ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - The 2023 World Series is officially set as the surprising Arizona Diamondbacks will look to cap off their magical Cinderella run against the Texas Rangers.
The Diamondbacks will make their second World Series trip in franchise history while the Rangers return for the first time since 2011, eager to rip the monkey of their back, finally ready to end their long suffering and to move on from being haunted by David Freese.
The 2023 World Series will obviously not feature St. Louis Cardinals, but the Cardinals presence still embodies this series with both rosters featuring plenty of players and coaches with Cardinals and St. Louis ties.
Here are all the players and coaches on both staffs and rosters who have ties to the Gateway City.
ADOLIS GARCIA, OF Texas Rangers
Garcia was originally signed by the Cardinals in Feb. 2017. During his time with the Cardinals he would spend most of it in Springfield and Memphis, where posted solid numbers.
Garcia did play in the majors for the Cardinals for a short 21-game stint in 2018, where he only collected two hits, and a RBI during his short stint with the team.
Garcia was then traded away to the Rangers in 2019 for cash considerations, but he originally didn't make an impact for the Rangers, being buried in the team's minor league pipeline, and most famously being designated for assignment (DFA) in 2021 and all 29 other teams passing on him.
And the rest is history. Garcia would go on to fight and work his way to the Texas Rangers, becoming a full-time player on the team in 2021, where he would hit 31 home runs, get nominated to the 2021 All-Star Game and finishing fourth in AL Rookie of the Year voting in his first-full season with the Rangers.
In three full seasons with the Rangers, Garcia has hit a .245/.304/.471 slash line with 97 home runs and 299 RBIs during the regular season, also racking another All-Star appearance in 2023.
Garcia would became an instant imapct for the team in October, hitting .327/.352/.750 slash line with seven home runs and 20 RBIs this postseason. Garcia's 15 RBIs in the ALCS against Rangers rivals Houston Astros would be the most RBIs in a postseason series ever.
Garcia's 2023 ALCS performance would earn him ALCS MVP, a performance very reminiscent of Tampa Bay Rays outfielder and another former Cardinals Randy Arozarena in the 2020 ALCS.
JORDAN MONTGOMERY, SP, Texas Rangers
Montgomery joined the Cardinals in the summer of 2022, being acquired from the New York Yankees in a swap for centerfielder Harrison Bader. In the 12 months Montgomery was with the Cardinals, he was instant money.
In the short 32-start stint he had in St. Louis, Montgomery's earned run average (ERA) of 3.31 and fielding independent pitching (FIP) of 3.50 was some of the best in the National League, with only six pitchers having better ERAs and seven pitchers having better FIPs than Montgomery in that stretch, according to FanGraphs.
Montgomery ERA and FIP were better than the likes of Phillies starters Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola, Cubs starter Marcus Stroman and Brewers starter Corbin Burnes.
Montgomery was traded alongside relief pitcher Chris Stratton in a deal with the Rangers for three players, and he kept the boat moving for the Rangers, posting a 2.79 ERA in 11 regular season starts and has been by far their best pitcher in October, posting a 2.16 ERA in 25 innings pitched.
Montgomery will likely be the Game 2 starter for the Rangers on Saturday.
CHRIS STRATTON, RP, Texas Rangers
Like Montgomery, Stratton was acquired in the summer of 2022 by the Cardinals, but instead from the Pittsburgh Pirates in a deal that included bringing in starter Jose Quintana.
Stratton was quietly quite effective for the team. While a 3.77 ERA in 76 innings for the club doesn't look anything good at first, Stratton 2.96 FIP suggested he was more effective than he looked.
Stratton, alongside Montgomery was traded to the Texas Rangers for three players, and he hasn't made an impact like Montgomery has, but he quietly been solid, posting a 3.41 ERA in 29 innings out the pen for the Rangers.
Stratton has not been used alot upon by Rangers manager Bruce Bochy in the postseason, only seeing 2.2 innings this postseason, most of it when the Rangers were trailing.
Stratton appearances in the World Series will likely hinge on the situation, but likely will only come in to eat innings and help give relief pitchers Josh Sborz, Aroldis Chapman and Jose LeClerc some rest if the games get out of hand.
