For over a decade now, I have been obsessively gluing myself to the Major League Baseball playoffs every October. Regardless of whether my Red Sox are in it or not — and it’s been a lot of not recently — the baseball stan in me can’t stand to miss a second of the action and gets severe FOMO if he does. Obviously, it’s not possible to see every pitch of the postseason while living a normal, busy adult life — especially in the early rounds, when there can be as many as four games a day. But that doesn’t stop me from meticulously planning my schedule around the playoffs. This includes rushing home to watch games, putting off important tasks until November, and even having my parents DVR games — I sadly don’t have that feature on my TV — and going to their house so I can watch it later. The worst of this is on Halloween weekend, when it’s become an annual tradition for me to have my parents record the World Series game, go out with my friends and try as hard as I can not to see spoilers, then watch it at their house the next day. (Why in the world are Games 1 and 2 of the World Series always on Halloween weekend? Come on, Manfred!) I am aware that this is not exactly normal, mentally stable behavior, but I proudly do it anyway because I love baseball, goddammit!

Naturally, my Octobers can be a bit exhausting as I combine this whirlwind routine with a busy life, and I’m typically burned out and ready for it to be over by November. This year, however, I didn’t exactly feel that way. Part of this was due to the Texas Rangers finishing off the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 5 of the World Series — imagine reading that sentence six months ago — which left me wanting more action. It was such a beautiful, fresh matchup of Davids instead of Goliaths, everything I had ever wanted in a World Series. With both League Championship Series going the full seven games and ending in shocking fashion, I expected more of the same in the Fall Classic, but it was not meant to be. I couldn’t be too mad, however, as it was plenty satisfying to see the Rangers finish off their storybook run and win it all. The David Freese ghost of 2011 has been exorcised, and every member of that Texas team that came one strike away (twice!) can now breathe easy with the first ring in franchise history in the books.

Out of the underdogs that came out of nowhere and took the 2023 playoffs by storm, Texas was one of the most unexpected. After losing 102 games in 2021 and 94 in 2022, they had cemented themselves as AL West afterthoughts with six straight losing seasons. Sure, they had made big splashes in free agency with Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, but that had barely helped them in ‘22 and they didn’t appear to really have a plan. From an outside perspective, it seemed like the Rangers were being lazy and trying to forgo a rebuild by dishing out big money to patch over their mediocre roster with big names. Texas had spent big on bats going into ‘22, then last offseason it was time to go all-in on starting pitching as they signed free agents Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, and Andrew Heaney. This was now starting to look like some semblance of a balanced roster, but it still seemed too stars-and-scrubs to be a legit contender. Teams try to do this kind of thing in free agency all the time and fail miserably (*cough* Padres and Mets).  

But somehow, some way, it worked. The Rangers started hot, and even after elite big-money ace deGrom went down for the year in May with the dreaded Tommy John surgery, they managed to keep winning. deGrom was supposed to be the one to pick up the Rangers after years of being down, and instead they picked him up. They acquired Max Scherzer and Jordan Montgomery at the trade deadline, got humiliated in a home series by the dreaded Houston Astros, retook the division lead, then lost it in heartbreaking fashion on the season’s final day. Everyone, myself included, thought they were screwed when they had to visit Tropicana Field for the wild-card series. Instead, they embarrassed and completely outclassed the 99-win Tampa Bay Rays, then did the same to the 101-win darling Baltimore Orioles in the ALDS. This set up an epic ALCS battle with the Astros, with a chance for revenge against the team everyone outside of Houston is sick of watching every year. 

The Rangers continued being unstoppable road warrior gods in the first two games at Houston, then the Astros got to Globe Life Field and continued to do what they do in that ballpark, which is smack the ever-loving piss out of the ball. Still, things looked good for Texas when Adolis Garcia’s epic three-run homer gave them the lead to Game 5. After the drama and the famous brawl (quick take: I do feel like Bryan Abreu probably threw at Garcia, even though the situation made it very stupid to do so), Jose Altuve hit a soul-crushing three-run tank of his own in the ninth to put Houston up 3-2 in the series, and it looked like it was all over but the crying.

