The World Series is set to begin on Friday night.
It's the best time of the year for baseball fans, as we finally see the matchup between the best teams in both the American League and National League. Six months of baseball has finally come to a culmination of sorts.
This year, it will be the Texas Rangers and the Arizona Diamondbacks squaring off for the ultimate prize. This is a World Series that not many people saw coming at the beginning of the year. But lo and behold, here we are at the finish line with just these two teams remaining.
Here is everything you need to know about the 2023 World Series.
World Series schedule
The schedule for this year's World Series is as follows.
- Game 1: In Arlington, Friday Oct. 27
- Game 2: In Arlington, Saturday Oct. 28
- Game 3: In Arizona, Monday Oct. 30
- Game 4: In Arizona, Tuesday Oct. 31
- Game 5: In Arizona, Wednesday Nov. 1
- Game 6: In Texas, Friday Nov. 2
- Game 7: In Texas, Saturday Nov. 3
All games will begin at 8:03 p.m. Eastern Time and will air of FOX Sports, with Joe Davis, John Smoltz, and Ken Rosenthal as the commentators.
World Series teams
Now let's get into the teams that are playing this year in the Fall Classic.
We'll start with the Rangers, who rebounded from a 94-loss season in 2022 to become one of baseball's most elite squads. They added Jacob deGrom, Andrew Heaney, and Nathan Eovaldi this past offseason.
When they needed pitching reinforcements, they grabbed Aroldis Chapman, Jordan Montgomery, Chris Stratton, and Max Scherzer at the trade deadline. They already had stars such as Adolis Garcia, Jonah Heim, Marcus Semien, Corey Seager, and Nathaniel Lowe.
As for Arizona, they had Corbin Carroll, Christian Walker, Alek Thomas, and NLCS MVP Ketel Marte in their lineup. But they traded for Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and signed Evan Longoria. They boast an elite pitching staff that features Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Joe Mantiply, Kevin Ginkel, Paul Sewald, Andrew Saalfrank, and a young stud in right-hander Brandon Pfaadt.
Sewald was acquired to give them a legitimate closer at the trade deadline. They also brought in Tommy Pham to bolster their lineup. As such, they won 84 games and clinched a Wild Card on the heels of an 88-loss season in 2022.
These two teams are strong on paper, battle tested, and ready to go for what should be a truly exciting World Series.
2023 MLB Playoff Bracket
It may seem pointless to discuss the playoff bracket with just two teams remaining, but it's important to note how these two teams got here.
Arizona bounced back from a horrendous 2022 season and forced their way into postseason contention with their young roster. They were one of the last teams into the postseason, clinching the third and final Wild Card spot in the National League.
They took on the NL Central champion Milwaukee Brewers in the Wild Card Series and made quick work of them, pulling off a two-game sweep. They advanced to the NLDS for a matchup with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Arizona also made quick work of the Dodgers, sweeping their NL West rivals in three games to advance to the NLCS. But they ran into trouble when they matched up against the Phillies.
Arizona lost the first two games on the road before bouncing back to even the series, but they still returned to Philadelphia trailing 3-2. Against all odds, they won the final two games.
Texas finished tied with the Houston Astros atop the AL West, but lost the season series and were designated with a Wild Card.
As the second Wild Card team, they took care of the Tampa Bay Rays in the first round, sweeping them in two games before taking on the Baltimore Orioles.
Like the Dodgers, the Orioles didn't stand much of a chance, and the Rangers pulled off a sweep. It even looked like the Rangers were going to mirror the insane run of the 2014 Kansas City Royals after taking the first two games of the ALCS on the road against Houston.
But Houston battled back and won all three games in Arlington, pushing Texas to the brink. But the Rangers remained cool and confident and managed to win the final two games at Minute Maid Park to advance.
2023 World Series format
Ever since 1922, the World Series has been a best-of-seven format. This means that the series can go as many as seven games before a winner is determined.
The first team to win four games is the team that wins. For example, if Arizona wins four games in a row, they'll sweep the series and there will be no need for any additional games.
Once both teams have won at least one game, Game 5 becomes necessary. Game 6 becomes certain after both teams have at least two wins, with Game 7 not becoming official until after the team trailing the series three games to two wins Game 6.
The Rangers had the better regular season record, so they are the higher seed and will host the first two games. After those games are complete, the series shifts to Arizona for Games 3-5. Games 6 and 7 will be back in Texas if necessary.
