After a long 52 years, the Texas Rangers have finally won the World Series, beating the Arizona Diamondbacks four games to one. Rangers fans, rejoice! Tune out the cries over low TV ratings: those are from fans who don’t appreciate the sport for what it is, anyway. The drought is over, and you can now sleep easy.

Before we jump into the World Series itself, let’s go back and take a look at each team’s playoff history and how they made it to the Fall Classic in the first place.

This was the Rangers’ third World Series appearance but their first World Series win, as they lost to the Giants and Cardinals in 2010 and 2011, respectively. This was just the second World Series appearance for the D-Backs but their first loss, after they beat the New York Yankees in 2001. Both the 90-win Rangers and 84-win Diamondbacks entered the playoffs as Wild Card teams, but their underdog status served as fuel for their phenomenal playoff runs.

The Rangers swept the Tampa Bay Rays and the Baltimore Orioles in the divisional rounds and beat the Houston Astros in a thrilling, seven-game ALCS. The Diamondbacks swept the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers and beat the Philadelphia Phillies in seven. Both teams went down 3-2 in the Championship Series and proceeded to win Games 6 and 7, successively, while on the road.

On the road to the championship, both the Rangers and the D-Backs beat recent World Series champions along the way, including the Astros (champions in 2022) and the Dodgers (champions in 2020). Despite the cries of the haters, both teams’ uphill battle in the playoffs made it more than evident that they deserved their spot in the championship.

The Rangers won a thrilling Game 1 to start the series. Entering the bottom of the ninth, down 5-3, outfielder Leody Taveras led off with a walk before Corey Seager hit a 418-foot bomb deep into the right field seats, tying things at 5-5. At the bottom of the 11th, ALCS MVP Adolis Garcia — after getting hit on the left hand in his previous at-bat — ripped a walk-off homer to right field, securing a 6-5 win for the Rangers.

The D-Backs bounced back in Game 2 with an offensive slugfest, combining for 16 hits as a team — including a standout, four-hit performance by Tommy Pham — and winning 9-1. 35-year-old Merrill Kelly added a seven-inning, one-run, nine-strikeout gem to what was just about the perfect game for Arizona.

After flying from Arlington, TX, to Phoenix, the Rangers took Game 3 by a score of 3-1. Despite losing Max Scherzer after just three innings due to back tightness, the Rangers bullpen picked him up with six innings of one-run ball. Corey Seager added another two-run dinger to his stat sheet — his second in three games.

In Game 4, despite losing Garcia to an oblique injury, the Rangers’ offense saved the day as they put up five runs in both the second and third innings, making them the first team to do so in consecutive innings in World Series history. Seager hit his third home run of the series — Marcus Semien added one, too, and also drove in five runs. The D-Backs put up four runs in the eighth and two more in the ninth, but still lost 11-7 and went down 3-1 in the series.

In Game 5, the Rangers were no-hit for six innings by D-Backs ace Zac Gallen, but they finally got to him in the seventh, taking a 1-0 lead and never looking back. They added four more runs in the ninth and won 5-0, behind six scoreless innings from Nathan Eovaldi.

And, with that 11th consecutive road win of their playoffs, the Rangers won the 119th World Series, eager to return home to Arlington to celebrate with their friends, family and overjoyed fans.

Corey Seager was named World Series MVP for the second time in his career (the first being with the Dodgers back in 2020). The underrated superstar went 6-21 (.286) with three home runs, six RBIs and six runs scored within the five games. He is the fourth player in MLB history to win the World Series MVP twice, joining Hall of Famers Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson.

Looking back on the entire playoffs, Texas’ offense was absolutely unstoppable. Adolis Garcia hit .323 with eight home runs and 22 RBIs, Corey Seager hit .318 with six home runs and 12 RBIs, Josh Jung hit .308 with three home runs and eight RBIs, Mitch Garver hit three home runs and 14 RBIs and 21-year-old rookie Evan Carter hit .300 — with a postseason-record nine doubles — and had six RBIs.

Eovaldi was the top gun in the pitching rotation, winning five starts — which ties the MLB playoff record — and pitching to a 2.95 Earned Run Average (ERA). Southpaw Jordan Montgomery — a brilliant, mid-season acquisition — pitched to a 2.90 ERA across the postseason. Their bullpen, which posted the seventh-worst ERA in the regular season, was stellar, led by Jose Leclerc (3.29 ERA), Josh Sborz (0.75 ERA), Aroldis Chapman (2.25 ERA), Cody Bradford (1.17 ERA) and Jon Gray (1.59 ERA).

With this ring, Rangers manager Bruce Bochy became just the sixth skipper in history to win four or more World Series titles. This also puts him in fourth place for most titles of all time, tied with Hall of Famers Joe Torre and Walter Alston. Possibly Bochy’s most remarkable accolade is that he has now been at the helm of four of the past 14 World Series winning teams. 

It’s important to note that Bochy and the Rangers did not stroll their way into the Fall Classic. They lost star pitcher Jacob DeGrom to Tommy John surgery after just six starts; they lost Corey Seager, Josh Jung and Nathan Eovaldi to various injuries for large chunks of the regular season; they choked their lead in the AL West and entered the playoffs as a Wild Card; and they even went down 3-2 to the reigning champions in the ALCS. But they never let up and only got better in the face of adversity, and that is ultimately what got this Rangers team their first ring.

It’s always good for baseball when a team wins their first title. It’s a reminder that fans should never lose hope, even if their team loses 100+ games (which the Rangers actually did in 2021.) It’s a reminder that baseball is not dominated by the same few teams with the biggest superstars and salary caps. And it’s a reminder that winning a World Series must be cherished because you never know when your team will be back.