Getty Image / Richard Rodriguez
The Baltimore Orioles had an incredible run in the Regular Season and tallied up 101 wins en route to winning the AL East, the toughest division in the American League. Their dream season then came to a screeching halt in the ALDS as the Orioles got swept by the Texas Rangers whose manager, Bruce Bochy, now has a dubious historical connection to The Birds.
This really was an incredible year for the Orioles. They made the MLB Playoffs for the first time in seven long years and won the AL East out from under the Tampa Bay Rays who were the hottest team in baseball for a long time this season.
Baltimore was only 4 games over .500 last season after going 5 straight season with a losing record. It felt magical in Charm City with The Birds turning things around.
How The Baltimore Orioles Made History This Year
Then came the MLB Playoffs ALDS round. The Texas Rangers, who finished 2nd in the AL West behind Houston, had made quick work of my Tampa Bay Rays in the Wild Card round. Tampa got swept. And the Rangers kept that going.
Rangers manager Bruce Bochy’s team swept the Baltimore Orioles, 3-0, in the 5-game ALDS series. What makes this a particularly historical achievement is the Baltimore Orioles didn’t get swept in a single series during the Regular Season.
Only ONCE in MLB history prior to this had a team not been swept once in the MLB regular season and then gotten swept in the Playoffs. That team was the 1998 San Diego Padres. The manager of that team? None other than Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy who swept the Orioles.
According to MLB’s Sarah Langs, this was the 17th time a team has reached the MLB Playoffs without getting swept once in a regular season series.
The O’s were the 17th team to reach the playoffs having not been swept in any series of 2+ games during the regular season (excl 2020)
they’re the 2nd of those to be swept in a PS series, joining:
Bochy’s 1998 Padres
now, Bochy’s Rangers returned the favor
h/t @EliasSports
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) October 11, 2023
History has a funny way of repeating itself. And this is certainly a moment of catharsis for Bruch Bochy being able to pass the torch onto Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde.
After sweeping the Baltimore Orioles, Bruce Bochy now has the chance to join rarefied company. According to Sarah Langs, only two managers in MLB history have made a World Series appearance with 3 different franchises. It hasn’t happened since 1984. And Bochy is now just 4 wins away from doing it with the Texas Rangers.
Going one step further, the last time Bruce Bochy reached the World Series was in 2010 against the Texas Rangers. His San Francisco Giants beat the Rangers that year to win SF’s first-ever World Series. Now the Dallas area will hope Bochy can do it again but this time they’ll be on his side.
Bochy holds a .750 series win record as a manager in the MLB Playoffs. His teams are 15-5 in MLB Playoffs series, the best record of any manager in MLB Postseason History with a minimum of 10 series. Casey Stengel and A.J. Hinch are tied for second with 7-3 series records.