Rangers' World Series run completes incredible 2-year journey

The Texas Rangers eschewed the slow rebuild and were rewarded with a quick turnaround that ended with a World Series title and history.

Let the 2023 Texas Rangers be a lesson to the rest of Major League Baseball: a rebuild does not need to be a long and slow process.

In defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks in five games, the Rangers pulled off something never before seen in MLB history. They became the first team ever to finish 25 games or worse under .500 one season, and then win the World Series in the next, according to OptaSTATS on X (formerly Twitter.)

The Rangers also became just the third MLB team ever to win the World Series two years after losing 100+ games. Texas finished the 2021 season with a record of 60-102.

A key 2023 addition helped secure the title. Starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi, signed as a free agent following the 2022 season, got the win following six innings of shutout baseball.

Despite last season's disappointing 68-94 team, good for fourth in the AL West, the groundwork for success was put in place following a shopping spree worth a half a billion dollars in the offseason prior.

Shortstop Corey Seager inked a 10-year, $325 million contract prior to the 2022 season, while second baseman Marcus Semien got a seven-year, $175 million deal.

Those deals paid off — Semien and Seager ranked first and second respectively for the Rangers in WAR for the 2023 season. Eovaldi was fourth.

The team's choice of manager also paid off handsomely. Bruce Bochy was retired when Texas offered him the chance to lead this team. He repaid their faith in him by leading a team to a World Series win for the fourth time in his career, after doing so with the San Francisco Giants in 2010, 2012, and 2014.

Texas finished 2023 with the same record as the Houston Astros, finishing second in the AL West due to tiebreakers. No matter, as the Rangers ran the table on the road this postseason, posting a perfect 11-0 record in games away from their home stadium.

They also proved versatile. Just one day after winning Game 4 via an 11-7 slugfest, the Rangers clinched their World Series title with a 4-0 pitchers' duel victory.

Of course, both wins came on the road.