BRAD MILLER, DH, Texas Rangers
Brad Miller played for the Cardinals in 2020, where he mostly served in a Designated Hitter Role with the team. In Miller short 49 games appearance with the team, Miller was surprisingly one of the Cardinals best hitters during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, hitting a slash line of .232/.357/.451 with eight home runs and 25 RBIs.
Miller OPS of .807 only trailed Cardinals 1B Paul Goldschmidt during his time with the Cardinals.
Miller would not return to the team, moving on to a stop with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2021 before making way with the Rangers, where he has been for the last two seasons.
Miller has not played a game for the Rangers since Aug. 1 and he was placed on the 60-day IL on Sept. 8 with a strained left hamstring.
In hindsight, Miller injury might have been a blessing in disguise, as the corresponding move was the Rangers calling up top prospect Evan Carter, who has been an sensation for the team and rejuvenated the offense. In a way, Miller has still made an impact to the now AL Champion.
MIKE MADDUX, Pitching Coach, Texas Rangers
Maddux returned back to the Texas Rangers in 2023 after serving as the pitching coach for the Cardinals for five seasons. During Maddux's time with the Cardinals, the team posted the sixth best ERA in baseball during his five years with the team, but team's FIP of 4.16 and fWAR of 60 were right in the middle of the pack.
Maddux left the Cardinals in 2022 and returned back to Arlington, where he originally served as the team's pitching coach from 2009-2015. In Maddux's return to Arlington, the Rangers starting pitchers went from 25th in ERA and 26th in fWAR to a respectable seventh in ERA and 11th in FIP and seventh in fWAR.
DONNIE ECKER, Bench Coach, Texas Rangers
Ecker currently serves as the bench coach for the Rangers, but before that, he started his coaching career in the Cardinals system in 2015.
Ecker would serve a variety of roles in the system, originally as a player development coach for three seasons, then becoming a hitting coach for Palm Beach and Peoria in 2016 and 2017.
During his time with the Cardinals he worked alongside some notable players like Oscar Mercado, Edmundo Sosa, Juan Yepez, Dylan Carlson and Tommy Edman.
Ecker would leave the organization to serve as a hitting coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers Triple-A affililiate.
Ecker would make his major league coaching debut with the Cincinnati Reds in 2019, then followed that up with a stop with the San Francisco Giants for two years before joining the Texas Rangers in 2022, originally as a member of then-manager Chris Woodward's staff.
MAX SCHERZER, SP, TEXAS RANGERS
Scherzer obviously never pitched for the Cardinals, but the St. Louis-native, Mizzou and Lafayette High School grad will pitch in his third World Series of his career.
Scherzer started the 2023 season with the New York Mets, but underperformance led to the Mets initiating a sell-off, with the team trading away both Scherzer and Justin Verlander at the deadline. Scherzer was traded to the Rangers for prospect Luisangel Acuna.
Scherzer only pitched eight regular season games for the Rangers, where he wasn't terrible, posting a 3.08 ERA in 46 innings and striking out 53. However, Scherzer regular season was cut short after he suffered a teres major strain injury in his shoulder in a start against the Toronto Blue Jays. With a recovery time of around three months, Scherzer's season was supposedly over.
However Scherzer miraculously was able pitch the ALCS against the Houston Astros. He wasn't spectacular in his two starts against the Astros, pitching only 6.2 innings and allowing nine hits and seven runs, but his return is a major break for the Rangers.
Scherzer has declared the shoulder injury isn't a problem for him anymore, but the team has limited Scherzer to only around 75-80 pitches at the moment. Scherzer will likely start Game 3 but expect a pitcher like Jon Gray, Dane Dunning or Andrew Heaney to follow up him after Scherzer reaches that limit.
TOMMY PHAM, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks
Pham was longtime mainstay in the Cardinals organization, originally getting drafted out of high school by the team in 2006. Pham would make his major league debut the Cardinals in 2014. From 2015 and 2016, he showed he was a major league caliber player, hitting a respectable .794 OPS in 130 games in both years
It took until 2017 for when Pham would show he was an everyday player, hitting a .306/.411/.520 slash line and hitting 23 home runs. Pham 2017 performance earned him a few NL MVP votes, finishing 11th in the voting.
