Corey Seager shows value of Texas Rangers' belief in him

In his MLB Insider, Denver Gazette beat writer Luke Zahlmann takes you around the Rockies and MLB:

Why did the Dodgers let you go?

That question came from a reporter after the Texas Rangers, and newly minted World Series Most Valuable Player Corey Seager, claimed a title in five games over Arizona.

Seager brushed the question off after letting it hang in the air and continued without an answer. And really, it could have been said simply: Los Angeles moving on from a homegrown shortstop who had already delivered the organization a title as a World Series MVP has not aged well. 

The first player to ever win the World Series MVP in both leagues showed how valuable he was for the Rangers, and why they were so keen on making him the face of their abbreviated rebuild — even if he does not claim the moniker of leader.

"It truly is incredible,” Seager said to The Athletic's Evan Drellich after the Game 5 win. “But it’s not just me, man. What this team did and how we competed and all the guys in there rallying, we don’t really have one leader. That whole clubhouse is the leadership."

Marcus Semien could be counted among the team's leaders. He played in all 179 games for the Rangers and set the record for single-season plate appearances (835). Nathan Eovaldi could be too after he became the fourth pitcher in major league history to collect five wins in a postseason.

But Seager is different, and he proved it before signing a 10-year, $325 million contract with the Rangers before last season.

Across 18 games during the Dodgers' 2020 World Series run, Seager hit .328 and drove in 20 runs, thanks in part to his eight home runs. On a team that featured Mookie Betts, Clayton Kershaw, Justin Turner and others, the then-26-year-old shortstop shined brightest.

He was asked after the game what led to the Ranger's success, and he could barely muster an answer before giving credit to the team's card games. As bashful as he can be, four-time champion skipper Bruce Bochy is not.

"I don’t know what else to say about the man. He’s just incredible,” Bochy told AP after Game 5. "You appreciate him even more when you get to see him on a daily basis how good this man is, how committed he is to winning."

The stats back up the commitment.

Seager hit four home runs in the Rangers' final six playoff games and hit three, two-run bombs in the World Series to help upend the Diamondbacks. His first of the three tied Game 1 in the ninth inning before Adolis García walked it off with his long ball in the 11th.

The latter two set the tone, rather than flipping the script. Each came in the first three innings and helped a Rangers' pitching staff that did not need much.

Markets will also take notice of Seager’s deal and subsequent success.

The New York Mets spent big before the year. The San Diego Padres did too as the National League’s arms race became a duel between two teams to collect talent like Scherzer, Juan Soto, Xander Bogaerts and Francisco Lindor. Between the two clubs, they spent a combined $600 million in payroll for 2023. New reports have emerged about San Diego needing a $50 million loan just to cover the costs.

New developments are proving that it is not the amount of players you can spend money on, or how big the name is, but rather the type of player.

Semien was a cast-off from an Oakland organization that has featured plenty with its cost-cutting ways. Jordan Montgomery was arguably the team’s top deadline acquisition, and he has been thrown aside by the Yankees and Cardinals in recent years — the former citing his inability to be a postseason pitcher as a reason for his dismissal.

Seager was the captain of the cast-offs and showed how powerful it can be.

The Dodgers drafted Seager 18th overall in the 2012 draft. They stuck with him through arbitration until his big-money deal was due, and discarded him after he led the organization to its first World Series title since 1988.

Los Angeles, with the savings from letting Seager walk, spent on Freddie Freeman and Betts instead. In each of the last three seasons, the organization has not made it past the championship series and watched as the two high-priced stars went a combined 1-for-21 in the Division Series this year.

Rumors are already circling that the Dodgers’ latest target could be two-way star Shohei Ohtani. They could find out if he is the right guy to lead them back to a title. 

The Rangers found their targets, signed them and have enjoyed the fruits of their patient pocketbook ever since.

