Hopping on the Rangers bandwagon? Some key insights for new fans
FORT WORTH (CBSNewsTexas.com) – All aboard the Rangers bandwagon!
The Texas Rangers just won their first postseason series in 12 years, so it's time to welcome aboard the newest members of the Rangers playoff bandwagon. We've got a lot of catching up to do since the last time the Rangers were worth watching was during the Obama administration.
That's right! The last time the Rangers had a winning season was in 2016. In fact, the Rangers came into this season having endured the worst three-year stretch in their 50-year history, winning only 39% of their games. That resulted in the firing of long-time Rangers president and general manager Jon Daniels last year.
Meanwhile, the rival Houston Astros won six American League West Division titles, played in six straight American League Championship Series and four World Series, winning two World Championships.
Furthermore, during the last three years, many loyal baseball enthusiasts have been shut out from watching Rangers games on Bally Sports Southwest due to a cable television distribution dispute that started in 2020 and has yet to be resolved.
But here's the good news! The Rangers are finally back in the playoffs! And the games will be televised on the major networks which can be seen by one and all!
So, there's a lot for us Rangers baseball dummies to learn about our team.
Who You Need To Know
Majority owner Ray Davis
Even some rabid Rangers fans don't know the name of the Rangers Owner. Unlike Jerry Jones and Mark Cuban, Davis shies away from TV cameras.
Davis led a group called Rangers Baseball Express that placed the winning auction bid of $593 million in bankruptcy court when former Rangers owner Tom Hicks went belly-up in 2010.
After earning a fortune in the energy business, Davis turned around the Rangers fortunes this year by spending mega-millions on free agents. He got so sick of losing that he committed half a BILLION dollars in December, 2021 to sign shortstop Corey Seager (10 years, $325 million) and second baseman Marcus Semien (seven years, $175 million).
Davis bankrolled a heavy investment in starting pitchers last winter, spending over $260 million in guaranteed salaries to four pitchers: Jacob deGrom (five years, $185 million), who was lost for the season after just one month due to Tommy John surgery, Nathan Eovaldi (two years, $34 million), Andrew Heaney (two years, $25 million), and Martin Perez (one year, $19.7 million).
General manager Chris Young
Highland Park's own 44-year-old Young pitched in the major leagues for 14 years, including with the Rangers in 2004-05. Everybody calls him "C. Y." Why? Because that's what baseball people do.
C.Y. won a World Series ring with K.C. in 2015. At 6-foot-10, he is the second tallest player in big league baseball history. He was an All-Ivy League baseball and basketball player at Princeton University. His daughter, Cate, is sophomore class president and plays basketball at Highland Park High School.
Field manager Bruce Bochy
Chris Young lured 68-year-old Bruce Bochy out of retirement in Nashville to come to Texas to manage this team.
Bochy won three world titles as manager of the San Francisco Giants, including a win over the Rangers in 2010. He is now the tenth winningest manager in baseball history.
Bochy is also widely considered to have the largest head in baseball history, wearing the same 8 1⁄4 size batting helmet throughout his playing career. Among his 26 lifetime home runs was a walk-off roundtripper off Rangers legend Nolan Ryan in 1985.
All-Star shortstop Corey Seager
Seager led the Los Angeles Dodgers to a World Series championship when postseason games were played in Arlington during the pandemic in 2020, earning MVP honors in the World Series and National League Championship Series.
He had MVP-type numbers this season too, hitting a career high .327 with 33 homers, a league high 42 doubles and 96 RBIs despite missing 43 games due to injuries.
All-Star second baseman Marcus Semien
The 33-year-old Ironman of the Rangers lineup, Semien batted leadoff and started at second base all 162 games this season. He led the league with 185 hits and 122 runs scored.
All-Star outfielder Adolis Garcia
A native of Cuba, the 30-year old Garcia slugged a career high 39 homers and led the team with 106 RBIs this season. He shocked the baseball world in 2021 when he emerged as an All-Star outfielder that season, just four months after the Rangers cut him from their major league roster only to re-sign him to a minor league contract.
All-Star third baseman Josh Jung
The last name is pronounced "Young" as in one of the best young players in baseball. The 25-year old San Antonian was the Rangers first round draft pick out of Texas Tech in 2019 and is the leading candidate to be named American League Rookie of the Year next month.
Rookie outfielder Evan Carter
One month ago, no one thought Evan Carter would even be promoted to the majors this season. But on Sept. 8, just over a week after his 21st birthday, Carter got the call, and he may be the primary reason this team earned a playoff spot.
Carter is from Elizabethton, Tennessee, the same town that produced former Dallas Cowboy Jason Witten. In 25 big league games, he is hitting .333 with six homers, six doubles, a triple and 14 RBIs.
Starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery
Acquired in a trade with St. Louis on July 30, all of a sudden, Montgomery has become the hottest pitcher in baseball. After shutting out Tampa Bay over seven innings in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series, he's allowed just two runs in 34 innings, an earned run average of 0.53 in his last five starts.
All-Star pitcher Nathan Eovaldi
Eovaldi was pitching as well as any pitcher in the league in the first half of the season, going 10-3 with a 2.64 ERA. However, a strained right forearm in July put him on the shelf for six weeks. He finally appeared to regain his form in the Wild Card Series win over the Rays. A healthy Eovaldi might be the key to the Rangers making a deep playoff run.
Rangers phrases you need to know
"It's Baseball Time in Texas"
That's the greeting Rangers Hall of Fame public address announcer Chuck Morgan delivers when he welcomes fans to Globe Life Field.
"That Ball is History!!!"
That's the signature home run call of Rangers Hall of Fame radio broadcaster Eric Nadel.
"Hello Win Column!!!"
That was the signature victory call exclaimed by the late, great Rangers Hall of Fame broadcaster Mark Holtz, who passed away in 1997. The call lives on to this day as it is displayed on the Globe Life Field video boards every time the Rangers win a game.
Globe Life Field's Unique Outfield Dimensions
Left-field foul pole: 329 feet (Adrian Beltre wore Number 29)
Left-field seats: 334 feet (Nolan Ryan wore Number 34)
Left-center field: 372 feet (Franchise's 1st season: 1972)
Home and visitors bullpens: 410 feet (Michael Young and Jim Sundberg wore Number 10)
Center-field: 407 feet (Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez wore Number 7)
Right-center field: 374 feet (Franchise's first winning season: 1974)
Right-field foul pole: 326 feet (Johnny Oates wore Number 26)
Distance behind home plate: 42 feet (Jackie Robinson wore Number 42)
Rangers Postseason History
Oct 1, 1996 — Rangers won their 1st playoff game as John Burkett went the distance on the mound and Juan Gonzalez slugged a 3-run homer in a 6-2 win at Yankee Stadium.
1996 — The Rangers won their first American League West title in their 25th season in Arlington ... lost Division Series in four games to World Champion Yankees.
1998 — Rangers won their second division title but scored just one run and got swept in the Division Series by the World Champion Yankees by scores of 2-0, 3-1, and 4-0.
1999 — Rangers won 95 games and won the AL West for the third time in four years, but, once again, scored just one run in the Division Series, losing to the World Champion Yankees 8-0, 3-1, and 3-0,
2010 — Rangers won 90 games and their fourth division title ... Pitcher Cliff Lee was masterful on the mound, winning two games over Tampa Bay in the Division Series, including the decisive Game 5 ... Closer Neftali Feliz caught Alex Rodriguez looking at a called strike three for the final out in the deciding Game 6 of the ALCS, setting off a wild, emotional celebration as the Rangers won their first American League pennant in front of the home crowd in Arlington ... Rangers lost to Bruce Bochy and the Giants, 4-1, in the World Series.
2011 — Rangers won a club record 96 games and their fifth division title ... Adrian Beltre hit three home runs as the Rangers beat Tampa Bay, 4-3, in the decisive ALDS Game 4 at Tropicana Field ... Michael Young drove in five runs as the Rangers exploded for nine runs in the third inning of Game 6 to beat Detroit and win their second straight American League pennant ... in World Series Game 6 in St. Louis, ALCS MVP Nellie Cruz mis-played a ninth inning, two-out fly ball off the bat of David Freese that turned what would have been the final out into a game tying two-run triple; Josh Hamilton gave the Rangers a 9-7 lead with a 10th inning homer but the Cardinals scored two in the 10th to tie and Freese hit an 11th inning walk-off homer to win the game, 10-9 ... Freese was named World Series MVP after hitting a game tying two-run double as St. Louis won Game 7, 6-2.
2012 — Yu Darvish and the Rangers lost a one game Wild Card playoff to Baltimore, 6-1, in Arlington.
2015 — Rangers won their sixth division title but lost the Division Series in Game 5 in Toronto when Elvis Andrus and Mitch Moreland committed errors to start the seventh inning, opening the door for Jose Bautista's go-ahead three-run homer in a 6-3 Blue Jays win.
2016 — Rangers won 95 games and their seventh division title but Toronto swept the Division Series.
2023 — Rangers won 90 games and tied for first place, but the Astros won the division on a tiebreaker ... Jordan Montgomery and Nathan Eovaldi combined to shut out Tampa Bay for 13 innings and the Rangers swept the best of three Wild Card Series by scores of 4-0 and 7-1, their fifth postseason series win and first since 2011.