First off it's been three months since my last blog post. A combination of busy-ness and not finding anything to write about have led to this drought. I guess that's why I'm just an amateur blogger. Well it's now fall break so I have the time to write and I also have the topic....my Texas Rangers. They are going to their first World Series having beat their playoff nemesis the Yankees. Before I go any further let me backtrack..............
Growing up in Lawton Oklahoma as soon I became interested in sports (1990) I became familiar with the Texas Rangers. They were the local team who was always on TV. I remember the first baseball game I watched was Nolan Ryan winning his 300th game. (also in 90) I loved Nolan Ryan, but I was not a Rangers fan.....I was an Oakland A's fan because of their star power. Then in 1993 Nolan Ryan announced it was going to be his last season, and I wanted him to win a World Series on his way out. So I switched my allegiance to the Rangers. As it was they didn't make the playoffs. They would of if baseball's current division alignment was in place in '93 but that wouldn't come until a year later. Speaking of a year later......
The '94 was my first as a teenager. With that came the luxury of having a TV in my room. (interestingly I'm now firmly against teenagers having TVs in their bedroom.) Even though I didn't have cable the Rangers games were on all the time and I had nothing else to do so I watched. The summer of '94 was also the first time I went to a Rangers game in their brand new park. I became a true fan. All the other pro teams I rooted for in the 90's I rooted for because of their players. The Bulls with Jordan and Pippen. The Dolphins with Marino. But with the Rangers it didn't matter that Nolan Ryan was gone. They were the local team and I was going to root for them no matter what, but they were fun to watch. A great hitting team with star power.
In 1996 they made the playoffs for the first time ever. I was at the game where they clinched. Contrary to what many are saying now they were not a one dimensional team. Yes they had a great offense but they also had good starting pitching and defense. When they were matched up with the Yankees and won game 1 of the first round I was ecstatic. Then the wheels came off. They would lose three straight to the Yanks thanks to horrible relief pitching. This began my sports hatred of the Yankees. (that and their lucky wins agianst the Braves in the 96 World Series) It was demoralizing.
In 98 and 99 the Rangers got even better. They upgraded their starting pitching, they're relief pitching, and their offense was dominant. I mean they could bash with the best of them. Unfortunately they were matched up against the Yankees in the first round both years and proceeded to score a combined 2 runs in 6 games! It was painful to watch. Even more painful...the Rangers would not make the plaoffs again in 11 years.
Fast forward to the present. The Rangers making the World Series is great and of course it would be even better if they win. But something about beating the Yankees is what makes it all special. When the Yankees won game one rallying from a 5-0 deficit I thought about the '96 series where the Rangers blew leads in all three of their losses. But then the Rangers shook off the heartbreaking loss and dominated four of the next five contests. In every game I marvelled at how the Rangers were able to score runs and their best hitters (Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz) were coming through. A stark contrast to '98 and '99 when the Rangers mighty lineup could only muster two runs in six games. The mighty Rangers lineup just didn't rise to the ocasion. This time around they won games scoring 7, 8, 10, and 6 runs. Yes this isn't the same Yankee teams as '96, '98, and '99 but this Yankee team was the defending champs. They have a huge payroll with a lot of star power. They have four players remaining from their late 90's teams.....and the Rangers dominated them winning all four of their games by at least 5 runs. The Yankees had never lost a series like that, and neither had the Rangers.
Those Yankee series had stayed with me for 11 years. Even though many of the faces have changed the persona hasn't. So seeing the Rangers dominate those damn Yankees was a real thrill. Hopefully the thrills aren't over.
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