6 forgotten playoff moments that won the Texas Rangers the World Series

4) Leody Taveras 9th inning walk of game 1 of the World Series

So many great moments from game one that set the tone for the rest of the series. Seager's two-run home run that tied it, Jose Leclerc's two scoreless innings in the 10th and 11th, and then Garcia's walk-off home run to win it. Yet, none of these moments happen without the at-bat by Leody Taveras.

Taveras was not good in the World Series. He finished up the five-game series 0-15. Yet, his ninth inning at-bat against Paul Sewald may one day be forgotten, but it was still vital to what happened the rest of the game. Taveras came up to lead off the ninth inning in a 5-3 game facing the Diamondbacks closer Paul Sewald. Taveras had never faced Sewald in his career. Sewald had not blown a save in the postseason. He was a perfect 6-6 for Arizona. Taveras hitting ninth just needed to get on-base for the top of the order to try and tie the game.

Taveras stepped up to the plate and Texas had a 8.7% win probability. Sewald started him off with a four-seam fastball on the very edge of the strike zone for strike one. Sewald kept attacking with the fastball and kept missing. He missed high for ball one, missed wide for ball two, was further outside for ball three, and then way outside for ball four. Taveras refused to chase and took the lead off walk. Taveras on-base allowed for Seager to be the tying run when he hit his unforgettable two-run home run to tie it. The home run, the two innings by Leclerc, and walk-off from Garcia do not mean a thing if Taveras does not start the ninth with a walk. Just great patience from Taveras to give Texas the chance to tie it in the ninth and then win it in the 11th.