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Texas Rangers star Corey Seager hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in his return to Dodger Stadium as Texas defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 on Wednesday night.
Dodgers fans, for their part, let the team's former World Series MVP hear it. Seager was applauded in his first at-bat but got booed when he came up in the seventh before striking out. Afterward, Seager talked about the less-than-warm reception, per Jack Harris of The Los Angeles Times.
“I guess it kind of comes with the territory,” Seager said postgame with a shy grin. “I mean, I don’t blame them. I get it.”
“He certainly deserves all the applause from Dodgers fans, he helped us win a championship,” manager Dave Roberts said of his former shortstop. “But he also deserved those boos after the three-run homer.”
Seager was back in the Rangers' lineup as the designated hitter against his old team after missing four games to deal with a hamstring issue, including the series opener. The 30-year-old shortstop went 1 for 3 with a strikeout but drove in all three Texas runs.
He was named 2016 National League Rookie of the Year and 2020 National League and World Series MVP with the Dodgers, then left as a free agent after the 2021 season.
Rangers' Corey Seager in exclusive company
Last season the Texas Rangers won their first ever World Series title in their 62-year history. It's a new moment for the franchise, but not exactly a new moment for Rangers shortstop Corey Seager, who was named World Series MVP.
Seager, who could very well have earned the title ‘Mr. October', also won a World Series MVP with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020. Seager is only the second player in MLB/NBA/NFL/NHL history to win the championship MVP award for 2 different teams in a span of 4 seasons. The other is LeBron James.
Seager, a four-time All Star in his nine-year career, has shined in his two seasons with the Rangers. He hit .327 with 96 RBIs this season and hit 33 home runs for the second year in a row. But he likely won't get a World Series MVP with another team any time soon. The Rangers locked him up to a 10-year/$325 million contract in 2022 that could keep him with the Rangers through the 2031 season.
Of course, it would probably be Seager's preference to not have to fight for another World Series MVP with a different team and to instead just stay put with the Rangers.
This season, Texas is middling a bit through the first half of the season. The Rangers are currently 32-35, good for second place in the American League West and withing 6.5 games of the first place Seattle Mariners.
Seager is hitting .271 with 14 home runs and 33 RBIs so far this season with an .846 OPS.
