Current:Home > InvestCorey Seager earns second World Series MVP, joining Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Corey Seager earns second World Series MVP, joining Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson
View Date:2025-01-11 01:09:44
PHOENIX (AP) — Corey Seager etched his name alongside three Hall of Famers, hitting 1,270 feet of home runs and getting a breakthrough single that lifted the Texas Rangers to their first World Series title.
Seager joined Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson as the only two-time World Series Most Valuable Players with his trio of two-run homers against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
His flair to punctuate the postseason with big hits has become as much a constant as his restrained on-field demeanor — one that broke briefly after his tying homer late in Game 1.
Exactly what Texas hoped for when it offered him $325 million to sign ahead of the 2022 season.
Seager ended Zac Gallen’s no-hit bid with a single through a hole in a shifted infield leading off the seventh inning and scored his team’s first run on Mitch Garver’s single as the Rangers won 5-0 to take the World Series in five games.
He has so tormented the Diamondbacks that manager Torey Lovullo wanted to drive the All-Star shortstop from the opposing dugout when Seager played for the division rival Los Angeles Dodgers.
“I actually sent Seager a limousine to take him to the airport and bring him to Texas when I heard he was going. I wanted him out of the NL West so bad,” Lovullo said Wednesday afternoon.
Really?
“No, of course not,” Lovullo said to laughter. “But I was thinking about it.”
Three years after earning World Series MVP for helping the Dodgers beat Tampa Bay, Seager boosted the Rangers to the first championship in the team’s 63 seasons. He had six RBIs against Arizona, finishing his postseason with a .318 average, six doubles, six homers, 15 walks and 12 RBIs in 17 games.
His career is in Mr. October territory: Seager has 19 homers and 48 RBIs in 78 postseason games, while Jacksom had 18 homers and 48 RBIs in 78 games.
“Obviously that’s pretty special to be compared to a guy like that,” Seager said.
Seager sent Paul Sewald’s first-pitch fastball 418 feet into the the right-field seats to tie Friday’s opener in the ninth inning, and Texas went on to win 6-5 on Adolis García’s 11th-inning homer. Seager hit Brandon Pfaadt’s first-pitch changeup 421 feet to right to build a three-run, third-inning lead in Game 3 Monday, and followed with a 431-foot drive to center on a 1-0 Kyle Nelson slider that boosted the Diamondbacks ahead 5-0 in the second inning of Game 4 Tuesday.
“We threw a gutter ball, basically, down the middle,” said Lovullo, who elected not to intentionally walk Seager. “I’ve got to be better at making that decision.”
Seager’s Game 3 drive left the bat at 114.5 mph, the hardest-hit World Series homer since Statcast started tracking in 2015. Seager also made a sliding stop at short and a backhand flip to Semien for a key double play in the eighth inning of Game 3.
“I wish I could do the things he can do,” second baseman Marcus Semien said. “I’m in the cage. I’m on the field. I’m doing all this stuff just to be ready to compete. Corey, he gets his position right, and he sees the ball right, and his swing is on point, watch out. And when the playoffs start, it’s to another level.”
A four-time All-Star at age 29, is publicly undemonstrative. Not so in the confines of the clubhouse.
“Just a solid person that plays the game right, and that’s playing to win. That’s the only thing on his mind, doing whatever it takes to win that ballgame,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “He wants everybody to play the same way, too. And he’ll say something if that’s not the case.”
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
veryGood! (32)
Related
- RHOBH's Kyle Richards Shares Reaction to BFF Teddi Mellencamp's Divorce
- Arkansas woman pleads guilty to bomb threat against Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders
- Tennis Player Yulia Putintseva Apologizes for Behavior Towards Ball Girl at US Open Amid Criticism
- US Open: No. 1 Jannik Sinner gets past Tommy Paul to set up a quarterfinal against Daniil Medvedev
- Veterans Day restaurant deals 2024: More than 80 discounts, including free meals
- Mongolia ignores an international warrant for Putin’s arrest, giving him a red-carpet welcome
- Alabama sets mid-October execution date for man who killed 5 in ax and gun attack
- Nation's largest Black Protestant denomination faces high-stakes presidential vote
- These Michael Kors’ Designer Handbags Are All Under $150 With an Extra 22% off for Singles’ Day
- Why quercetin is good for you and how to get it in your diet
Ranking
- Social media star squirrel euthanized after being taken from home tests negative for rabies
- Police say 4 people fatally shot on Chicago-area subway train
- Can dogs eat watermelon? Ways to feed your pup fruit safely.
- Russian missile strike kills 41 people and wounds 180 in Ukrainian city of Poltava, Zelenskyy says
- Gerry Faust, former Notre Dame football coach, dies at 89
- The 33 most anticipated movies of the Fall
- Is your monthly Social Security benefit higher or lower than the average retiree's?
- Body of missing Myrtle Beach woman found under firepit; South Carolina man charged: Police
Recommendation
-
Parts of Southern California under quarantine over oriental fruit fly infestation
-
How many points did Caitlin Clark score today? Rookie sparks Indiana Fever's comeback win
-
Gun shops that sold weapons trafficked into Washington, DC, sued by nation’s capital and Maryland
-
Mistrial declared after jury deadlocks in rape case of former New Hampshire youth center worker
-
Oregon's Dan Lanning, Indiana's Curt Cignetti pocket big bonuses after Week 11 wins
-
Missouri officer dies after crashing into a tree during high speed chase
-
Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze Jr. share sweet photo for wedding anniversary
-
Steelers' Arthur Smith starts new NFL chapter with shot at redemption – and revenge