However, Pham would be traded to the Tampa Bays a year later in a four-player deal which included the Cardinals acquiring RP Genesis Cabrera and OF Justin Williams.
Pham stint with the Rays would last only two years, before he was traded to the San Diego Padres in 2020 offseason. Since then, Pham has been a journeymen, with stops with the Cincinnati Reds, Boston Red Sox and New York Mets.
Pham was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks at the 2023 Trade Deadline. Since he posted respectable numbers, posting a .720 OPS in 53 regular season games with the D-Backs.
In the postseason, Pham has only hit an OPS of .590, but he has made an impact, particularly in the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he hit .429/.429/.643 with a home run during the team's dominant sweep against the Dodgers.
ZAC GALLEN, SP, Arizona Diamondbacks
Gallen would never pitch for the Cardinals in the majors, but he was a farmhand in the team's organization, getting drafted in the third round by the Cardinals in the 2016 draft.
Gallen's time with the Cardinals would only last a year and a half, but he was excellent in the team's farm system, which included Gallen reaching Triple-A Memphis before he was traded alongside 2022 NL Cy Young Winner Sandy Alcantara to the Miami Marlins for OF Marcell Ozuna.
Gallen would only spend a year and a half in the Marlins system, even making seven starts for the Marlins in 2019, before getting traded at the 2019 Trade Deadline in a swap with the D-Backs in exchange for Jazz Chisholm.
Since the trade Gallen has been electric, posting a 3.24 ERA in 108 starts with the Dbacks, becoming the ace of the Dbacks staff. Gallen 3.24 ERA since the trade has been tenth best in the National League and his fWAR of 13.7 is 12th in the NL.
Gallen will most likely serve as the Game 1 starter for the Dbacks for Friday, likely against Jordan Montgomery.
JOE MATHER, Hitting Coach, Arizona Diamondbacks
Before becoming the hitting coach for the Diamondbacks, Mather actually was a longtime player in the Cardinals development system, dating back to 2001. Mather would spent a majority of his time with the Cardinals in the minors but did make appearances for the major league club in 2008 and 2010, hitting eight home runs during his time in St. Louis.
Mather also came in for the Cardinals as a pitcher in a 20-inning marathon against the New York Mets in 2010. Mather would earn the loss that game.
Mather would depart the club in the 2011 offseason, being claimed by the Atlanta Braves on waivers. Mather would make major league appearances with the Braves and the Chicago Cubs before hanging up his glove in 2014.
Since then, Mather would begin a coaching career in 2015, originally as a coach in the Diamondbacks system. Mather would depart to join former Cardinals bench coach David Bell's staff when he became manager of the Cincinnati Reds as a assistant hitting coach, before returning back to the Dbacks organization in 2022 to serve as the team's hitting coach.
BRENT STROM, Pitching Coach, Arizona Diamondbacks
Strom was a longtime coach in the Cardinals minor league system, serving as a minor league pitching instructor from 2008-2014. Strom left the organization to become the pitching coach for the Houston Astros, where among the pitchers he worked with include 2015 AL Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel, 2019 AL Cy Young Winner Justin Verlander, 2019 AL Cy Young Runner-up Gerrit Cole, All-Stars Charlie Morton and Lance McCullers and more.
Strom departed the Astros after the 2021 World Series, originally to head into retirement, but decided to stay coaching and becoming the pitching coach for the D-Backs in 2021.
DAVE MCKAY, 1B Coach, Arizona Diamondbacks
Dave McKay will be a name a lot of Cardinals fans will instantly recognize, along with former Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan, McKay was a long time member of Tony La Russa's coaching staff.
McKay first joined La Russa's staff in 1984 with the Oakland A's and followed La Russa to St. Louis when he was hired to be the next manager of the Cardinals. McKay won three World Series as a member of La Russa's staff, including two with the Cardinals (2006,2011).
McKay initially retired alongside La Russa after 2011, but realized he wasn't ready to retire. He then joined the Chicago Cubs coaching staff in 2012 where he with the team for two years. He then left to be apart of then-Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson's staff in 2014, where he has remained since, even when current D-Backs manager Torey Lovullo was hired in 2017.
Game 1 of the 2023 World Series will begin on Friday at 7 p.m. with the series starting in Arlington, Texas.