They went and took it.
The Texas Rangers are World Series champions, securing their first championship in franchise history by shutting out the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-0 in Game 5 Wednesday night.
The win caps off an unlikely season in which the team went neck-and-neck with the defending champion Houston Astros 鈥� a team they later eliminated in the American League Championship Series to punch their ticket to the Fall Classic 鈥� and ended up with 90 wins after finishing nearly 30 games under .500 last year.
Wednesday鈥檚 win came on the road, but in Arlington, fans flocked to Globe Life Field to watch the game on the big screen inside the Rangers鈥� home park. The gathered crowd erupted with joy when the final out was called as they bore witness to history.
One of those fans was Dallas resident Jesse Vallejo, who said he鈥檚 been waiting for this moment his entire life.
鈥淭his is what baseball is,鈥� Vallejo said. 鈥淭his is community right here. It has no race, it has no political affiliation, it鈥檚 baseball. It鈥檚 the Rangers. And we did it.鈥�
Watauga resident Gloria Sanchez, 63, has been a Rangers fan for 30 years. She鈥檚 also originally from Arizona 鈥� but couldn鈥檛 bring herself to root for the Diamondbacks.
鈥淭he journey was, like, back and forth, but I have so much faith in my Rangers and I knew they would come through,鈥� she said.
On X (formerly known as Twitter) fans posted the hashtag #WentAndTookIt 鈥� a twist on the #GoAndTakeIt slogan the team embraced during their playoff run.
The Rangers even got a shout-out from the band Creed, whose song 鈥淗igher鈥� was the team鈥檚 unofficial anthem this season.
Congratulations Rangers!
— Creed (@Creed)
While fans had a lot to celebrate at the end of the game, the tone of the local watch party crowd was more muted earlier.
Both teams struggled to put runs on the board early, as Rangers pitcher Nathan Eovaldi pitched six scoreless innings and Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen carried a no-hitter into the seventh.
That鈥檚 when Texas shortstop Corey Seager slapped a single that just made it past the infield. Two batters later, Seager was driven in by a Mitch Garver single for the first run of the game.
Texas batters tacked on four more runs in the top of the ninth including a two-run homer from Marcus Semien. Pitcher Josh Sborz struck out four Arizona batters in 2 1/3 innings, and retired three straight to close out the game.
Seager, who also hit a trio of home runs across five World Series games, was selected as the series MVP. It鈥檚 the second time he鈥檚 received the honor: the shortstop was also the 2020 World Series MVP as a Los Angeles Dodger, and joins Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson 鈥� all Hall of Famers 鈥� as the only two-time World Series MVPs.
鈥淲e always felt confident in ourselves, you know, coming into the playoffs,鈥� . 鈥淲e turned the page from not winning the division and we battled, man. We battled all year, we battled all postseason and we鈥檙e finally reaping the rewards of it.鈥�
Seager also heaped praise on manager Bruce Bochy, who came out of retirement to lead the team in 2023.
鈥淲hat he鈥檚 done for this group and what he鈥檚 done for this team 鈥� it鈥檚 unbelievable,鈥� Seager said.
The matchup was initially , and some viewed both teams as underdogs this season.
It was the Rangers鈥� third time making it to the World Series 鈥� they previously made it in 2010 and 2011.
For the Diamondbacks, it was the team's second time in the World Series. They defeated the New York Yankees in 2001.
The win came without star slugger Adolis Garcia, who was injured in Game 3. Garcia had an impressive postseason with eight home runs in 15 games.
The Texas Rangers made history in more ways than one this season. With 11 consecutive wins on the road, they have in postseason history.
The city of Arlington has scheduled the World Series victory parade for Friday. It will be a welcome celebration for fans who鈥檝e been with the team even when there wasn鈥檛 much to celebrate.
鈥淚 feel like the fanbase has always been here,鈥� said 32-year-old Michael Sullivan of Rockwall. 鈥淲e鈥檙e still gonna be here, and we鈥檙e gonna be here all through the night.鈥�
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