Rangers History: Two years ago one swing rewrote organization's misfortunes

There are moments in Texas Rangers history that get fans upset. Simply saying the name of an opposing player during the 2010s was bound to get someone going about how much heartache or pain that person brought to them.

But among the Albert Pujols', David Freese's and Jose Bautista's stand an organizational icon. Not just for his continued play but his stardom on the biggest stage, including his ninth-inning game-tying home run in Game 1 of the 2023 World Series.

That's right, we are talking about Corey Seager. Because two years ago today, Seager's one swing tied the game and changed the trajectory of heartbreak in Rangers history.

Can tie it with one swing

Six words that echo throughout Globe Life Field. Uttered from the mouth of FOX commentator Joe David right before Seager deposited a first pitch fastball high and inside from Paul Sewald deep into right field to tie the game at 5-5.

Down 5-3 heading into the ninth-inning, Seager was guaranteed to get an at-bat, he just needed Leody Taveras, Marcus Semien or both to find a way on base to get his shot. Which leads us to perhaps the most underrated plate appearance of the year, Taveras' leadoff walk.

After taking a 92 mph four-seam fastball on the outside corner for a strike, Sewald pounded the zone with four extremely close pitches all called balls. Mission accomplished, runner on base. Although Semien struck out, it didn't matter, Seager had his shot to tie it and he did.

Seager's homer changed momentum of series

Despite it only tying the game at the time and Merrill Kelly's dominance in game two to tie the series, it just felt like that home run was an ease to Rangers' fans everywhere. Texas then went in to Arizona and just dominated every facet of games 3, 4 and 5.

It flipped the script so much that even with a 9-1 loss in game 2, the Rangers went on the road (where they dominated all October long) to outscored Arizona 19-8 en route to the franchise's first World Series title.

In that series, Seager batted .286 with three home runs, six RBIs, a doubles, six runs scored and a 1.137 OPS. Those numbers and clutch moments secured Seager his second career World Series MVP Award, just the fourth player in MLB history with such a feat.

Two years later, it hasn't gone as smoothly for Texas. Two straight missed postseasons has spelled the end of Bruce Bochy's tenure with the introduction of Skip Schumacher taking over the reigns. A lot will need to be determined this offseason as the switch to cutting payroll continues but the hope still remains of being competitive and back in October baseball next fall.