Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte (4) celebrates after sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-0 to win the NLDS at Chase Field in Phoenix on Oct. 11, 2023. Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

Diamondbacks looking to make World Series history

By Nicholas Nathanson | Last updated Oct 12, 2023 6:31 PM ET

When the Arizona Diamondbacks began the MLB season on April 6, they were considered a long shot to win the World Series, with the eighth-worst odds in the MLB at +12500, let alone make the playoffs — they were given a 15.3% chance to make the postseason, per FanGraphs. Most oddsmakers set their over/under win totals below 75.5, and when it came to the World Series, the Diamondbacks were given a 0.5% chance to win it all.

At the time, perhaps it seemed justified since the team had made the playoffs just once since 2011 and placed last in the division two of the past three years.

Remarkably, though, the Diamondbacks stand just eight games away from accomplishing that World Series feat after their stunning sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

David>>>Goliath #BeatLA #EmbraceTheChaos pic.twitter.com/SCiSgWEYVI
— Paul Sewald (@ItsPaulSewald) October 12, 2023

As pitcher Paul Sewald said, the Diamondbacks do indeed embody David. In fact, if the D-backs are able to accomplish that feat they supposedly had only a 0.5% chance of achieving, they'll do something no team in the MLB has done in since World Series have been tracked.

Per the SportsOddsHistory.Com, which began tracking spring-training World Series future odds in 1985, no team has won the World Series with the same or worse odds as the Diamondbacks had in preseason.

The Diamondbacks have another few days before they begin the NLCS.

Rest assured, if they play anything like they have throughout their first five playoff games this October, which featured back-to-back sweeps of the Brewers and Dodgers, they've got about as good of a chance as anyone.

Nicholas Nathanson

Nicholas Nathanson is a recent graduate of Lafayette College, and a huge New York Rangers and Denver Nugget fan. He has been sportswriting since his early high school days, and has freelanced at Fansided and Last Word On Sports. He currently resides in New York

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