Evan Carter Says 'Let's Run It Back.' Bruce Bochy's 3 Keys To Texas Rangers World Series Repeat

The Texas Rangers will attempt to be the first team to win consecutive World Series titles since the New York Yankees in 2000.

ARLINGTON — The last time an MLB team won back-to-back World Series championships, Evan Carter had yet to be born.

Carter, the Texas Rangers' rising star who helped the club win its first World Series title four months ago, was featured in a brief and unassuming social media post in which he says hello to fans from Globe Life Field, says he's excited about spring training, and signs off with "Let's run it back."

That's the plan, but it won't be easy.

It was 2000, and Bruce Bochy was managing the San Diego Padres. The New York Yankees, the last team to repeat, won their third consecutive championship.

"It's not easy to do," said Bochy, who has won four World Series titles, including three with the San Francisco Giants and 2023 with the Rangers. "It took a lot of years to get this one, and they've had some really good teams. They've been very close here. But now the challenge is to make sure that guys stay hungry, and I don't have any doubt about that. We saw it last year, how tough they were, and the resiliency of this team."

The competitive edge, or hunger, as Bochy called it, is only part of the equation for a team to repeat. Bochy won three titles in five seasons (2010, 2012, and 2014) with the Giants but never in back-to-back seasons.

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"I've had conversations with quite a few of [players]," he said. "The talk is it's a new year. We've got to get ready and try to do this again. So I'm looking forward to it. I really am. I don't think you can ask for anything more than having a chance to go back to back. It's incredible when teams do that. I don't care what sport you're in because it's just not easy to do."

Bochy isn't worried about his team's competitive edge coming off a title.

"I don't worry about [that], as far as staying hungry, wanting to win, those types of things. I just don't see that [being an issue] with these guys," he said. "What they did at the end and how determined they were; I think that's always going to stay there."

Here are Bochy's three keys for a repeat:

Bruce Bochy's Three Keys To Repeat

Here are the three most important things that need to happen for the Texas Rangers to repeat as World Series champions:

1. Core Players Producing

"When you have a successful season, you're hoping your core players have their normal years. That's what has to happen. There's no question that they're going to do their thing. Just keep them on the field, which we did a pretty good job of [in 2023].

The Rangers have one of the best core lineups in the majors, led by middle infielders Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, All-Stars at third base, catcher, and right field, and a Gold Glover at first base.

2. Stay Healthy, Have Depth

"You've got to have depth. You're trying to [avoid] injuries, which we had, but we had the depth, and those guys came through for us."

Imagine the Rangers excelling in the postseason without Mitch Garver's bat or Ezequiel Duran's glove and bat when Corey Seager missed time during the regular season and Travis Jankowski providing depth off the bench.

3. Production Surprise

"The last thing you've got to have is a surprise or two. You've got to have an Evan Carter or somebody like that come up and help. You have to have guys come up from your system and help you out. Those are the guys who fill in. And we have some pretty good talent coming up here. And they're knocking on the door as far as helping us. I'm excited about seeing some of them this spring."

Who could that be in 2024? Bochy is most likely eying the Rangers' top prospect, Wyatt Langford, who will be in major league camp when the entire team reports on Feb. 19.

Five Reasons Texas Rangers Will Repeat

You can follow Stefan Stevenson on X @StefanVersusTex.

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