World Series 2023: Full Schedule and Players Who Will Decide MLB Championship
And then there were two.
The National League champion Arizona Diamondbacks and American League champion Texas Rangers endured grueling seven-game series, including consecutive victories on the road in elimination games, to cash their tickets to the World Series for an opportunity to hoist the Commissioner's Trophy.
The Fall Classic kicks off Friday in Arlington with some of the hottest players in the sport seeking to further establish dominance and take an early series lead for their teams.
Who are they and why do they bear watching?
Find out with this preview up the most important series of the year.
World Series Schedule
Game 1: Friday, October 27 (8:03 p.m., FOX)
Game 2: Saturday, October 28 (8:03 p.m., FOX)
Game 3: Monday, October 30 (8:03 p.m., FOX)
Game 4: Tuesday, October 31 (8:03 p.m., FOX)
Game 5: Wednesday, November 1* (8:03 p.m., FOX)
Game 6: Friday, November 3* (8:03 p.m., FOX)
Game 7: Saturday, November 4* (8:03 p.m., FOX)
* -If necessary
All times ET
Texas Rangers: Adolis Garcia
Adolis Garcia was the best player on the field during the ALCS and it there is no close second.
Arguably the most underrated player in the league during the regular season despite a previous All-Star appearance in 2021, he exploded into the national conversation with an MVP performance in the championship series, blasting three home runs in the final two games to launch his Texas Rangers squad into the World Series.
With 20 RBIs, he is one away from tying David Freese of the Angels' record, set in 2011, and is as hot as any hitter in the game right now.
Once cast aside by the St. Louis Cardinals, then designated for assignment by the very team he is leading to the Fall Classic, Garcia is one of the best stories in this World Series and a player who has earned every bit of the attention he is receiving.
How he impacts the series may not be known at this point, but any shot the Rangers have of winning the series starts with the ALCS MVP.
Also keep an eye on: Nathan Eovaldi, Nathaniel Lowe, Marcus Semien
Corbin Carroll
Corbin Carroll will be the National League Rookie of the Year following a regular season that saw him hit 25 home runs, drive in 76 runs, and establish an on-base percentage of .362 with a WAR of 5.4.
In the postseason, he was even better, with a stat line of .295/.396/.455, two home runs, six RBIs, and nine total runs.
Facing his first trip to the postseason, he performed up to the moment, and in Tuesday's Game 7 against Philadelphia, he became just the second player ever to record three hits and two stolen bases.
He has been the star the Diamondbacks needed to gain national recognition and the player they need to help propel them into the upper echelon of baseball's elite.
There will be opportunities to replicate his numbers in the series against the Rangers, whose rotation beyond Nathan Eovaldi, and bullpen as a whole, can be rather suspect.
Also keep an eye on: Ketel Marte, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Zac Gallen, Alek Thomas