However, we had seen this movie before with the hated Astros in October, and amazingly the ghosts of the 2019 World Series started to worm their way in. That battle between the Astros and Washington Nationals was the first ever seven-game series to end with the road team winning every game, with Houston coming out on the losing end. The powerhouse ‘Stros have been weirdly vulnerable at Minute Maid Park in October, and this reared its head again in Game 6. Absolute playoff beast Eovaldi shut down their bats — God, I miss Nasty Nate on the Red Sox — while the Rangers hit some timely home runs, including an epic revenge grand slam by Garcia in the ninth. It was going to Game 7, and amazingly, the Rangers were set to start Scherzer — the same pitcher who started for the Nationals when they won Game 7 in 2019. Astros fans had to see this as a bad omen of what was to come.

This vision would end up being accurate, as the Rangers flat-out dominated Game 7. They stunningly jumped all over Houston starter Cristian Javier, who had been a playoff demigod himself, but was the polar opposite on this night. Seager hit a tone-setting bomb and Texas added on two more in the first to send Javier to the showers. The Rangers blew it open from there, with series MVP Garcia hitting two more dongs. Scherzer pitched into the third inning and was unspectacular in his second start coming off a month-long injury, but it didn’t matter at all. It’s wild that the Rangers did what they did with not only deGrom hurt, but with Scherzer only a shell of his normal, healthy self during the playoffs. It was a triumphant, resounding victory that reminded me of not only the Nats’ Game 7 win in ‘19, but also the Red Sox’ 10-3 Game 7 win at Yankee Stadium in 2004. Rangers 11, Astros 4, and off to the World Series they went.

If the Rangers were a World Series team that came out of left field, the Arizona Diamondbacks came from the nosebleed section, or maybe even the streets outside the ballpark  They were somehow even worse than the Rangers in 2021, losing 110 games, and were still far from contention in 2022 with 88 losses. Like Texas, they were a sexy sleeper pick to begin ‘23 and had a hot start, but faltered badly after the All-Star break. The D-backs finished strong and eked their way into the NL’s final wild-card spot, having to battle until the very end to clinch it. They upset the Brewers in Milwaukee, coming back to win both games of the NL Wild Card Series. They embarrassed the 100-win Dodgers with an 11-2 annihilation in Game 1 and a four-homer inning in Game 3 en route to an NLDS sweep. They looked dead in the water against the playoff powerhouse Phillies (an underdog story of their own, who we’ll get to later). Arizona lost the first two games in Philly in brutal fashion, seeming overwhelmed by the notoriously raucous Citizens Bank Park crowds. The Snakes bounced back at home with two dramatic wins via late-inning comeback before dropping Game 5 to fall behind 3-2. No one thought the D-backs could win the last two at the Bank, where the Phillies were undefeated in October so far. The mercurial analyst Christoper “Mad Dog” Russo claimed that he would retire if Arizona came back to win the NLCS. The Dog didn’t stay true to his word, but he was forced to eat his words. The D-backs shocked the world, shutting down the Phillies’ offense with 5-1 and 4-2 wins at the unruly Bank to punch their first Fall Classic ticket in over two decades.

For a moment, when the Astros and Phillies were both up 3-2, it looked like we’d be getting our first World Series rematch since the ‘70s. But boy, am I thankful that didn’t happen. Rangers-D-backs was the most original World Series matchup the baseball gods have dreamed up since at least 2016 and possibly ever. While both teams were sexy lowkey sleeper picks before the season, nobody genuinely expected either of them to reach the final dance, and Game 1 was an absolute classic. Texas went up 2-0 early on Arizona ace Zac Gallen, then rookie phenom Corbin Carroll sparked the Snakes to a three-run rally against Eovaldi to give them the lead. A bases-loaded walk from Gallen tied the game, then over-the-top cartoon personality Tommy Pham hit a go-ahead homer in his first-ever World Series game to reclaim the lead. NLCS MVP Ketel Marte added on with an RBI double, and with the D-backs’ lockdown bullpen, the game looked over. But then with one on and one out in the ninth, postseason icon Seager hit a prodigious blast off previously untouchable closer Paul Sewald to tie the game. We got free baseball, and in the bottom of the 11th inning, Garcia continued his magical superhero run by blasting an opposite-field drive into the right-field stands off Miguel Castro to put Game 1 in the books. It was a perfect way to start the Fall Classic, providing a bookend and some closure to Texas’ 2011 heartbreak. In Game 6 that year, the Rangers gave up a massive two-run hit in the bottom of the ninth to tie it, then lost on a walk-off homer in the 11th. In this game, Texas came back and won in nearly the exact same fashion. After this Game 1 dogfight, it looked like we were in for an absolute classic series similar to 2011, likely going the full seven games. 

