Ray’s Ramblings: 2023 MLB Playoff Picture

The Rangers are headed to the World Series after defeating the Astros, while over in the NL we’ve got a Game 7 scenario with the Diamondbacks and Phillies.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

The Rangers won 11-4 in Game 7 to take the AL Crown. The only time a team scored more in Game 7 was the Braves 15 run effort in 1996. It was a huge comback too.

The @Rangers are the first team in MLB postseason history to win Games 6 & 7 on the road by 7+ runs each.

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) October 24, 2023

They sure have come a long way in a short-time.

Two years ago, the Rangers lost 102 games, hit .232/.294/.375 as a team and had only one starter with an ERA under 4.50.

Now, they’re headed to the World Series. What a turnaround.

— Kyle Glaser (@KyleAGlaser) October 24, 2023

They have gone 8-0 on the road this postseason, tied for the most road wins in a single post-season.

A lot of that success is on the front office and the players, but don’t overallok the manager.

Bruce Bochy becomes the third manager to lead three different franchises to a World Series (1998 Padres; 2010, 2012, 2014 Giants; 2023 Rangers)

The others:

Bill McKechnie (1925 Pirates, 1928 Cardinals, 1939-40 Reds)

Dick Williams (1967 Red Sox, 1972-73 Athletics, 1984 Padres).

— Kyle Glaser (@KyleAGlaser) October 24, 2023

Bochy is now 6-0 in winner-take-all games in the playoffs. He also seems to have someone else’s number.

Wild stuff from @jluckhaupt

The home team has never won a postseason game when the 2 managers are Bruce Bochy and Dusty Baker. They are now 0-11.

Dusty Baker is 0-4 as a manager with a chance to clinch a postseason series against Bruce Bochy.

— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) October 24, 2023

Adolis Garcia was a star in the series against the Astros as the first player with a homer and three RBI in 3-straight postseason games. There was also this…

Last 3 games for the @Rangers' Adolis García:

6 H
4 HR
12 RBI
1 SB
1 HBP

The last MLB player to reach all of those numbers over any 3-game span (reg or post) was Lou Gehrig in 1930. pic.twitter.com/96uxeisl5L

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) October 24, 2023

Oh yeah, his 20 RBI are second all-time for a single post season. Garcia has a 1.102 OPS, but his teammate Corey Seager has an even higher marlk of 1.127 (.333/.483/.644). Seager has 12 walks, and 12 runs, in 12 games. Evan Carter has a .449 OBP. Mitch Garver has 11 RBI. Josh Jung and Nathaniel Lowe both have three homers.

Yordan Alvarez and his mates lost, but he set a record with 6-straight multi-hit games in the playoffs. He crushed it with a .465-6-15 effort with a 1.487 OPS in 11 games. Here are some OPS marks of his teammates: Abreu .945, Bregman .932, Altuve .906, McCormick .748, Brantley .603, Tucker .517, Pena .463, Diaz .143.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Whoever scores first has a good shot to win.

Teams that score first are now 82-47 all-time in winner-take-all postseason games

h/t @EliasSports

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) October 24, 2023

The Phillies usally come through when it matters most.

The @Phillies are 15-4 (.789) all-time in potential series-clinching games, which is the best record among MLB teams to have played in at least 10 such games. pic.twitter.com/JMzKPMgpOJ

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) October 23, 2023

Still, there is this as well. “The Phillies have existed for 141 seasons and they have never played a Game 7. Their opponent in this National League Championship Series hails from a place that became a state in 1912. The Phillies have been around since 1883.” Further in that article is the fact that the Phils are swinging – a lot. “They swung at the first pitch in 15 of their 35 plate appearances, but it’s been trending that way all series. These are the first-pitch swings game-by-game in the NLCS: 12, 10, 10, 15, 14, 15.”

For more history on Game 7…

It's the Phillies' 141st season.
Their 16th trip to the postseason.
Tomorrow they will play their first Game 7 ever.
Just 3* teams left that have never played one:
Padres
Mariners
Rockies
*Asterisk for the White Sox, who only played a Game 7 in a best-of-9 World Series in 1919.

— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) October 24, 2023

Nick Castellanos is 0-for-his-last-19 with nine punchouts.

Oh, Game 7 for the World Series will be Ranger Suarez and Brandon Pfaadt, to which I can only say, UGH.

Finally, the longest drought ever, and it is a good thing.

And with the Astros' loss, we STILL haven't seen a repeat World Series champion since the 1998-2000 Yankees

The current stretch without a repeat World Series champion is the longest repeat champion drought in the history of MLB, NBA, NFL or NHL.

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) October 24, 2023