A long-time coming for Texas fans
Congratulations to the 2023 Texas Rangers, who just won their first World Series title in franchise history! It was a fantastic run through MLB’s postseason – the Rangers were the fifth seed in the American League, but breezed through the first two rounds undefeated before enduring a marathon seven-game ALCS against the Houston Astros after being down three games to two.
won all 11 of its road games in the playoffs
Texas won all 11 of its road games in the playoffs, including the Game 5 clincher against the Arizona Diamondbacks in which they were no-hit through six innings.
Going into the 2023 season, the Rangers were a +5,000 longshot to win the World Series, but they aren’t the longest shot to win the Fall Classic. Today we will look at the four least likely World Series winners, based on pre-season odds. All odds provided by SportsOddsHistory.com.
1991 Minnesota Twins (+8,000)
The Twins finished in last place in the American League West the previous season, so they were clearly not expected to challenge for a championship – and keep in mind this was in the day where there were only four divisions and only the division winners made the playoffs. But they went 95-67 in 1991 and became the first team to win the World Series after finishing in last the year before. In fact, their opponent in the World Series, the Atlanta Braves, also finished in last place in 1990, making it the first World Series to feature two worst-to-first teams.
Kirby Puckett was the star of the ALCS and then outdid himself in the World Series. He famously robbed Ron Gant of a homer in Game 6 with the Twins down three games to two and then hitting a game-winning home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to send the series to a Game 7.
In 2003 ESPN, ranked the 1991 World Series between the Twins and Braves as the greatest of all time. It featured five one-run games, including three extra inning affairs. Four were decided in the final at-bat. In the deciding Game 7, the Twins’ Jack Morris threw a 10-inning, complete game shutout.
2003 Florida Marlins (+7,500)
MLB instituted the Wild Card playoff spot (now multiple spots) in 1994, which was a good thing for the 2003 Marlins, as that’s how they made it into the postseason. The team was powered by a young pitching staff featuring Dontrelle Willis, Brad Penny, and Josh Beckett, and a more veteran lineup comprised of Ivan Rodriguez, Derrek Lee, Luis Castillo, and Mike Lowell. It was also the rookie season of one of the greatest hitters of all time, Miguel Cabrera.
the last time the World Series winner scored fewer runs than the loser
The Marlins were heavy underdogs going into the World Series against the New York Yankees, but prevailed in six games. They were outscored by the Yankees, 21-17, the last time the World Series winner scored fewer runs than the loser.
Interestingly, the Marlins have the lowest winning percentage among active franchises, despite winning the World Series twice in its first decade of existence.
1987 Minnesota Twins (+5,000)
Guess nobody believed in the Twins in the late 1980s and early 1990s. And you know what? The 1987 Twins weren’t all that great. They only won 85 games, the second-fewest by a World Series champ in a non-shortened season since the schedule expanded to 162 games in 1961 (the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals won just 83 games). They were also outscored on the season 806-786, despite having three players hit 30 or more homers.
upset the Detroit Tigers, who had the best record in the majors
In the ALCS, the Twins upset the Detroit Tigers, who had the best record in the majors, 13 games better than the Twins. It was a fairly easy four games to one series, as there was only one one-run game, the game won by the Tigers.
The 1987 World Series was the first to have indoor games, as the Twins played in the Metrodome. Despite once again being the inferior team, the Twins defeated the Cardinals in seven games.
2023 Texas Rangers (+5,000)
As I wrote before the season, the Rangers were one of the non-playoff teams from last year that you should watch. Nailed it. The Rangers were awful last season, but they had some good players, hired future Hall of Fame manager Bruce Bochy, and reworked their starting rotation. There was certainly some optimism, but they were in a tough division with the Houston Astros, Seattle Mariners, and the perennial disappointing Anaheim Angels, who still had the two best players in baseball, Mike Trout and Shohei Otani.
And when new acquisition Jacob deGrom went down with an injury early in the season, some of that optimism dissipated.
Texas, though, led the AL West for most of the season behind a powerful lineup, only to drop to a Wild Card spot on the last day of the season. They led the AL in batting average, hits, runs batted in, and were second in home runs. They continued their slugging in the postseason – led by World Series MVP Corey Seager – which helped them amazingly win every road game and go on to the franchise’s first-ever World Series title.