Texas Rangers by the Numbers: 10 Standout Stats From Their World Series Run

The Texas Rangers, after decades of waiting and a few heartbreaking close calls, are finally World Series champions.

Texas blanked the Arizona Diamondbacks, 5-0, in Game 5 of the 2023 Fall Classic in Phoenix on Wednesday night to clinch the series. Designated hitter Mitch Garver broke up a scoreless game in the top of the seventh with an RBI single, then second baseman Marcus Semien's two-run blast to left center in the top of the ninth capped a four-run frame.

The Rangers lost 102 games just two years ago and finished under .500 in 2022. Only two other teams in MLB history have won the World Series after two years of losing at least 100 games.

Here's a by-the-numbers look at Texas' World Series run.

1961—When the franchise was founded: And fans have been hoping ever since that the franchise would finally hoist the Commissioner's Trophy. Formed as the expansion Washington Senators (the second version) in 1961, the team moved to Arlington and rebranded as the Rangers in 1972. Texas' win marks the end to MLB's second-longest active title drought.

4—Players to earn World Series MVP twice: And Corey Seager is one of them. The shortstop, who previously received the honor with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020, was presented with the Willie Mays World Series MVP award after the series-clincher. Seager homered in three of the five games during the series. Overall, he went 6-for-21 at the plate with three home runs, a double, three walks, six RBIs, and six runs scored.

"Yeah, I mean, I don't think you can ever fathom that," Seager said postgame. "It's a pretty special group to be part of."

Seager joins Hall of Famers Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, and Reggie Jackson as the only players to accomplish the feat twice. But Seager is the only player ever to earn the award for teams in both the National and American Leagues.

2—Franchises manager Bruce Bochy has led to World Series wins: Thirteen years to the day after Bochy led the San Francisco Giants to a championship, against the Rangers oddly enough, the future Hall-of-Fame skipper won his fourth ring. The Rangers brought Bochy, who won three Fall Classics with the Giants, out of retirement ahead of this season. That turned out to be a wise move.

"That's a credit to [general manager] Chris Young and the ownership, Ray Davis," Bochy said. "They were determined to get winning baseball back to the Texas Rangers. And when we met, that's what we talked about. And they did everything they said they were going to do."

Bochy is now one of just six managers to win at least four World Series and the fifth to win at least one with multiple teams.

11—Rangers road wins this postseason: Texas, who earned a Wild Card berth in the playoffs after a 90-win regular season, played 11 road games in the playoffs and won each time. The unprecedented run bested an 8-0 road mark by the 1996 Yankees, which was previously the best road record by a team in a single postseason.

Texas also boasted an 11-0 record when scoring first this postseason.

6—Playoff stars for right-hander Nathan Eovaldi: The All-Star is one of 10 pitchers in MLB history to start six games in a single postseason. And the Rangers won all of those starts. Eovaldi posted a 2.95 playoff ERA and started on the mound in three of Texas' series-clinching wins this postseason.

"I kind of joked around, I don't know how many rabbits I have in my hat," Eovaldi said of getting out of tough situations on the mound.

The D-backs Zac Gallen is another one of the 10 players to start six postseason games. Gallen carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning on Wednesday night.

16—Consecutive playoff games with a HR: Semien's ninth-inning homer pushed Texas' streak of playoff games with a home run to 16, which extended the longest such streak in a single postseason. It is the third-longest overall postseason streak, though it is still active, trailing a 23-gamer by the New York Yankees from 2019-22 and a 17-game Diamondbacks streak that ended earlier this postseason.

3—Individuals to win Fall Classic as player, general manager: Rangers general manager Chris Young, who won a ring as a player with the 2015 Kansas City Royals, is now the third person to win the World Series as a GM and player since at least 1950, according to MLB, along with Johnny Murphy and Stan Musial.

The number three also has a special meaning to relief pitcher Will Smith all of a sudden. The Rangers' reliever, who won the 2021 World Series with the Atlanta Braves and the 2022 Fall Classic with the Houston Astros, is on the championship team for the third year in a row. Smith is the first player in MLB, NFL, NBA, or NHL history to appear in at least one game with three different championship-winning teams in three consecutive seasons, per MLB.

17—Postseason games for rookie Evan Carter: And he reached base in every one of them. The 21-year-old's 17-game on-base streak to begin his postseason career is tied for the sixth-longest streak of all-time and can be extended the next time he plays October ball. The outfielder hit nine doubles in the playoffs, the most ever by a player in a single postseason.

5—MLB teams without a World Series title: Now that the Rangers can finally hang a championship banner, only five of the league's 30 teams are without a World Series title. Those are the Tampa Bay Rays, Colorado Rockies, Seattle Mariners, Milwaukee Brewers, and San Diego Padres.

1.9—Length, in miles, of parade route: The Rangers are in for a Texas-sized celebration. The franchise's World Series championship parade will be held near Globe Life Field at 1:15 p.m. ET on Friday. A ceremony honoring the team will follow.