A Texas-Sized Turnaround

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From 2010-2013, the Texas Rangers were one of the best teams in Major League Baseball. The Rangers would make the postseason in three consecutive years while taking taking home the American League Pennant in 2010 and 2011. But the bottom would fall out for the Rangers last year when they went 67-95 which marked their worst record since 1982. At the end of the 2013 MLB season, the Rangers would lose CEO Nolan Ryan who resigned as the result of a power struggle in the team’s front office and last year, longtime manager Ron Washington would resign mid-season amidst personal issues.

Jeff Banister

After spending the last four years as the bench coach of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Jeff Banister was hired to be the new manager of the Rangers, but he inherited a team that wasn’t expected to contend in the American League West. However from Banister’s first day on the job, he has only given one order to his players and that is to play hard.

But hard play alone wouldn’t make the Rangers into contenders which was evident by their 7-14 record in the month of April to begin the season. But as the weather has warmed up, so have the Rangers. By the end of May, the Rangers had a winning record as they were 26-25 and beginning to show signs that this season would be different. By the Major League Baseball All-Star break, the Rangers record had dipped back under .500, but since August 1, they are 28-14. This hot streak by the Rangers has not only allowed them to remain in playoff contention, but now they’ve surpassed the Houston Astros for first place in the American League West. And with only 18 games left in the regular season, the Rangers have more than a puncher’s chance to be playing baseball next month when the postseason rolls around.

Prince Fielder

The Rangers turnaround began with them having a healthy team this year. Last season the Rangers acquired first baseman Prince Fielder from the Detroit Tigers. Fielder has been one of the better power hitters of this era, but it didn’t show up last season when he only appeared in 42 games due to a herniated disc which required neck surgery. Fielder is healthy this year and primarily as the team’s designated hitter, he has responded with a .314 batting average which is currently fifth in the American League to go along with 21 home runs and 83 runs batted in as he is in the middle of a Rangers lineup that appears to have a different hero every night which includes the likes of third baseman Adrian Beltre and first baseman Mitch Moreland.

Pitching wise the Rangers team earned run average of 4.29 is only 13th in the American League, but lately they’ve been pouring it on. Arm problems have haunted Rangers starting pitcher Colby Lewis throughout his career as he missed the entire 2013 Major League Baseball due to elbow surgery. Lewis returned in 2014 to lose 14 games which was the worst in the AL, but this season he is 15-8. Starting pitcher Derek Holland was placed on the 60-day disabled list back in April. But Holland has since returned to the Rangers starting rotation and he has been sporting a haircut that is a tribute to Charlie Sheen’s character of Rick “Wild Thing” Vaughn from the 1989 film Major League and it has propelled him to a 3-2 record with a 3.77 earned run average which includes a complete-game shutout over the Baltimore Orioles on August 30. Just prior to the MLB trade deadline on July 31, the Rangers acquired starting pitcher Cole Hamels from the Philadelphia Phillies. Since joining the Rangers, Hamels is 3-1 with a 4.04 earned run average, and Texas will rely on him down the stretch as he knows how to step up in the postseason which is evident by him winning the World Series MVP with the Phillies in 2008. Prior to this season relief pitcher Shawn Tolleson had never been a closer in MLB, but this year his 32 saves are tied for fifth in the AL and he gives the Rangers a solid closer.

Banister came to Arlington as a new voice to work under Rangers general manager Jon Daniels and so far he has pushed all of the right buttons with this team as Texas is believing in themselves. More than likely Texas will be headed to the playoffs and who knows how far that this team can go in October.

Source: Baseball-reference.com

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By | 2015-09-17T12:20:23+00:00 September 17th, 2015|Categories: Major League Baseball|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments

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