13 amazing stats & facts from Texas' 1st title run
Sarah Langs
@SlangsOnSportsPHOENIX -- There are all sorts of ways to contextualize what made this World Series title for the Texas Rangers so special.
For starters, they were one of just six franchises who had never won a World Series, and of those six, they have been around longest, if you include their years as the Washington Senators, where they began in 1961. (They moved to Texas in '72.)
But perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the Rangers' run to the title that ended with Wednesday's 5-0 win over the D-backs in Game 5 was their unblemished road record.
That's right: The Rangers played 11 road games this postseason and did not lose a single one. Prior to this season, the best road record in a single postseason was 8-0 by the 1996 Yankees.
Here's a deeper look at the remarkable road work by the Rangers and other amazing numbers that contributed to their first World Series title.
1. How do you go 11-0 on the road? A plus-42 run differential certainly helps. That¡¯s the highest in a single postseason. The prior record was plus-33, set by the 2018 Red Sox. Before these Rangers, no team had won more than nine consecutive road games, even spanning postseasons.
2. Nathan Eovaldi came through for the Rangers -- again. He¡¯s one of 10 pitchers to start six games in a single postseason. (The D-backs' Zac Gallen is another of those 10.) Eovaldi is the first to have his team win all six of those starts.
3. Eovaldi worked out of trouble all night, making his six scoreless innings even more impressive. His 27 batters faced were tied for the most in a scoreless postseason start of six innings or fewer with Chris Carpenter in Game 3 of the 2012 National League Division Series and Cole Hamels in Game 3 of the '11 NLDS.
4. Of course, Gallen was rolling through six, too. The Rangers became the second team in postseason history to win a game in which they had no hits and no runs through six innings, joining the Cubs in Game 3 of the 2017 NLDS against the Nationals.
5. With his World Series MVP Award, Corey Seager joined some rarefied air. He¡¯s the fourth to win two World Series MVPs, along with Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson. And he¡¯s the third with three postseason MVPs, joining Orel Hershiser and Dave Stewart.
6. How about the postseason performance by rookie Evan Carter? He was on base 30 times, the second-most times reaching base safely before turning 22 in a postseason career behind Andruw Jones¡¯ 34 across 31 games from 1996-98. He reached in all 17 games, tied for the sixth-longest streak to start a postseason career -- and that¡¯s active, entering his next postseason performance. Carter hit nine doubles, the most by a player in a single postseason.
7. We have to talk about the manager. With this Fall Classic, Bruce Bochy has now won 17 postseason rounds, breaking a tie at 16 with Tony La Russa for the second-most postseason rounds won among managers, behind only Joe Torre¡¯s 19.
8. Bochy has won four World Series titles, one of just six managers to reach that mark. He joins Casey Stengel (seven), Joe McCarthy (seven), Connie Mack (five), Walter Alston (four) and Torre (four). He¡¯s the fifth to win at least one with multiple teams, joining Sparky Anderson (1975-76 Reds, 1984 Tigers), Bucky Harris (1924 Nationals, 1947 Yankees), La Russa (1989 A's, 2006 and '11 Cardinals) and Bill McKechnie (1925 Pirates, 1940 Reds).
9. Speaking of those in charge, general manager Chris Young, who also won with the 2015 Royals, became the third individual to win the World Series as a GM and as a player since at least 1950. The GM of the '69 Mets, Johnny Murphy, did so, as did Stan Musial, who held the role for the '67 Cardinals.
10. Thanks to Marcus Semien, the Rangers homered in 16 straight playoff games, extending the longest such streak in a single postseason. It¡¯s the third-longest overall streak, behind a 23-gamer by the Yankees spanning from 2019-22 and 17 straight by the D-backs from 2007-23, which ended earlier this postseason. And the 16-game streak is active, entering Texas¡¯ next postseason trip.
11. The Rangers went 11-0 when they scored first this postseason. That¡¯s the longest win streak within a single postseason when scoring first, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. They broke a tie with the 2018 Red Sox, '17 Astros, '12 Giants, '04 Red Sox and 1998 Yankees.
12. Reliever Will Smith became the first player to appear on a World Series roster in three straight seasons for three different World Series-winning teams (though he did not pitch in the 2022 Fall Classic). In fact, Smith is the first player in MLB, NFL, NBA or NHL history to appear in at least one game (regular or postseason) with three different championship teams in three consecutive seasons.
13. The Rangers lost 102 games in 2021. Only two other teams have won the World Series two years after losing at least 100 games: the 1969 Mets and 1914 Braves. Each did so two years after a 101-loss season.