World Series 2023: Rangers, D-backs Show Huge Turnarounds Can Happen Fast
Image credit: (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)
Only two years ago, the D-backs and Rangers had two of the three worst records in the major leagues.
The D-backs went 52-110 in 2021, had a National League-worst 5.11 ERA and had just one player hit more than 15 home runs. The Rangers went 60-102, had a major league-worst .669 OPS and had only one starting pitcher with an ERA under 4.50.
The idea of either reaching the World Series anytime soon seemed far-fetched, to say the least. And yet, when the 2023 World Series begins Friday, it will be the Rangers and D-backs facing off in the Fall Classic.
“For the entire state of Arizona, for this organization that’s had a lot of hardships over the past 36, 48 months,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said following their Game 7 NLCS win over the Phillies, “for us to be where we are right now, it’s a good moment,”
The speed with which both teams climbed from the dregs of MLB to the World Series is historic. Prior to this year, only four teams had ever gone from 100 losses to the World Series in two seasons: the 1914 Boston Braves, 1967 Red Sox, 1969 Mets and 2008 Rays.
The 1914 Braves are famously known as the “Miracle” Braves. The 1969 Mets, of course, are a central part of baseball lore as the “The Amazin’ Mets.”
Similar adjectives may or may not be bestowed on this year’s Rangers and D-backs, but they are worthy of them. In an era defined by front offices preaching patience amidst long-term rebuilds, the Rangers and D-backs showed it’s possible to stage massive turnarounds in a short time.
“That’s something that I think we’re all really proud of,” Rangers outfielder Adolis Garcia, who won ALCS MVP and is one of only two starters remaining from the Rangers 102-loss team, said following their Game 7 ALCS win over the Astros.
“We’ve lost almost 200 games throughout that journey. I think more than anything, it’s not even about beating the Astros or that particular opponent. It’s how proud I feel about the journey we’ve been on and how we’ve been able to improve to get to this point right now where we’re celebrating this victory.”
Each team pulled it off in different ways, but one common element was strong drafts that gave them critical young talent.
The Rangers were one of the worst drafting teams of the 2010s but turned it around with the selections of third baseman Josh Jung in the first round in 2019 and outfielder Evan Carter in the second round in 2020, the latter of which was one of the greatest draft finds in recent years. (The Rangers also drafted righthander Tekoah Roby and infielder Thomas Saggese in 2020, both of whom flourished and were used to acquire Jordan Montgomery from the Cardinals at this year’s trade deadline).
The D-backs, meanwhile, had one of the most successful drafts in recent history in 2019. They had seven of the top 75 picks and selected five players who have already reached the majors for the team, one who was used in a key trade and another who is currently in Triple-A. The top pick was outfielder Corbin Carroll, winner of BA’s Rookie of the Year Award and already the face of the D-backs franchise. Their NLCS roster also included top draft picks from 2017 (Pavin Smith), 2018 (Alek Thomas), 2020 (Brandon Pfaadt and Slade Cecconi) and 2021 (Jordan Lawlar).
“I won’t speak for other people, but I thought it would take a little more time,” said Carroll, who went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and caught the final out of Game 7. “So to be able to do it in (my) first year just makes it all the more special.”
Aside from the draft, their methods diverged. The Rangers spent lavishly in free agency, famously shelling out $556 million in a single day on Dec. 1, 2021 to sign Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and Jon Gray. They spent another $59 million to sign Nate Eovaldi and Andrew Heaney to two-year deals last offseason, gave Jacob deGrom a five-year, $185 million deal and took on roughly an additional $27.5 million in salaries when they acquired Montgomery and Max Scherzer at this year’s trade deadline.
Combined with fruitful low-cost acquisitions such as catcher Jonah Heim, first baseman Nathaniel Lowe and Garcia, who was DFA’d twice before blossoming into a premier power hitter, the Rangers completely remade what was one of baseball’s worst pitching staffs and lineups in a short time.
“This team has played with so much heart and determination as any club I’ve had,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said after Game 7 against the Astros. “They all have. it’s just amazing how they kept getting up.”
While the Rangers took the big-market spending route, the D-backs used small-market methods to fuel their turnaround. They relied on the strength of their drafts and astute trades, highlighted by last winter’s acquisition of Gabriel Moreno and Lourdes Gurriel from the Blue Jays for homegrown outfielder Daulton Varsho. They kept talented anchors Zac Gallen, Ketel Marte and Christian Walker (all acquired in trades) through their rebuild and made small deals that eventually paid big dividends, such as signing righthander Merrill Kelly from Korea before the 2019 season and acquiring productive veterans Tommy Pham and Paul Sewald at this year’s trade deadline.
The end result for each was teams capable of slaying the best baseball had to offer. The Rangers swept the 99-win Rays and 101-win Orioles in their first two rounds of the playoffs and ousted the defending champion Astros with a thrilling comeback in seven games in the ALCS. The D-backs swept the NL Central champion Brewers and 100-win Dodgers before beating the defending NL champion Phillies, becoming the first team to defeat the Phillies at home this postseason and doing so two games in a row to come back from a 3-2 series deficit.
They both did it in different ways, but the result is the same. Two years after being among the worst teams in baseball, the Rangers and D-backs are in the World Series.
“There were some very dark days in my career,” Lovullo said. “We lost 110 games two years ago. So for me to sit here and tell you that I wouldn’t trade that in, if you told me that I would be coming out the other side of it like this, I would understand why I was having to go through that.
“I learned so much about myself and the things that I really believe in and what I have to do every single day, to keep remembering my own personal purpose and the path forward was a challenge. I wouldn’t trade it for one thing in the world because I’ve learned about what it takes to be the manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks, and I couldn’t be more proud to be this, what I am.”
