Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. Waking up to freezing temperatures this morning really drove home the fact that baseball season is over.
In today’s SI:AM:
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For the first time, the Rangers are world champions.
Texas beat the Diamondbacks in Game 5 last night, 5–0, to clinch its first World Series. Arizona ace Zac Gallen was brilliant, taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning, but Texas starter Nathan Eovaldi was just as good, and the Rangers’ hitters came alive late in the game to put the series away.
Gallen’s no-hitter was broken up in the top of the seventh when Corey Seager poked a single down the third base line. It was fitting that Seager, who powered the Texas offense throughout the series with three home runs, was the one to break the dam. He was named MVP of the series, becoming just the second position player (and fourth overall) to win two World Series MVPs.
Seager’s single sparked a Rangers rally. The next batter, Evan Carter, hit a double, and Mitch Garver grounded a single up the middle to plate Seager and chase Gallen. (Watch all three clutch hits here.) The Rangers added four more insurance runs in the ninth off closer Paul Sewald, including a no-doubt homer by Marcus Semien. Sewald hung his head immediately after Semien made contact. He knew it was gone, and the series was over.
The fact that Seager, Semien and Eovaldi were the ones who played the biggest role in the clinching victory is fitting. After an abysmal 60–102 season in 2021, the Rangers didn’t decide to sink further into the abyss and tank to hoard assets. They went out and spent—a lot. Over the past two offseasons, they’ve spent $889.9 million on free agents.
The express rebuild began by signing Seager (10 years, $325 million) and Semien (seven years, $175 million) before last season. Texas’s payroll went from being 22nd highest in ’21 to 14th highest in ’22, but the increased investment did not result in an immediate reversal of fortunes. The Rangers went 68–94 last season, their sixth straight losing season. So what did they do? Decide the spending spree was ill-advised and dial it back? No, they went out and made another headline acquisition, signing Jacob deGrom for five years and $185 million. While deGrom made only six starts before going down with a season-ending injury, the decision to pursue another top-level free agent shows how aggressive the Rangers were willing to be in their pursuit of a championship.
Teams just aren’t built like that anymore. Front offices would prefer to trade their veterans to stockpile prospects and lose games to earn better draft picks, waiting years for those prospects and picks to reach the majors as cost-controlled young players. Last year’s champions, the Astros had only two players signed as free agents with a salary of at least $10 million. The 2021 Braves had four, none of which made more than $15 million. The ’20 Dodgers had four, the ’19 Nationals had three and the ’18 Dodgers had two. This year’s Rangers had seven such players.
The Rangers showed that there is more than one way to build a winning team in today’s game. If owners are willing to open up their checkbooks, it can pay off in raising banners.
Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated
… things I saw last night:
5. LeBron James’s big dunk after losing his shoe.
4. Cade Cunningham’s windmill dunk off a nice assist by Ausar Thompson.
3. Troy Terry’s perfect wrist shot.
2. The on-field view of the Rangers celebrating after the final out.
1. The wild ending to Warriors-Kings, capped by Klay Thompson’s step-back game-winner.
Steve Carlton won the first of his four Cy Young Awards on this day in 1972 after winning an MLB-leading 27 games. How many games did Carlton’s Phillies win that season?
Yesterday’s SIQ: On Nov. 1, 1959, which NHL team’s goalie became the first to wear a mask on his face during a game?
Answer: Canadiens. In the first period of a game against the Rangers, Jacques Plante was hit in the face by a shot from New York’s Andy Bathgate. The puck opened up a gash from Plante’s mouth to his nose. According to Hall of Fame Montreal Star writer Red Fisher, the cut was pretty nasty.
“When I went into the room [where Plante was being patched up], there he was in front of the mirror running his fingers over and spreading the cuts,” Fisher recalled in a 2008 interview with the CBC. “He said to me, ‘Pretty ugly, isn’t it?’ And I responded, ‘Well, you have a good scar, Jacques.’”
Plante had the cut stitched closed and wanted to return to the ice, but he couldn’t risk taking another puck to the face and suffering more damage. So Plante retrieved a mask that he had been wearing in practices and wore it when he returned to the ice later in the game.
Plante had been experimenting with various masks for years (a 2019 NHL.com article has photos of some prototypes) but had never before worn one in a game. Old-school hockey types had scoffed at the idea of goalies wearing masks, believing the protection could negatively impact their vision. But Plante continued to be one of the league’s best goalies after he began wearing the mask, helping to popularize its usage.
