The stage for the Fall Classic is now set. For the first time since 2016, it will not feature either of the evil-empire powerhouses (the Houston Astros and the L.A. Dodgers).
In what was an exhilarating week of playoff baseball, both the No. 5 seed Texas Rangers and the No. 6 seed Arizona Diamondbacks came back from the brink of elimination to thwart campaigns by the reigning champs of their respective leagues to return to the World Series.
On Saturday night, things looked bleak for the underdogs. The Diamondbacks turned in a dismal showing against the Phillies, and the Rangers were reeling from a stinging defeat at the hands of the Astros’ postseason legend José Altuve, who had hit a three-run shot in the ninth inning to flip the scoreboard. It looked likely that we would see a rematch of the 2022 World Series between the Astros and the Phillies.
In fact, sports commentator Chris Russo was so confident that the Diamondbacks were down and out that he pledged to retire “on the spot” if they proved him wrong.
I stand by my promise! https://t.co/Yr9JpgXVnL pic.twitter.com/wAYeZihmuA
— Chris Mad Dog Russo (@MadDogUnleashed) October 24, 2023
Instead, both teams rallied to win the final two games of their league-championship series (LCS): the Rangers in dominant fashion (winning 9–2 and 11-4 respectively), and the D-backs handily (5–1 and 4–2). The Rangers are now set to pursue their first-ever World Series title, while the Diamondbacks are making just their second-ever appearance in the Fall Classic. While both teams had their mettle tested in the LCS, both had sailed through the first two rounds without a single loss. The Rangers dispatched the Tampa Bay Rays (with their impressive 13–0 start to the 2023 season) and the 101-win Baltimore Orioles, while the Diamondbacks soundly defeated the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Both of the latter teams were thought to be major players for the title.
That’s the beautiful thing about baseball: Anything can happen at any time. The most unlikely hitters have the chance to play the hero, and the most unlikely teams have the chance to stun the favorites at any time. And thanks to the new playoff format, there are more opportunities for that to happen.
The 2023 World Series will mark the first time ever that a 5-seed and a 6-seed will face off in the championship — something that was impossible before the 2022 playoff expansion that broadened the field from ten to twelve teams. Although this was, and remains, a controversial change, a larger playoff field has yielded not just more playoff baseball (a big win already), but also dramatically more meaningful games down the stretch of the regular season. More postseason spots means more teams in contention later into the year and a more-exciting season on the whole.
Admittedly, opponents of the new format have legitimate concerns about whether including more teams diminishes the importance of regular-season performance. But the new format’s provision for the top two teams by record to receive a bye into the second round is a good compromise. Interestingly, some teams complained this year that they felt the bye gave them too much rest and that their teams had lost all momentum by the time they actually got to play. But when push comes to shove, you’d be hard-pressed to find an MLB manager who would chose an extra three-game series over a free pass to the second round given the choice.
Much like the new MLB rules (which have driven a massive increase in TV viewers and a notable increase in game attendance), the new playoffs increase fan engagement as more different fanbases can watch exciting postseason baseball. That can only be a good thing.