In quantum physics and movies, there is a multiverse with different iterations of life as we know it. Think of countless versions of Earth with wildly divergent realities. Here, on Earth 1, the 2023 Atlanta Braves have the best betting odds in all of Major League Baseball to win the World Series at +260. With their strong starting pitching and murderer's row of hitters throughout their batting order, the Atlanta Braves are the easy, clear, and unquestioned favorites to win it all this year. And for very good reasons.
(To grasp how devastating the Braves are in 2023 from a historical perspective, read the recent article by theScore's Travis Sawchik The Braves are hitting like the 1927 Yankees — really.)
However, on Earth 2, I dare to posit a bold and possibly hare-brained alternate reality. The Texas Rangers, the American League wildcard team that lost the American League West Division title (and a bye from the three-game postseason wildcard series that starts today) on the final day of the regular season with an offensively anemic 1–0 loss to the Seattle Mariners, will take the hard road to capture their first world championship in franchise history this year.
Hear me out!
Refer back to the Sawchik article once again. Look at the FanGraphs chart used to illustrate the offensive prowess of the Atlanta Braves in 2023. Which team is second on that slugging list? The Texas Rangers. In the regular season, the Texas Rangers scored 881 runs — the third-highest team total in MLB this year. An early example of how potent the Rangers offense would be in 2023 came on opening day against the Philadelphia Phillies. Trailing 5–0, the Rangers unleashed nine runs in one inning to ultimately defeat the Phillies 11–7 on March 30th (and followed that up with a 16–3 shellacking of Philadelphia the next game). Point is, the Rangers’ offense is the baseball equivalent of a Kangaroo kick to the stomach — fast, powerful, and painful when the offense is humming.
Following the explosive lineup at the plate is a starting pitching rotation that has weathered significant injuries to its intended top-tier pitching acquisitions this year (Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, Nathan Eovaldi) to help the team reach the postseason anyway. While looking at the offense, it could be easy to miss the quality of the Texas Rangers pitching staff in 2023. However, there’s no question the team’s success this year is rooted in the resilient and underrated quality of its pitching staff.
The players on the field are the functional front line of wins and losses, but the leadership in the dugout and executive offices play an essential role in the steering direction of the ship. The substantial financial investment in player talent over the last two seasons by the Rangers’ front office is a serious show of intention for Texas to compete for titles. The coaxing (out of retirement) and hiring of manager Bruce Bochy, a three-time World Series-winning manager and future Baseball Hall of Famer, has proven to be a masterstroke acquisition toward reaching the organization’s competitive goals. Nevertheless, the deliberate, revamped, and ongoing development of the mental skills department throughout the Rangers’ organization should be noticed in the upward shift of the Texas Rangers. As an Adam Grant fan (go look him up if you don't already know) and a college graduate with a psychology degree, I firmly believe in individuals and organizations that endeavor to incorporate mental components into the drive and narrative to succeed. I have no direct empirical evidence to confirm my belief of the distinctive impacts the Texas Rangers Mental Skills Department likely has on the organization. Still, my gut says that what Director of Leadership and Development Ben Baroody, Mental Performance Coordinator Hannah Huesman, and EVP and General Manager Chris Young have reimagined, factors into the makeup of this aspiring championship side right now and for the future.
So, add all of these points together along with the ambition of Arlington, the city where the Rangers play its home games at Globe Life Field (see the city’s branding, previous sporting events hosted, and its attempt to get the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final for reference), and I say “why not?” and “why not now?” Believe it or not, the Texas Rangers are the professional sports team to carry that banner for Arlington (sorry Cowboy fans, but…yeah)
As it is on Earth 2, so shall it is on Earth 1. The Texas Rangers will reach the World Series in 2023 and defeat the Atlanta Braves in six games (in Atlanta, to boot) to win baseball’s fall classic. There! I said it! The Commissioner’s Trophy stays in Texas but moves from Houston to Arlington.
Let’s see if I make sense or am I just another guy writing an opinion piece. We’ll find out starting today.
Thanks for reading.
Special thanks to Kennedi Landry (@kennlandry) for her coverage of the Rangers and their Mental Skills Department. My “insight” and opinion here benefit from reading her work.
