Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager joined some exclusive company on Wednesday night.
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After 62 years in the major leagues — including 51 in Texas and, of course, 12 since the infamous end to the 2011 World Series — the Texas Rangers are finally champions. Star shortstop Corey Seager was awarded the World Series MVP award for his outstanding contributions to the effort, his second time winning the award after he secured the same honor back in 2020 with the Dodgers
Corey Seager is the World Series MVP. It is his second. The only others to win two World Series MVPs are Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 2, 2023
Winning the World Series MVP once is a great accomplishment, but doing it twice puts Seager in a very special club. He joins pitching legends Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson, as well as fellow slugger Reggie Jackson. Seager and Jackson are the only two on the list to earn the award on two different teams, and Seager alone has been awarded the honor once each in the American League and National League.
Seager's most memorable moment of the World Series probably came in Game 1, when he smacked a huge, two-run homer to send the game to extra innings, where Texas won on an Adolis García grand slam. He hit .286 with an OPS (on-base plus slugging) rating of 1.137 in the series, including a shortstop record three home runs. It was a great postseason overall for the Rangers star, as he hit over .300, racked up an incredible 15 walks compared to 12 strikeouts, and hit six long balls.
The question must be asked: Is it time for Seager to steal the Mr. October moniker from Jackson? They're the only members of the hyper-exclusive club of winning a World Series as a hitter, or on two different teams, but their numbers are now eerily similar. Seager has now played 78 postseason games to Jackson's 77, his 19 homers just outpace Jackson's 18, and they both have an OBP (on-base percentage) in the .350s and an OPS above .850 but below .900.
It's just about a dead heat right now; but at age 29, Seager has plenty left in the tank and will surely add to his count. After the game, he was interviewed at a table with Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz and Derek Jeter — and he already has as many World Series MVPs as everyone else at the table combined. If he manages to pull in another, or even just keeps adding to his statistical accomplishments, we might just have a new Mr. October for the next era of baseball.
