October baseball is arguably the best part of the 162 game season. Fans get together to watch their favorite teams compete for the famous Commissioner’s Trophy. It’s a month filled with passion, grit and energy. As a Yankees fan, 2023 was not my team’s year, but I enjoyed watching the World Series and the energy that was brought to each game. 

The 2023 World Series trophy landed in the hands of the Texas Rangers for the first time in franchise history, but the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Cinderella story will not go unnoticed. Starting out as competitors for the wild card, the Diamondbacks were not expected to make it to the World Series, let alone win the wild card game. Watching them knock down strong teams like the Dodgers and Phillies, was exhilarating. I was rooting for the Diamondbacks, and enjoyed watching them put up a great fight against the Rangers. 

When the series was tied 1-1, it looked like both the Diamondbacks and the Rangers had an equal opportunity to win it all. Game three proved that the Rangers had the upper hand. With powerful players like Corey Seager, Adolis Garcia, and Marcus Semien silencing the Diamondbacks, the Rangers took game three. The last two games of the seven game series were the most entertaining to watch. Both games had multiple twists that I didn’t see coming, which is a beautiful factor of the three-hour game: anything can happen. 

Some moments even had me on my feet or praying the game would change in the Diamondbacks’ favor. However, Semien’s game four triple gave the Rangers a 3-0 lead. With big hits like Seager’s two-run home run, Travis Jankowski’s two-run double and Semien’s three-run home run, the Rangers continued to cross home plate. The Rangers’ bats continued to stay hot, which changed the outcome of the game. The eighth and ninth innings was where the Diamondbacks answered the call to step up, but it wasn’t enough to take game four. 

I wanted the Diamondbacks to win game five, and I had hoped that they could take the Rangers all the way to game seven. The Diamondbacks put up a great fight against the Rangers, with Zac Gallen shutting them out until the seventh inning. The Rangers would score a total of five runs, with four being scored in the ninth inning. I hoped that the Diamondbacks’ bats would come alive in the bottom of the ninth, and that they could at least tie the game. Unfortunately, they came up short. 

It was the eighty-five mile per hour curveball that resulted in the joyous huddle of the World Series champions. While I wasn’t too happy that the Rangers had won, they continuously showed up every game. The Rangers were invincible while on the road during the postseason, winning every game they played, earning the nickname, “the Road Warriors.” Every pitch, at bat, and play came down to this long awaited moment. While the trophy goes back to Texas, the countdown to the 2024 season begins, and I can’t wait to see this seven game battle in action again.