“It’s changed forever,” general manager Michael Young told reporters after the game. “They’ve got one now. It’s done. It’s going to go up in the ballpark, and it’ll never come down. It’s massive. It’s a big sports town and to finally have their baseball championship, to actually sit back and celebrate — what an amazing feeling.”

What I'm hearing

-- The last name "Bochy" is synonymous with baseball success.

He led the San Francisco Giants to three World Series wins in five years before his departure in 2019 — the Rangers are glad the off-time ended for them. He took the Texas managerial job after three years away and led it to its first title in franchise history.

Bochy became one of just five managers to collect four World Series titles, and also one of five to win one with multiple franchises. As if it could not get sweeter, he delivered the first for the Rangers and ended a drought that spanned back to 1961 — the longest active streak in the league.

"This is like the first one... when I was in San Francisco, the city had never won a championship,” Bochy said on Fox’s postgame show. “That was really special. Now to write history here in Texas and win one, it doesn't get old."

-- Nelson Cruz hit 464 home runs in his 19-season career that came to a close Thursday. The figure puts him 37th in MLB history for the time being, just four behind Hall of Fame third baseman Chipper Jones. 

He announced on Adam Jones' podcast that he would be retiring after spending his final season in San Diego. The Padres were one of the eight teams he played for as a seven-time All-Star and 2011 ALCS MVP. 

The Dominican Republic native hinted at a desire to play a final season in his home country, though, so the 'Boomstick' may not be done yet on the diamond, just on American soil. 

What I'm seeing

-- Jon Gray showed the world what Coors Field had been hiding for so long.

His four-year, $56 million deal with Texas before the 2022 season is one of the smallest the club has dished out in recent years. The under-the-radar signing paid off in the postseason, especially with the losses of Jacob deGrom earlier in the year and Max Scherzer during the World Series.

Gray only threw 5⅔ innings for the Rangers but allowed just one earned run in that span and struck out eight. In Game 3, he earned a World Series win in relief of Scherzer who exited after three innings.

“It’s such a long, hard-fought journey,” Gray told MLB Network after the Game 5 win.

He was remarking on the Rangers’ heartbreaks that led to the eventual title. They lost back-to-back years in the World Series in 2010 and 2011. From 1961 to 1996, the organization did not appear in the postseason.

For Gray, years of being battered with losses in Colorado paid off with his biggest win yet.

“Better late than never.”

-- Betting markets did not take long to crown a new World Series favorite for next year.

According to BetMGM, the Atlanta Braves are +650 favorites to win the title next year ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers (+800), Houston Astros (+900) and defending champion Rangers (+1000). The odds came three weeks after the Braves once again fell prey to the Philadelphia Phillies in the Division Series.

They have gone back-to-back years with 100-plus regular-season wins and an early elimination in the postseason — a fact that has even started a dialogue about changing the postseason format again.

The past two seasons of the new format with an added team have shown how much a hot streak can pay off. Putting money on a lower seed with big bats may be the strategy moving forward. It sure worked for the Rangers.

Minor League Minute

-- Benny Montgomery made Baseball America headlines this week as one of the sport’s most-improved players at the plate.

The Rockies’ No. 8-ranked prospect reached High-A Spokane this year after being drafted in the first round of the 2021 draft. His refinement at the plate is what earned him recognition, though.

Montgomery upped his walks from 21 last year to 52 in 2023 across 109 games with the Indians. In turn, he was also able to steal 18 bases and score 62 runs with the added time on the base paths. Before long, it may just help his power too.

MLB.com’s Thomas Harding wrote about the changes in Montgomery’s diet that have led to increased size and strength. As a player drafted out of high school, he did not benefit from the nutrition and lifting programs of a university before entering the minors.

Learning to cook may help him heat up at the plate, and the Rockies could also use a boost of talent.

“I learned how to cook my own meals, making steaks on the grill, so it’s easier to maintain weight when you are eating well,” Montgomery told Harding of his 10-pound weight gain.