Texas Rangers Make MLB History After Winning First World Series

Corey Seager, Will Smith and Bruce Bochy made their way into the World Series record books.

By Brian Jones

The Texas Rangers defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 5 of the 2023 World Series on Wednesday night to win their first championship in franchise history. And with the win, two Rangers players and the manager made their way into the record books. Shortstop Cory Seager was named World Series MVP and became the fourth player in MLB history to win the award twice (won it with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020). Pitcher Will Smith was a key player for the Rangers all season long and is the first player in MLB history to win three consecutive World Series titles with three different teams. He won a ring with the Atlanta Braves in 2021 and another with the Houston Astros in 2022. 

Manager Bruce Bochy has won his fourth title overall and became the sixth manager to win at least four championships. He's also the first manager in MLB history to win a World Series for and against the same team. He was the manager for the San Francisco Giants when they beat the Rangers during the 2010 World Series. Bochy joined the Rangers this season after being with the Giants from 2007 to 2019. 

"I was in Ravensburg, Germany, in the dugout last year, last October, and I said, 'Man, I really miss this,'" Bochy explained, per MLB.com. "I never called anybody. I just said, 'This is something that I love to do and I miss it.' Then, when CY [Rangers GM Chris Young] called me to get my appetite on doing this, we talked. And long story short, I'm here. But that's kind of where it started."

The Rangers also set an MLB postseason record for most consecutive road wins, tallying 11 straight victories against the Tampa Bay Rays, Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros and Diamondbacks. They won the World Series after going through six consecutive losing seasons including a 2021 season where they just won 60 games. 

Before the World Series began, PopCulture.com spoke to Rangers legend Iván Rodríguez about why the Rangers have a good chance to win it all. "I think that comes with a good group of people, starting from the front office, the Chris Young, the Bruce Bochy, the Mike Maddux, the whole coaching staff," Rodríguez said. "They put these kids or these players ready to play on the field, and also the players when they go out there and perform and play hard. I think the reason that we are in this level, that we are two games to be in the World Series because we didn't have too many injuries."

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