World Series 2023: How Adolis Garcian her became the ultimate postseasoo
ARLINGTON, TEXAS — They barreled out of the first-base dugout in a flash, congregating around home plate so quickly that Texas Rangers outfielder Evan Carter said they might have arrived there even before Adolis García reached first base.
It was almost as if they’d anticipated another moment like this.
After bursting onto the scene in the summer of 2021, García has spent the fall of 2023 putting together one of the most captivating postseason performances in baseball history, dazzling with his glove and his legs and, mostly, his bat. When he settled into the batter’s box in the 11th inning of the opening game of this Fall Classic on Friday night, his teammates — really, all of Globe Life Field — seemed to expect something. What followed was the first walk-off home run in Game 1 of the World Series since Kirk Gibson’s legendary drive in 1988.
This is the type of legacy García is building.
“I don’t think I ever imagined that these types of things would be happening to me,” said García, speaking in Spanish, moments after sealing the Rangers’ 6-5 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. “But I’m very grateful and happy, and I’m just going to keep giving it my best to help us win it all.”
García, 30, has homered in five consecutive playoff games, one shy of the major league record. His total for the postseason is now at eight, just two fewer than the 2020 output from Randy Arozarena, his minor league roommate and best friend. That walk-off home run was his 22nd RBI this postseason, breaking the all-time record set by David Freese, the former St. Louis Cardinals third baseman, during a 2011 run that famously left Rangers fans devastated.
“When he gets hot, it’s really hot,” Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien said of García. “Now everybody sees it.”
García almost single-handedly ended the Houston Astros’ season in the American League Championship Series, then proceeded to reach base in four of his first five plate appearances to begin the World Series. He singled in the first, drew a walk in the third, added another single in the eighth and took a 92 mph fastball to his left hand from D-backs closer Paul Sewald in the ninth, moments after Corey Seager tied the score with a 418-foot two-run homer.
García shook it off, promptly stole second base and came to bat again two innings later, with none on, one out and the score still tied. Right-handed reliever Miguel Castro fed him a steady diet of changeups, the one pitch that gave him trouble this season, but fell behind in the count 3-1. He followed with a 97 mph sinker slightly low, which García drove to the opposite field and lofted over the right-field fence, sending a sold-out Globe Life Field crowd into a frenzy.
Rangers first baseman Nathaniel Lowe doused García with a cooler of iced water as he approached home plate. In the tunnel on the way to the clubhouse, teammates repeatedly chanted his nickname — “Bombi,” originally given to García by a childhood friend who thought his head was shaped like a light bulb.
It was six years ago that García left friends and family behind in Cuba and went to Japan as a springboard to come to the United States and fulfill his dream of reaching the majors. He signed for a relatively small amount, was passed over twice — including by the Rangers. He didn’t carve out a full-time role in the big leagues until he neared the end of his 20s. But he always believed moments like these were possible.
“I think it’s all been worth it,” García said. “If I had to do it all over again, I would, because I feel so grateful for everything that has happened.”
NATHANIEL LOWE’S DAY was finished. It was March 24, 2021, eight days before the start of the Rangers’ regular season. Lowe had taken his three at-bats in a Cactus League game and he was officially off the clock.
But Adolis García continued to grab his attention.
Lowe had come to the Rangers’ organization from the Tampa Bay Rays that offseason, and he spent the weeks of spring training familiarizing himself with his new teammates. García immediately caught his eye — and mystified him. García, then 28 and headed for the Triple-A club, was stealing bases and turning in highlight-reel plays and hitting baseballs harder than anybody else. Lowe couldn’t understand why he wasn’t on the roster.
