Belated Thoughts on The Texas Rangers Winning The World Series

I would have commented on this sooner, I was the emergency room at Massachusetts General Hospital when this happened and indeed have spent much of the week there. I'll have more on that at another time.

On Wednesday night, the Texas Rangers earned their first World Series title in franchise history defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-0 in Game 5 despite being no-hit into the 7th inning by D'Backs starter Zac Gallen. But a four-run rally in the 9th capped off by a 2-run HR by Marcus Semien finally branded the Rangers champions after 62 years - the first decade of which was spent as the second incarnation of the Washington Senators. 

Corey Seager earned his second World Series MVP going 6 for 21 (.286) with 3 HR and 6 RBI. Seager previously earned these honors in the 2020 World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Reggie Jackson is the only other position player to have earned World Series MVP honors more than once having done so with the Oakland A's in 1973 and the New York Yankees in 1977. 

Rangers manager Bruce Bochy earned his fourth World Series ring as a skipper tying both the late Dodgers manager Walter Alston (1955, 1959, 1963 and 1965) and former New York Yankees manager Joe Torre (1996, 1998-2000). Philadelphia A's manager Connie Mack (who also owned the team) earned five World Series rings (1910, 1911, 1913, 1929 and 1930). Yankees managers Joe McCarthy (1932, 1936-1939, 1941 and 1943) and Casey Stengel (1949-1953, 1956 and 1958) are tied with 7 rings apiece. All of these managers are in Cooperstown and so will Bochy. 

As I stated last month, I was rooting for the Rangers because they had never won a World Series in their six plus decades. But I would have been happy for the D'Backs too. I'm sorry that Torey Lovullo fell short, but perhaps he and the D'Backs will have other opportunities. Two years removed from 110 losses, the D'Backs have come very far. 

But today it was the Rangers turn to have a parade and at least half a million people gathered in Arlington, Texas to give the team a cowboy sendoff. 

I hardly watched any baseball this year, but I will continue to keep an eye on things and give the World Series champions their proper due.