With nine walks in the ALDS, Corey Seager passed Barry Bonds for the most walks in a Division Series
The Rangers' slugger was walked nine times in three ALDS games against the Orioles
Move over, Barry Bonds. There's a new sheriff in town.
For more than 20 years, Bonds still held the record for walks in a Major League Baseball Division Series. The league's all-time home run leader was walked eight times during the 2003 NLDS.
On Tuesday, Corey Seager called and raised him one in Game 3 of the ALDS. When Kyle Gibson walked Seager in the fourth inning, the Texas Rangers' shortstop became the new record holder, with nine. That also set the league record for walks in a three-game span.
The major difference in how Seager reached this milestone versus Bonds is that the Baltimore Orioles intentionally walked Seager only once. The Florida Marlins, who won the World Series that year, intentionally walked the San Francisco Giants' slugger six of the eight times in their four-game series.
In Game 2, during the Rangers' 11-8 win at Camden Yards, Seager became the first player in MLB history to be walked five times in a postseason game. He reached base at least three times in each of the Rangers' wild-card wins against the Tampa Bay Rays and all three victories against the Orioles in the ALDS.
The record sell-out crowd of 40,861 fans attending the Rangers' first playoff game at Globe Life Field got into it early, thanks to Seager's 445-foot home run in the bottom of the first inning. Texas never got close to trailing after that.
“That’s what he does," Marcus Semien said of Seager after the game. "He’s done it before in the big moments. He picks his game up in the playoffs. It’ll be really fun to see what he can do as we move on.”
After defeating the Orioles 7-1 on Tuesday, Texas is back in the League Championship Series for the first time since 2011 and third time in franchise history. Baltimore was swept for the first time in 2023 and had gone 91 series — of at least two games — without being swept, dating to May 2022.
The Rangers await the winner of the Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins series to see where they'll be playing Sunday.
The Astros currently have a 2-1 series lead, and should they beat the Twins in Game 4 on Wednesday, it'll be a Lone Star affair in the ALCS. It would also be the first time the two Texas teams have ever met in the playoffs.
Before the playoffs began, the Rangers made it clear that they'd like another crack at the Astros. By losing to the Seattle Mariners on the final day of the season, Texas conceded the AL West crown to Houston and therefore had to play in the wild-card round. The Rangers responded by winning five consecutive games and outscoring the Rays and Orioles 32-12.
