With the Diamondbacks' Game 7 win in hostile territory, we now have one of the most unlikely World Series matchups in history.
If you wanted to buy a Diamondbacks vs. Rangers exact World Series matchup at the beginning of the year, FanDuel was offering it at 230/1.
It's easy to see why.
The Diamondbacks' win total at 75.5 indicated most bettors thought the team would finish with a losing record — forget the playoffs. Arizona's odds to make the playoffs were a whopping +430. And to win the pennant? 50/1.
Meanwhile, the Rangers were longshot +5000 underdogs to win it all during spring training, behind teams like the Padres (+1000 odds, 82 wins), White Sox (+2500 odds, 61 wins), Guardians (+2500 odds, 76 wins) and Angels (+4000, 73 wins).
For their part, one bettor put $4,600 on the Rangers and Diamondbacks to be World Series finalists at FanDuel at +800 odds on Oct. 9. That bettor stands to win close to $40,000. The bet was placed after the Diamondbacks went up 2-0 in their NLDS series against the Dodgers and the Phillies were tied up 1-1 during the same round vs. the Braves.
And the two biggest bettors at Caesars on this exacta market left a large liability, too.
Earlier this month — before the start of the playoffs — a bettor at Caesars put $200 on the Rangers to beat the Diamondbacks in the World Series. The payout? $80,000 at 400/1.
And one bettor two days ago (Oct. 22) put $500 on the Diamondbacks to beat the Rangers, which would pay $40,000 (80/1).
While this matchup's prospects looked grim in April, by July, its odds became more palatable.
The odds on the Diamondbacks to meet the Rangers in the World Series decreased from its opening mark of 230/1 to 65/1 by the All-Star break. Then, it dropped all the way down to 5/1 by Oct. 11.
Even still, of the total World Series matchup market, Diamondbacks vs. Rangers at FanDuel only represents 2% of total bets and 4% of the money in the exacta space.
Before clinching their spot by beating the Astros on Monday night, the Rangers hadn't played in any postseason games past the ALDS since their last World Series appearance against the Cardinals in 2011. The Diamondbacks hadn't advanced past the division series since 2007 and haven't been in the World Series since they famously beat the Yankees in 2001.
