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Arizona Diamondbacks: 1925 World Series Champions (2nd title)
1905 1925
From the shores of Lake Erie to the deserts of the Southwest, this was baseball at its most unpredictable, its most poetic. On a gray November afternoon in Cleveland, the Arizona Diamondbacks—left for dead just two years ago during a painful rebuild—rose again. With a 10–9 win over the Indians in Game 7, they have captured their first World Series championship in 20 years.
It was not a masterpiece of precision—far from it. There were errors, lead changes, and tense moments that kept 36,000 fans at Jacobs Field teetering between hope and heartbreak. But at its core, this was the game at its best: relentless, emotional, and gloriously human.
The Diamondbacks trailed 3–0 before their bats came alive. Jose Chapa, the right fielder from Mene Grande, Venezuela, was the hero of the night, driving in two runs and setting the tone for an Arizona offense that refused to yield. In the seventh, with two outs and two on, first baseman Sean Nicholson delivered the swing that will live forever in franchise lore—a towering three-run homer that turned the game on its head, tying it at 6, and sent the visiting dugout into delirium.
But Cleveland, as they’ve done all series, would not go quietly. Down by three in the ninth, they clawed back, scoring twice and putting the tying run aboard before Greg Felipe—who had been saddled with a bone-crushing loss just 24 hours earlier—found redemption. A soft line drive to second base ended it, and with that, Arizona stood atop the baseball world once again.
The Diamondbacks, 99–63 during the regular season, are champions for just the second time in franchise history—their first since that unforgettable triumph two decades ago. For Arizona manager Alonzo Hernández, for Chapa, Nicholson, and the resilient cast that weathered every storm, this was the reward for perseverance. For Cleveland, it was heartbreak on their home field, being denied the satisfaction of being repeat champions yet again, but also a season of revival and pride.
In baseball, as in life, triumph and tragedy are often separated by inches. Tonight, the inches belonged to Arizona. And somewhere, beneath the desert stars, a long-awaited celebration begins.
Final score from Cleveland: the Diamondbacks 10, the Indians 9. Arizona—champions of the baseball world.
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