North Dakota’s Rooting Guide For The 2023 World Series

If you have even a cursory interest in baseball, or at least the World Series, here is a guide for North Dakotan's to help decide whether to pull for the Rangers or the Diamondbacks.

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The good news is that the Dirty Cheaters Houston Astros and the Evil Empire New York Yankees are nowhere to be found in the fall classic.

The "bad news" is that there is a lack of traditional star power that will draw in more casual fans, but for those interested, we'll break things down.

Records

If you're looking to root for the underdog, neither team was a runaway favorite this season.  The Texas Rangers finished with 90 wins on the year, with the Arizona Diamondbacks close behind with 84.

However, Arizona did come in as a wildcard behind the 100-win Dodgers, who they then proceeded to take behind the woodshed in a 3-0 sweep.

Advantage: Arizona Diamondbacks

Payroll

Texas comes into this world series with the 8th overall highest payroll in the MLB. The Rangers are paying $184,000,000 this year, which equates to them paying out over $2 million for each regular-season win.

Arizona, on the other hand, are paying their roster $62,000,000 for the season.  The D-Backs are dolling out over $120 million less than the Rangers, and the team's per-win spending is well under $1 million.

Advantage: Arizona Diamondbacks

Feel-Good Story

The Texas Rangers are one of six MLB teams that have never won a World Series.  In their 52 years of being called the Rangers (previously known as the Washington Senators), they have only made it to the postseason nine times in total.  Over the last 10 seasons, they have made it three times, winning at least one series in each of those seasons (meaning they have advanced as many times in the playoffs as the Cowboys in that time span).

If you are looking to hang your hat on a feel-good story, Evan Longoria returns to the series for the first time since 2008, when he was with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Advantage: Texas Rangers

Uniforms

The Rangers have been wearing red, white, and blue since before they found a home in Texas, and while the Rangers are not alone in teams that have those colors, they may be the ones that execute it the worst.

Just a few years ago, the Diamondbacks had arguably the worst uniforms in baseball after ditching the turquoise that the likes of Randy Johnson and Louis Gonzales wore in the team's 2021 World Series. However, the team has brought back the splash of color and breathed new life into the muted desert colors to put a new spin on a classic.

Advantage: Diamondbacks

Fun Factor

Texas is full of surly veterans who have been to the October Classic previously, with a hand full of them already having their own ring.  The roster is anchored by one of the best pitching staffs, at least on paper, in the MLB. The buzz doesn't seem to reach very far outside of the Lone Star State.

Arizona is embracing chaos, plain and simple. Their roster boasts only nine players in their 30s and is filled with youthful exuberance. This team is seemingly embodying the John E. Lewis quote:

“If not us, then who?
If not now, then when?

Advantage: Arizona Diamondbacks

Final Results

Go Diamondbacks.  Game 1 starts tonight at 7 p.m. on FOX.