It looked even more like a long series in the making when the D-backs bounced back and blew out the Rangers 9-1 in Game 2, with Merrill Kelly tossing a seven-inning gem to tie the series 1-1. Game 7 was not meant to be, however, as the Rangers won all three games in Phoenix to run their playoff road record to an unheard-of 11-0. Another Seager bomb was the difference in Game 3, backed by gutsy pitching from Scherzer and Jon Gray. Texas then exploded for 10 runs in the first three innings of Game 4, surviving a late rally from Arizona to hang on 11-7 and go up three games to one. Unlike the 2016 Golden State Warriors, the Rangers would not blow a 3-1 lead. A scoreless Game 5 pitching duel between Eovaldi and Gallen was broken open by Texas in the late innings, and before we knew what was happening, the 2023 World Series was history. It really felt like the D-backs would extend things another day, for no other reason than this series had to go the distance. Instead, it was an intriguing but ultimately unspectacular series, leaving me yearning for more. Maybe the MLB script writers will throw in more drama next year, but ultimately I can’t complain too much, as we got two LCS Game 7s and it was very satisfying to see Texas win its long-awaited first Series title. There were few teams I’d rather have seen win it all.

The Rangers and D-backs were not even the only underdog stories of this wacky postseason. Going into October, the AL Central champion Minnesota Twins had not won a playoff game since 2004 in the wake of an unfathomable 18-game postseason losing streak. People suspected it could be more of the same in their Wild Card Series against the Toronto Blue Jays, but instead Game 1 marked the end of an era. Royce Lewis smacked two dingers and Pablo Lopez dealt on the mound, carrying the Twins to a cathartic 3-1 victory in front of their home crowd. Not only did they win their first playoff game in 19 years, they went on to win their first playoff series in 21 years, taking Game 2 as well to knock off the Blue Jays and face the Astros. After a satisfying ALDS Game 2 win in Houston, it looked like the Twins had a chance to slay the giant and go on a magical run. Sadly, it was not meant to be, as the Astros won games 3 and 4 on the road to take the series. Still, Minnesota had about as memorable a run to Game 4 of the ALDS as you’ll ever see. On the other side of the bracket, the defending NL champion Phillies swept the Miami Marlins in the first round, the one wild-card series that went how it was expected to go. Not as expected was the result of their NLDS with the 104-win Atlanta Braves, an all-time juggernaut that shattered all kinds of offensive records this year. For the second straight year, the Phillies won 14 fewer regular-season games than the Braves and went on to face them in the NLDS. Philly pulled off the upset in ‘22, winning Game 1 on the road followed by 3 and 4 at home, but things were supposed to be different for this year’s Atlanta squad. Hilariously, they were not. Once again, the Phillies took the opener on the road before the Braves tied it in Game 2. This time, the Game 2 comeback win spurred some controversy. Every baseball fan worth their salt knows about the Orlando Arcia/Bryce Harper “attaboy” saga by now, but that doesn’t make it any less funny. After the Braves’ shortstop mocked the Phils’ superstar, Bryce went insano style in Game 3 and launched two balls into orbit, staring daggers through Arcia both times in the process. When the Phillies took Game 4 as well, they unbelievably eliminated the Braves for the second straight year in the exact same way, nailing the sequence of games and everything. Who knows if we’ll ever see anything like it again? It appeared the Phillies were cruising to another Fall Classic before the D-backs ripped it out from under them one win short.

The wildest thing about this postseason was the four teams that won 99 or more games in the regular season: the Braves, Orioles, Dodgers, and Rays. These teams combined to win one total playoff game and zero playoff series, while all of the final four teams remaining won 90 games or less. This points to the sheer randomness of baseball and the beautiful unpredictability that draws us in every October. Of course, lots of people complained about the new format and too many off days giving the higher-seeded teams a disadvantage. While I see where they’re coming from — long layoffs historically have been crippling in October — most people seem to agree with my stance, which is that the advantages of a bye and home-field advantage outweigh any negatives. The Astros certainly have been unaffected by any layoffs the past two years. Besides, I like it better this way. I don’t want my playoffs to be predictable, with the favorites winning every game and series. Why even play the games if it’s a foregone conclusion that say, the Braves are the best team and should win the World Series? Give me chaos all day, every day, until the end of time. Let the kids play!