By Joseph Caruso
Staff Writer
After a long few weeks of unexpected twists and turns, the Major League Baseball playoffs have come to its climax. Following upset after upset, two underdogs find themselves sitting atop their respective leagues as the 119th World Series looks to get underway.
For only the third time in the history of baseball, two wildcard teams will be facing off against each other. None of the six division winners advanced this far, and the three teams who had accumulated over 100 wins in the regular season, the Braves, Orioles and Dodgers, went an abysmal 1-9 in the Division Series before each being sent home.
Coming out of the National League are the Arizona Diamondbacks, whose last title came in 2001 after upsetting the perennial dynasty that was the New York Yankees of the late 1990s. Arizona was projected to win just 75 games this year but ended up winning 84, weaseling their way into the playoffs by just a half of a game over the Chicago Cubs.
National League Rookie of the Year front-runner Corbin Carroll has propelled this team's offense, while the trio of Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly and Brandon Pfaadt have pitched lights out for the snakes. They took down the division-winning Milwaukee Brewers in the Wild Card and swept the Los Angeles Dodgers in embarrassing fashion in the Division Series.
Despite finding themselves down three games to two against the reigning National League champions, the Diamondbacks won two straight games in Philadelphia to move on to the World Series and collect their second National League Pennant in franchise history.
In the American League, the Texas Rangers have their sights set on winning their first World Series in the 62-year history of the team, with their first appearance in over a decade.
In Bruce Bochy's first year managing the team, the Rangers have had a rollercoaster of a season. Ranking fourth in total payroll, they spent big in the past few offseasons on Hall of Fame caliber players in Marcus Semien, Corey Seager and Jacob deGrom. Combined with those names, players like Adolis Garcia, Josh Jung, Nathaniel Lowe, Max Scherzer and Nathan Eovaldi, led this team to have all the makings of a championship contender.
Despite this, Houston Astros beat out the Rangers for the American League West division, and made the playoffs as a wildcard.
They steamrolled the American League East combination of the Tampa Bay Rays and the Baltimore Orioles in five straight games to advance to the Championship Series against the Houston Astros, who they got their revenge on in seven games.
The Diamondbacks will be underdogs, which is very familiar territory for them. To play spoiler, they would need their bats to emerge in a big way. Look for veteran bats Christian Walker, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Tommy Pham to step up if Arizona wants to keep up with the Rangers firepower.
As good as the Snakes’ three-headed monster of a pitching rotation has been, they are going to need their bullpen to step up. Closer Paul Sewald has been as dependable as they come, but behind him, guys like Kevin Ginkel and Andrew Saalfrank will need to close the door.
For the Rangers, superstars Seager and Garcia have been this team’s engine, so expect that to continue. Texas will also need to get more production out of their biggest trade-deadline acquisition, pitcher Scherzer.
Regardless, these two title-hungry franchises will duke it out for the chance to hang a World Series banner.
