2023 World Series: Arizona Diamondbacks vs Texas Rangers

i believe the 1987 twins are the only precedent for a team with a negative run differential in the regular season winning the world series. would be kinda cool to see it happen again, though it really exposes just how swingy baseball is

― ciderpress, Thursday, October 26, 2023

They might be the only other team to even reach the Series with a negative RD. Checked the '73 Mets, and they steamrolled the opposition with 608 runs scored and 588 given up.

This thread nearly broke me out of my stupor but we all know Bryce already has a ring from last year and there’s nothing anyone can say to convince me otherwise

It must be nice for Max Scherzer or Tommy Pham to be offloaded at the trade deadline and suddenly find themself in the position of possibly being part of a World Series team. One of them will get some jewelry.

And then I loved seeing the Angels win the 2002 World Series with many of the same players (sorry gyac).

― felicity, Thursday, October 26, 2023 10:06 AM (eight hours ago)

https://i.imgur.com/2EBoxmn.jpg

he's been out of the game for six years but christ do i still hate john lackey

I always felt like I could hear him breath and smell his teeth through the tv

Sorry that’s not very nice, there’s much better reasons to dislike Lackey than his face

lol the Rally Monkey

And count former Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp among those who didn’t like seeing the Rally Monkey on the screen as an opposing player.

“I don’t like the Rally Monkey,” Kemp told the Associated Press in 2012. “I’m scared of the Rally Monkey. You’re out there in the outfield and the monkey just pops up on the screen. That’s kind of scary.”

Diamondbacks fueled by doubters during World Series march

this kind of shit is just exhausting; see also the crap with harper and the braves' shortstop

possibly being in the world series or simply wanting to play well is enough motivation in itself?

i mean they couldn't even get a tommy pham quote

Nah, sports are the one arena where pettiness is a virtue, I’m all about that.

Gallen telling Phillies fans where to buy tickets for their next game (spring training) is great, and in this current moment, give me more of it.

Also as a big market team supporter, there’s a devilish joy in seeing the small market boys take so much pride in being small market boys

“Atta boy Harper” was totally ruined though by people taking it seriously, so yeah that whole saga was a bit lame

Max Scherzer puts finger on ALCS woes: a cut on his thumb. But feels like he has a better grip on the problem heading into #WorldSeries.

"I found a way to throw some cotton on it and some glue," Scherzer said. #MLB https://t.co/tPPqAncgyW

— David Lennon (@DPLennon) October 27, 2023

never change

Bochy was the reason the Rangers lost in 2010. He'll be the reason they win this time.

Rangers in 6

Not saying you're right or wrong, just wondering if you're thinking of some specific reason.

There's a baseball writer whose colloquial name rhymes with Jay-Z who has a shareable preview up, but I won't link. People with seize on the sixth or the eleventh or the twenty-third sentence and proclaim "That's the most ridiculous thing ever written." If you're interested, probably not hard to find.

I'd be happy for either team but the idea of a franchise winning its first ever World Series is magical.

speaking of here's a fun fact - every single time the Brewers have been in the postseason, the team that beat them eventually made the World Series, and 6 of 8 of them wound up winning it. so I guess we are kind of a lucky charm.

(xpost) The primary reason I'm rooting for Texas. Arizona was gifted arguably the most thrilling moment this century (short list, for sure), in their fourth year of existence no less. Texas has been living with one of (or two of, a few minutes apart--plus the bat-flip) the most heartbreaking for over a decade.

Clarification no one asked for: your rationale for who you're rooting for changes--or may change--from series to series. I wanted Houston over Texas because I thought Astros-Phillies was the best WS matchup, and because I wanted to keep watching Alvarez (and, to a lesser extent, because I like Verlander and Baker and Brantley). That ain't happening; with the two teams left, franchise history now guides my rooting interest.

I wanna root for the Diamondbacks because if they win a WS, surely the Brewers could some day too. I kinda like that about baseball, yes the payroll discrepancies are very unfair, but when the chips are down ultimately it's all about who runs hot in October. having a massive payroll won't save you. random rookies or journeymen relievers can make all the difference. on the other hand I'm pulling for the Rangers because I still remember how brutal that 2011 World Series was. so I dunno. I just want everyone to have fun and take lots of pictures!

