Rangers have earned seat at table

By David Mullens

It took 52 years in Texas and 62 years as a franchise for the Texas Rangers to finally earn a seat at the table reserved for local champions. But before becoming the unlikely 2023 World Series Champions, the Rangers had plenty of stories to share.

When Mark Cuban bought the Dallas Mavericks in 2000, there was a sense that eventually the team would win an NBA Championship. In 2011, despite finishing the regular season in third place in the Western Conference, Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, Jason “Jet” Terry and Tyson Chandler led the Mavs over LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and the Miami Heat to win the NBA Finals. It is the Mavericks only NBA title.   

When the Dallas Stars won the Stanley Cup in 1999, they were too good to fail. They blistered the competition, winning their second consecutive President’s Trophy for best regular season record. They had Mike Modano, Brett Hull, Joe Nieuwendyk, Derian Hatcher, Guy Carbonneau, Jamie Langenbrunner, Jere Lehtinen, Mike Keane, Darryl Sydor, Pat Verbeek, Sergei Zubov and Ed Belfour. It is the Stars only NHL title.

When the 1990s Dallas Cowboys won three World Championships, they were expected to win. They had Hall of Famers Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin and head coach Jimmy Johnson. The only question was if new head coach Barry Switzer could lead the 1995 team to a third Super Bowl victory after owner Jerry Jones had replaced Johnson, winning a clash of egos. Switzer proved that he could, even if the owner appeared to rip the Vince Lombardi Super Bowl trophy from Switzer’s hands in the postgame celebration as if Jones had won a bet. It was the last Cowboys NFL title.   

Based on their past, nothing was expected of the 2023 Texas Rangers. But after a 162-game regular season that saw an eight-game winning streak and an eight-game losing streak, the Rangers became magically consistent in the playoffs. They beat the AL’s three best teams and won a record 11 playoff road games in route to the World Championship. It is the Rangers’ first MLB title.   

The Rangers have finally joined the other three local champions. It seemed they might never make it.

After 11 seasons, the Washington Senators moved to Arlington in 1972 and played in Arlington Stadium located between Dallas and Fort Worth. The stadium was built in 1965 with a capacity of 10,000 and was home to the Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs (formerly the Fort Worth Cats). It was initially called Turnpike Stadium, named for a highway. Imagine the New York Yankees playing at Major Deegan Expressway Stadium. 

Throughout time, Arlington Stadium — home of the Rangers until 1993 — eventually expanded to more than 42,500 seats with more than half located in the baking heat of the unprotected bleachers. The stadium was never home to a championship of any kind, even a division title. In the shadows of the amusement park Six Flags over Texas, Arlington Stadium became the brunt of a joke. It  was known as “No Flags over Texas.”

But the stadium evokes memories. On Tuesday, Aug. 22, 1989, with a 7:35 p.m. start and a game time temperature of 95 degrees, 42,869 fans watched Nolan Ryan strike out Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson for his 5,000th career strikeout. Ryan, 42, would throw a 135-pitch complete game, scatter five hits with 13 strikeouts and still lose 2-0 to the Oakland A’s. Ryan would toss two of his seven no hitters as a Ranger.

Rangers’ rookie centerfielder Oddibe McDowell hit for the cycle there in 1985. For good measure, McDowell — after a double, triple, single and home run — hit a second home run in the eighth inning in an 8-4 win over the Cleveland Indians behind knuckleballer and noted chain smoker Charlie Hough. I remember because I sweated through both games. 

McDowell epitomized the early Rangers. He was a can’t-miss prospect. Texas used their first-round pick in the 1984 Major League Baseball draft (12th overall) to select McDowell, leaving pitchers Norm Charlton, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Al Leiter and Houston Astros All-Star third baseman Ken Caminiti on the board. In five seasons in Texas, McDowell hit .251 with 57 HRs and 195 RBI. Remember, in 1998, the Rangers made shortstop Scott Fletcher DFW’s first $1 million athlete in any sport.

The Rangers lore wasn’t just achieved at home. Right Fielder Jose Canseco had a ball hit off his head and go into the right field bleachers at Cleveland Municipal Stadium for a home run. In 2000, Scott Sheldon defined the term “utility player” when he played all nine positions in a 13-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox. With all due respect to Ryan, Sheldon may be the greatest pitcher in Rangers’ history. He faced one batter and struck him out. His lifetime ERA is 0.00.

Moving next door to the Ballpark in Arlington (later Globe Life Park), the Rangers were deemed division champions despite a losing record in the 1994 strike season. The playoffs were canceled. In 1996, 1998 and 1999, the Rangers would win legitimate Western Division crowns, only to amass a collective ALDS record of 1-9.  

There were moments at the Ballpark. Kenny Rodgers pitched a perfect game. Gary Matthews Jr. made the catch of the century over the centerfield wall. In 2003, Boston’s Bill Mueller hit a grand slam from both sides of the plate in consecutive at bats. The Rangers beat the Yankees in the 2011 ALCS. 

I sat one seat away from former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani.

And the Ballpark hosted an All-Star Game in 1995 and the World Series in 2010 and 2011. The AL lost the All-Star Game and the Rangers lost both World Series.

Now Globe Life Field can claim two World Series Champions: the 2023 Texas Rangers and the 2020 Los Angeles Dodgers, forced to play in Arlington because of the pandemic. Former Dodgers and current Rangers’ shortstop Corey Seager was MVP of both World Series.

With the Rangers winning the 2023 World Series, Texas has been invited to join the Dallas sports team’s table of champions. They earned it. But they have always been the life of the party.