by Jenna Dobson
Assistant Editor
After a long season of 162 games, the MLB (Major League Baseball) season ends, and the postseason journey begins. The 2023 MLB postseason included 12 teams in two leagues: the Miami Marlins, Philadelphia Phillies, Milwaukee Brewers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Atlanta Braves all play in the National League, while the Toronto Blue Jays, Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers, Tampa Bay Rays, Houston Astros, and the Baltimore Orioles all play in the American League. With these 12 teams in their respective leagues making it into the postseason, the fight for the Commissioner’s Trophy began.
The first round of the postseason, known as the “Wild Card Series,” featured eight teams with the other four receiving a bye for their solid regular season record. The eight playing teams face off in a best-of-three-game series to determine who will advance in the season. Toronto, Tampa, Milwaukee, and Miami all took a first-round exit after their series loss.
The second round of the postseason housed the top eight teams in each league as they faced off in their respective leagues League Division Series. The DMV’s very own Baltimore Orioles clinched the first seed for the American League, granting them a first round bye, but the O’s faced a devastating loss to the number five seed, the Texas Rangers. The O’s weren’t the only devastating loss, the postseason “veterans” Los Angeles and Atlanta also bit the bullet early in their postseason run.
After the League Division Series, Houston, the Rangers, Arizona, and the Phillies were left to battle it out in their respective League Championship Series. The final four came to be a bit of a surprise for viewers, as all but Houston were lower-seeded teams. Both leagues had remarkable series. In the American League, it was the first time the two Texas teams faced off in a postseason matchup, while in the National League, Arizona and Philadelphia clashed in a dynamic series. In the end, the Rangers won the American League Championship Series in a 4-3 series win, and the Diamondbacks won the National League Championship Series also in a 4-3 series win. After their victories, the real match began. With the stage set, Arizona would face Texas in the World Series.
. The best of seven series began at Globe Life Field in Texas. The home crowd did the Rangers a favor as they won the first game of the series 6-5. Still at Globe Life Field, game two was quite the opposite to the first one. The Diamondbacks came out swinging in game two, winning the second game with a one-sided score of 9-1. The next two games were played at Chase Field in Arizona. Game three in Arizona put the Rangers on top of the series as they won the game 3-1. Game four in Arizona also played out in the Rangers’ favor as they won the game 11-7. This game four victory put them 3-1 in the best of seven series. Game five once again took place in Arizona, and all eyes were on the Rangers. If they won game five, they would win the World Series, and that’s exactly what they did. The Rangers won game five 5-0, making them the winners of the World Series and the owners of the Commissioner’s Trophy. In the beginning of this postseason run, not many people saw these two battling it out in the championship, yet alone the Rangers winning the whole thing, which makes this victory a little more meaningful for the Texan underdogs.