Rangers close Globe Life Park with a victory, and sense a foundation is in place for 2020
Well, that was fun.
Nolan Ryan came back Sunday for the final first pitch at Globe Life Park, and the best Texas Rangers to play there were honored in a postgame celebration honoring the ballpark.
President George W. Bush and former U.S. ambassador Tom Schieffer, part of the ownership group that orchestrated the construction of “The Temple,” sat in the same seats as they did for the first game in 1994.
The final game, both of the 2019 season and Globe Life Park, went about as well as planned. The Rangers beat the New York Yankees 6-1, the same score as Game 6 of the 2010 American League Championship Series when the Rangers beat the Yankees to punch their ticket to their first World Series.
Even the Rangers’ season was fun, at some least some of the time.
They didn’t always resemble the rookie-heavy injury-depleted group that finished the season with a third straight sub-.500 record at 78-84.
The first half of the season is where the bulk of the fun was found.
Unexpected performances and two noteworthy breakthrough performances helped carry the Rangers as many as 10 games over .500 and allowed them to consider themselves playoff contenders.
The ultimate goal of every team is winning the World Series. The Rangers won’t do that again this season, but manager Chris Woodward believes steps are taken toward that first world championship.
“We got a lot accomplished,” Woodward said. “When we first hired a staff and I first got hired, you have the way want to see things go and we talk about all these different things. Until it all gets played out in a season, you don’t quite know how it’s going to go.
“Our guys have really been committed. I know we’ve got a lot to improve, but in a lot of ways they’ve taken the message and it’s shown up on the field. I’m excited about it. I’m excited about moving this thing forward.”
The Rangers next play a regular-season game March 26 at the Seattle Mariners to open the 2020 MLB season. The home opener is March 31 against the Los Angeles Angels, though the Rangers will play host to the St. Louis Cardinals on March 23 in an exhibition game.
Much will happen in the off-season, beginning this week. More will happen in the months that follow as the Rangers make decisions on which of their own free agents to bring back (Hunter Pence) and then construct the 2020 roster.
Some players need to get healthy.
The Rangers won’t rely on repeat seasons by starting pitchers All-Star Mike Minor and Lance Lynn, but expect both to perform capably. The same goes for first-time All-Star Joey Gallo, who played only 70 games, and super utility man Danny Santana.
They need Rougned Odor to be better. He’s not the only one, but is the most important one.
“You want to give yourself a chance to win that last game or make that last game your most important of the year,” Woodward said. “We want to get there, and the team needs to look at this year and go, ‘OK, what do we need to do to get to that point?’”
The broad answer is to execute. That requires each player adhering better to his process. Staying in the strike zone more, for instance, will cut down on the team’s mountain of strikeouts.
Throwing more quality pitches in line with the daily scouting report will result in fewer home runs allowed and more opportunities to win games.
Lynn, who struck out 10 and allowed only one run in 7 1/3 innings against the Yankees, agreed. The 2019 season should serve as a launching pad for spring training and the 2020 campaign.
“With the new coaching staff and new manager, you saw guys starting to take a step,” Lynn said. “We’ve just got to keep doing that, keep doing that in the off-season, and everybody’s got to buy in. If we do that, we’re going to be all right.”
The off-season started as soon as Jose Leclerc recorded the final out.
The Rangers’ season is over.
The Globe Life Park Era is, too.
This story was originally published September 29, 2019 at 7:31 PM.
