Could the Texas Rangers win the 2023 World Series coming off a losing 2022?

Most experts won’t pick the Texas Rangers to win the 2023 World Series when they make their preseason predictions. Despite the hiring of three-time World Series champion manager Bruce Bochy and the expectation that Texas will invest significant money in free agency for the second offseason in a row, the Rangers still have a long way to go before the rest of the league takes them seriously as a contender.

However, we’ve seen multiple teams in the past several years respond to a losing season with a World Series championship in the following year. In fact, since the playoffs expanded in 1995, five teams have won a championship after finishing with a record below .500 the year before. In this article we’ll take a look at who these five teams are and consider how the Rangers might bear similarities to each one.

How would the 2023 Texas Rangers stack up to past cinderella story World Series winners?

The 1997 Florida Marlins

1996 Record – 80-82, 3rd in NL East

1997 Record – 92-70, NL Wild Card

What changed? The Marlins signed Bobby Bonilla to a four-year deal after the 1996 season. Bonilla was coming off a 114 OPS+ season and a championship series appearance with the Baltimore Orioles. They also traded for Cliff Floyd, but he didn’t truly break out until the 1998 season.

How did they get there? After winning the NL Wild Card, the Marlins swept the Giants in the NLDS before besting the Braves in six games in the NLCS. The Marlins had home field advantage in the World Series and won in seven games. Livan Hernandez was named the MVP of both the NLCS and the World Series.

What could they have in common with the Texas Rangers? The Marlins had three managers during the 1996 season. After the season ended, they hired Jim Leyland, who had spent the past eleven seasons managing the Pittsburgh Pirates. During that time, Leyland won two Manager of the Year awards and finished as the runner-up two other times.

Leyland’s presence impacted the team in more ways than one. Bobby Bonilla said himself that he signed with Florida because Jim Leyland was their new manager. Could Bruce Bochy have a similar effect on the Rangers?

The 2002 Anaheim Angels

2001 Record – 75-87, 3rd in AL West

2002. Record – 99-63, AL Wild Card

What changed? The Angels only made one major signing during the 2001 offseason, inking two-time All-Star Aaron Sele to a three-year, $24 million contract. His first season in Anaheim was somewhat disappointing. He finished the season with a 4.89 ERA in 160 IP (91 ERA+).

How did they get there? The Angels beat the Yankees in four games in the ALDS before defeating the Twins in five games in the ALCS. Their World Series matchup against the San Francisco Giants went seven games, but the Angels emerged victorious. Troy Glaus won the World Series MVP thanks to a .385 average and three home runs in 30 plate appearances.

What could they have in common with the Texas Rangers? The Angels had to compete with two juggernauts at the top of their division. They couldn’t even win the West after a 99-win season thanks to Oakland’s 103-win finish that featured a 20-game midseason winning streak. If that wasn’t enough, the Seattle Mariners won 93 games in 2002 after setting the MLB record for regular season wins with 116 in 2001 (we won’t talk about how the Rangers finished in ’01 or ’02).

The AL West is currently loaded, with the dreaded Astros heading to their fourth World Series in six years and the Mariners’ competitive window seemingly wide open. The 2002 Angels are proof that there’s still room for a third contender to emerge, and Rangers fans hope for a similar outcome in 2023.

The 2003 Florida Marlins

2002 Record – 79-83, 4th in NL East

2003 Record – 91-71, NL Wild Card

What changed? The Marlins were active in the 2002 offseason. Many Rangers fans remember the day when Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez agreed to a deal to leave the Rangers and join the Marlins. They also signed Todd Hollandsworth and traded for Juan Pierre.

How did they get there? Once again, the Marlins beat the San Francisco Giants in the NLDS. This time, it took them four games. From there, they went on to defeat the Cubs in seven games in the NLCS before shocking the Yankees in six games in the World Series. Josh Beckett won the World Series MVP after only allowing two runs in 16 innings of work.

What could they have in common with the Texas Rangers? The Marlins received significant contributions from top prospects during their 2003 run. Miguel Cabrera made his Major League debut on June 20th, hitting a walk-off home run in his first career game. He finished fifth in the NL Rookie of the Year voting. His teammate, Dontrelle Willis, ultimately took home the award. Willis made his first career start on May 9th and finished the season with a 14-6 record and a 3.30 ERA.

The Rangers’ farm system is currently loaded, and there’s a chance that multiple top prospects could have a significant impact on the 2023 team. We already saw Josh Jung make his major league debut last September. Jack Leiter, Owen White, and Justin Foscue are also be knocking on the door.

The 2013 Boston Red Sox

2012 Record – 69-93, 5th in AL East

2013 Record – 97-65, 1st in AL East

What changed? The Red Sox began their offseason by firing Bobby Valentine and hiring John Farrell as their new manager. Their most significant player acquisition was signing Shane Victorino to a three year, $39 million dollar deal. They inked Mike Napoli for three years, but later ratified the deal to a one-year agreement after a physical revealed that Napoli had a hip problem. They also signed Stephen Drew, David Ross, Koji Uehara, and Johnny Gomes before the new season began.

How did they get there? The Sox marched to the World Series by defeating the Tampa Bay Rays in four games in the ALDS and besting the Detroit Tigers in six games in the ALCS. They took down the St. Louis Cardinals in six games in the World Series to claim their third World Series title in ten years.

What could they have in common with the Texas Rangers? The 2013 Boston Red Sox are an important team on this list because they made the largest single-season improvement of any World Series winner since the Wild Card Era began. In 2012, the Red Sox only won 69 games and finished in last place in the American League East. They stormed back in 2013 to win 28 more games than the season prior, finishing with a 97-65 record and winning the American League East.

However, their pythagorean win-loss record of 74-88 in 2012 hints at the possibility that the team was actually better than what their record indicated. The 2022 Rangers can relate. According to their phtyWL, they should have won nine more games in 2022. A major issue was the team’s 15-35 record in one-run games. If the Rangers could simply go .500 in one-run games in 2023, it’s easy to see how they could make significant improvements just like the Sox did in 2013.