The Texas Rangers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks Wednesday in Game 5 in Phoenix to win the team’s first World Series.
The Rangers became the 25th team to win the World Series. Now only the Seattle Mariners, Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Colorado Rockies and Tampa Bay Rays have yet to claim the championship in the 119-year history of the World Series, according to CBS Sports.
In honor of the Rangers’ victory, here are five memorable World Series moments:
1. 2004: Red Sox break ‘curse of the Bambino’
In 2004, the Boston Red Sox finally broke the 86-year curse that was widely believed to have started when the team traded Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees and believed to have kept them from World Series glory, according to MLB.com.
The Red Sox didn’t just squeak by to claim the World Series crown. They won in a commanding fashion, sweeping the 105-win St. Louis Cardinals in four games.
With the curse lifted, the Boston went on to win the World Series in 2007, 2013 and 2018.
2. 2016: Cubs win after rain delay, snapping 108-year drought
This might be an example of recency bias, but the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series in Game 7 against the Cleveland Indians — now Guardians — after a 17-minute rain delay was pretty memorable, especially since it was the team’s first World Series win in 108 years.
Prior to the delay, Rajai Davis hit a game-tying two-run home run in the eighth inning to snap the Cubs’ lead. The game ended up going into the 10th inning, which is when the delay occurred.
During the delay, the Cubs’ Jason Heyward rallied his teammates with a speech.
“We’re the best team in baseball, and we’re the best team in baseball for a reason,” he said, according to Sports Illustrated. “Now we’re going to show it. We play like the score is nothing-nothing. We’ve got to stay positive and fight for your brothers. Stick together and we’re going to win this game.”
The speech worked and the Cubs went on to win 8-7.
3. 1975: Carlton Fisk wills his home run fair
For the Red Sox, 2004 wasn’t their first shot at breaking their curse. They almost broke it in 1975, thanks to Carlton Fisk’s home run in Game 6 that forced a Game 7.
MLB.com called that home run “a moment no baseball fan will ever forget.”
The Cincinnati Reds were leading the Red Sox 6-3 by the eighth inning. Boston was able to come back and extend the game.
With the game tied at 6-6 in the 12th inning, Fisk sent the ball along the left-field line, frantically waving his arms to the right, willing it to stay fair. And it did, resulting in a Red Sox win.
Boston ultimately fell to Cincinnati in Game 7, extending the “curse of the Bambino.”
4. 1932: Babe Ruth calls his home run
The New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs were tied 4-4 in the top of the fifth inning during the 1932 World Series. With one out, Babe Ruth stepped up to the plate.
“The Cubs’ bench was riding him mercilessly. Babe would yell and gesture back,” according to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. With two balls and two strikes, Ruth gestured toward center field, which is where he ended up launching it on the next pitch.
Some fans debate whether Ruth actually called the home run, but the Great Bambino said he did, per the Hall of Fame.
5. 2001: Luis Gonzalez’s walk-off single in Game 7
This moment comes from the Diamondbacks’ first and only World Series title run 22 years ago.
The Diamondbacks had gotten off to a quick start, winning the first two games of the series. The Yankees came back to win the next three, but then Arizona tied the series up and forced Game 7, according to Bleacher Report.
Heading into the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 7, New York had a 2-1 lead. An RBI double from Tony Womack tied the game up.
With the bases loaded, Luis Gonzales hit a single to bring Jay Bell home, ending the game and clinching the World Series for Arizona, only four seasons after the club debuted.