World Series Preview

After months of baseball, we’ve finally arrived at the final showdown. The World Series is finally here and the teams involved might’ve not been the ones we expected at the beginning of the year.

The National League’s Arizona Diamondbacks have run through the gauntlet for a date with the American League’s Texas Rangers.

Action is set to begin Friday, Oct. 27, but before the action gets started, let’s take a look at what each team brings to the table on the long journey to the top.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Entering the postseason with the least amount of victories among the other playoff teams, the 84-win Diamondbacks have shocked the baseball world.

After sweeping both the Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers in the first two rounds of the postseason, surely a dynamo like the Philadelphia Phillies would stop them.

Arizona fell behind the series 2-0 after two demoralizing losses in Philadelphia, but the tide changed when the home field changed. The Diamondbacks punched back and tied the series at two a piece, changing the narrative with some late-inning heroics. The snakes were alive.

The Phillies would have them on the ropes with a 6-1 win in game five, and the series would be sent back to Philadelphia with the Fightins one win away from their second consecutive World Series appearance.

But again, the Diamondbacks would not go down without a fight and would send the Phillies home for good after winning games six and seven.

With the help from NLCS MVP Ketel Marte and young guns Alek Thomas, Corbin Carroll and Brandon Pfaadt, Arizona was off to the World Series.

Texas Rangers

The Rangers had a tough hill to climb as well. They were written as the underdogs in their series against Tampa Bay, Baltimore and Houston. But Texas didn’t care, the group put together a seven-game winning streak all the way up to Game Three of the ALCS.

This is where the Astros did their usual magic. With three straight wins, Houston turned the knife and put themselves up 3-2 in the best-of-seven. This is when Adolis Garcia decided to take over the entire series.

In Games 5, 6 and 7, Garcia hit four home runs. With him performing at an extreme level, the Rangers were able to come back and beat Houston in seven games.

Garcia’s performance in the series won him the ALCS MVP and the Texas Rangers would punch their ticket to the World Series for the first time since 2011.

These two teams have fought tooth and nail to get to where they are. All the doubt went against the two clubs, but the adversity didn’t keep them down for long.

These two teams have strong offenses that can break open a game at any point. The clubs are so close to the top of the mountain, that there will be no mercy between the two organizations.

Anthony Desher is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email acd5698@psu.edu.