globe Life Field is located, is set to host its first championship parade on Friday, Nov. 3 at 1 p.m.
The future is bright in Arlington as the Rangers will retain nearly all of their key players from this season. Outfielder Wyatt Langford, the team’s first round pick from the University of Florida, could start as early as the beginning of next season after reaching the College World Series with the Gators in 2023.
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