Started From the Bottom, Now We’re Here
If I asked on March 30th, 2023, Opening Day for Major League Baseball, who would be in the Fall Classic, there would be a few different answers. On paper, the best team constructed would have dawned some combination to include The Mets, Padres, Braves, or Astros. If someone had predicted what we would end up with, I would call them a liar and have them institutionalized. But here we are, October 27th, Game 1 of the World series in Arlington, Texas with the 6th Seeded Arizona Diamondbacks facing the 5th Seeded Texas Rangers. Yes, you read that correctly. The same Arizona Diamondbacks that just two years ago, lost over 100-games. The Same Texas Rangers that have yet to secure a World Series Championship under their belt. The 2023 season has been a wild ride for sure.
Wild Card Round
Who needs Game 3 anyways? That seems to be the theme of this year’s Wild Card round. Which bode’s the question of, should this particular round go back to being a “Winner Takes All” one game playoff? I may be a biased Braves fan but with the breakdown of the Divisional Series, you may see my point.
Divisional Series
Did having a bye for the Wild Card round hurt the Divisional Winners more than act as a reward? I would suggest you ask the Orioles, Braves, and Dodgers. Between all three Divisional Winners, they have one win to share between them, the Braves being the one team to sneak out a win through the Series. The Houston Astros on the other hand poke a major hole in my theory. They handled the Minnesota Twins pretty handily 3-1 so maybe they have found the secret to shaking off the rust and are refusing to share with the rest of the league. Either way, fans of the Rangers, Astros, Phillies and Diamondbacks had lots to look forward to, leading into the Championship Series and disappoint, they did not.
Championship Series
This entire round, on both sides of the league, was some of the most entertaining baseball I have watched in a long time. There were close games, blow outs, and the occasional walk off win. Both series went down to the wire with a pivotal Game 7. But what kind of fan would I be if I didn’t highlight some of the key players?
Let’s start with the Phillies. Between Bryce Harper, Nick Castellanos, and Kyle Schwarber sharing five home runs each, this Braves Fan feared that they had caught the same spark that would push them over the hump of losing the fall classic last year. That’s at least how it looked as they handed my team the theoretical boot while staring down Orlando Arcia while rounding the way. This spark was suddenly extinguished in Games 6-7 of the NLCS leaving the likes of Harper, Castellanos, and Turner going 1-28 in the last two games.
On the other side, the Texas Rangers proved that you need more than experience to make it this season, effectively knocking the Astors out of the Fall Classic for the first time in the last four years. This season marks the first time that neither the Astros or the Dodgers have appeared in the World Series since 2016. The Rangers were led offensively by Adonis Garcia hitting .481 with five homers in the ALCS and Jordan Montgomery on the pitching side with two wins while posting a 1.29 ERA. They will be a formidable foe in the next round for the Diamondbacks.
World Series
I, for one, am excited to watch the Fall Classic this year. Two teams getting hot at the exact moment while having, not stellar but respectable seasons, is what this baseball is all about now. No more of the star studded teams that use the biggest names to steamroll their opponents. It is now a game of who can work as a complete unit and win together as a team. I am looking forward to the game of small ball. “Get them on, get them over, and get them in” while leaning on good pitching. This series should be exciting for sure.
By: Thomas Brown @755choptalk