I wanna root for the Diamondbacks because if they win a WS, surely the Brewers could some day too

don't worry 2006 already happened we don't need another one

https://wv.localnews.com/meet-the-billionaire-owners-facing-off-in-the-world-series/

Sometimes you are better off not knowing.

Scrappy billionaires.

I could have sworn I was talking about the team and not the owners.

Why would you think that was meant for you?! I was having fun with the narrative, geez.

I’m simply cheering for 7 competitive games of baseball. I don’t mind who wins the “piece of metal” in the end

*holding my tongue* 🫢

I think all five MLB guys picked the Rangers tonight, so I'm counting Arizona as up 1-0 already.

Eovaldi currently proving them right. He looks dialled in

Big game Nate at it again

I'm watching the pre-game show on the MLB network, attention divided, I notice Carl Yastrzemski's on there talking about 1967, realize it's 8:15 and I seem to be watching a whole documentary on the Impossible Dream team, little voice tells me to change channels.

CHANGE CHANNELS

I recognize Marcus Semien--I'm dialed in.

Hell yeah let’s get this game going

I hope they've got Garcia running on contact this series.

Gallen just cannot get a clean first inning

God, he's hot--he's going to breeze by Freese's RBI record.

As I will periodically do: Beltre!

Definitely a DP.

i figured out what the dbacks remind me of - they look like a team of pro esports gamers

Gallen for sure--I see versions of him every night when I flip past Poker Stars.

corbin’s got that pale untanned look from gaming til 3 am in a basement

Well if we are saying things like that, Eovaldi reminds me a bit of Steve Carrell. I like him though

Lol 龜, never saw it but now that you’ve highlighted it, otm

gallen looks like a carbon copy of kyle mooney to me

oh totally

apparently i'm not the only one

https://i.imgur.com/XVOIIiB.jpeg

In the pre-game show, Kevin Millar said he'd be bunting as early as the third inning to get a lead. This doesn't really strike me as the series for that.

On the one hand: Gallen is such a fun pitcher to watch when he’s on and it’s great having new young studs coming through. On the other: Seeing him get torched is great because of all the cocky off the field talk he’s on record for.

All in all, whatever happens in a Zach Gallen start, I’m happy. Great player to watch

Oh they started Alek Thomas? He seems like such a good kid.

If I know anything about sport broadcasting, there’s going to be a close up shot of that kid crying a couple hours from now

He's got a pretty impressive career bWAR considering all the time he's missed, I wonder if rather than getting the counting stats up if he can continue to add to that if it could put him over the top. It does feel like perhaps increasingly there is a sympathetic shift towards briefly dominant guys being considered, and not just the long-term dominant guys, or the "pretty good guys who never got injured and played 22 seasons" types.

Seager obviously helped his HOF case a lot. I'd say he's about where Bumgarner was before he fell apart: solid regular-season resume, building a storied postseason career. Semien--who's just as obviously a long shot--helped his case a little. I wouldn't count him out yet (see above chart).

if Semien has 3-4 seasons in the same ballpark as his last 3-4 (not counting the pandemic season), he'll get into the HOF. he's gone beyond the peak territory of guys like Ian Kinsler, now he just needs to extend that peak a bit longer. Seager is a few years younger and if he can avoid that injury bug, he'll be in good shape.

Turns out I was right:

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/38804549/world-series-was-least-watched-fall-classic-tv-history

The Texas Rangers 5-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks for their first championship on Wednesday night drew the largest audience of this World Series. However, it was not enough to prevent the five-game series from being the least-watched Fall Classic in recorded TV history.

Nielsen and Fox said Thursday the World Series averaged 9.11 million viewers, less than the 9.79 million average from the 2020 series, when the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Tampa Bay Rays in six games.

It was a 23% decline from last year's series, when the Houston Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies in six games and averaged 11.78 million.

Any idea of how many people watch online? I'm not sure if that's tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or millions.