LONE STARS TH E H I STO R IC S E A SO N O F TH E WO R LD CHAM P IO N TE X A S R AN G E R S
Table of Contents Preseason �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 7 Regular season ������������������������������������������������������������������ 23 AL Wild Card Series ��������������������������������������������� 59 ALDS ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 67 ALCS ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 79 World Series ������������������������������������������������������������������������� 113 The parade ������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 153 ON THE COVER: Texas Rangers players celebrate after a
Statistics ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 158
5-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 5 to win the World Series, Nov. 2, 2023, in Phoenix. SMILEY N. POOL / THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
OPPOSITE: Fans and players stand for the national anthem sung by Pearl Peterson ahead of Game 2 of the World Series between the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks, Oct. 28, 2023, in Arlington, Texas. SHAFKAT ANOWAR / THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
Copyright © 2023 by The Dallas Morning News All Rights Reserved • ISBN: 978-1-63846-088-6 No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the copyright owner or the publisher. This book is an unofficial account of the Texas Rangers’ 2023 season from news coverage by The Dallas Morning News, and is not endorsed by MLB or the Texas Rangers. Published by Pediment Publishing, a division of The Pediment Group, Inc. • www.pediment.com Printed in Canada. 2 • LONE STARS
Credits Grant Moise
PUBLISHER AND PRESIDENT
Katrice Hardy
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Amy Hollyfield
MANAGING EDITOR
Garry Leavell
SPORTS EDITOR
Tommy Magelssen
BASEBALL EDITOR
David Guzman
DIRECTOR OF VISUAL JOURNALISM
Irwin Thompson
DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF VISUAL JOURNALISM
INTRODUCTION • 3
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Foreword BY KEVIN SHERRINGTON
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very generation carries its baggage into the next one. My parents came of age in the Depression and World War II, the most calamitous global events of the 20th century. The ’60s were mourned for a nation’s loss of innocence. Our children grew up with social media, one of the greatest forces for both good and evil in the history of mankind. The ancient philosopher, Mike Maddux, a man whose wisdom is often dispensed with a quick massage, recently considered this sliding scale of perspective involving the Rangers and their haunted fan base. As the only official on-field link from the club’s greatest heartbreak to its crowning achievement, the pitching coach noted that most of these Rangers were still in high school when Game 6 blew up in our faces. Their biggest concern was what to wear for homecoming. Evan Carter? The Little Savior was still a little kid gearing up for Halloween. Most of the current world champions don’t even go as far back as two years ago, when the Rangers lost 102 games. Only six regulars — Adolis García, Nate Lowe, Jonah Heim, Leody Taveras, Dane
Dunning and Josh Sborz — remain from that bunch. The new arrivals bore none of those ugly scars on their psyche. A clear conscience helps when you’re trying to win a World Series. For that matter, these champions benefited from experience the previous pennant winners lacked. As good as the Rangers were in 2010 and ’11, no one on either team possessed a championship pedigree. Considering they were all trying to go someplace they’d never been before, it was no wonder they lost their way in the end. Probably not a coincidence, then, that the Rangers with the biggest hand in this World Series already had on-the-job training. Corey Seager — who clobbered three home runs in five games and joined Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson as the only two-time MVPs in World Series history — won his first with the Dodgers in 2020. Nathan Eovaldi — first pitcher to earn five postseason wins as a starter — was still a little ticked that he set a record with 97 relief pitches in
Game 3 of the 2018 World Series, and all he got from his heroic effort was Boston’s only loss. But the biggest difference in these Rangers from any other in their long line of disappointment was the guy with the big brain in that bucket head. Bruce Bochy came to the Rangers as the most decorated manager in their history, a man who’d been to four World Series and won three, including one against the Rangers, and it showed. He instilled stability and confidence in a roster built by Jon Daniels and Chris Young, and the players took it from there. The Israelites who famously wandered the wilderness for 40 years before finally entering the Promised Land had nothing on Rangers fans, who had another decade on them. This will take some getting used to. A social media account titled “Sad Rangers History” officially and happily signed off. Long-suffering fans won a title and lost an adjective. My granddaughter will never know what it’s like to follow a baseball team that’s never won a World Series. Her Pops will carry those bags for her.
OPPOSITE: Fans pack the area around the north plaza of Globe Life Field for a post-parade public celebration following the Texas Rangers World Series victory parade, Nov. 3, 2023, in Arlington. SMILEY N. POOL / THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
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REGULAR SEASON
Rangers offense continues to flex muscles early with 16-run outpouring in win vs. Phillies Another big day for the bats has the Rangers at 2-0 for the first time since they went to the World Series in 2011. BY EVAN GRANT • APRIL 1, 2023
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RLINGTON — Just as you would expect for a team that spent $300 million over the winter redoing the starting rotation: The lineup is apparently unstoppable. For the second straight game, the Rangers unveiled a shiny new pitcher to the public. And for the second straight game, it was the offense that absolutely stole the show and throttled the defending National League champions. I n S at u r d ay ’s 16 - 3 w i n over Philadelphia, the offense once again reminded folks not to sleep on them. Marcus Semien led off the game with a homer, only eight weeks earlier than he hit his first one as a Ranger a year ago. Mitch Garver threatened Iowa’s Caitlin Clark for most three-pointers in town this weekend, blasting a pair of three-run homers once shade spread across top-down Globe Life Field making it easier to see. The Rangers lineup rolled up seven more hits with runners in scoring
position; they are 12 for 21 over the first two games. Speaking of the first two games, the Rangers are 2-0 for the first time since they went to the World Series in 2011. Their 27-run output set a franchise record and is tied for the most by a team in the last 70 years. The last time anybody scored more: 1951 when the Chicago White Sox put up 30 over two games on the poor St. Louis Browns. You know it’s a historic feat when a team no longer in existence is mentioned. “It was good to see those bats come to life the last two games,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “You see games like this when the offense hits and it just becomes contagious. That’s what happened today. We just had pretty good at-bats and kept pushing and put the game away.” And people were wondering how Bochy would do with all the rule changes that took place during the three years he was away from managing. Turns out, if he
gets 11 runs every night, he’ll be OK. He’s 160-13 in those games for his career now. Look, it’s all fun and games when things go well early. But it could be argued there was more substance to the two wins than just opening-weekend hilarities. After six consecutive losing seasons, the Rangers needed to get off to a good start to build a little momentum. The lineup has seen to that. After spending all that money on pitching over the winter, it was fair to wonder if the offense had gone unaddressed and if it would be able to, um, hold its weight. The Rangers’ biggest offensive addition over the winter was a $2.5 million last-minute contract for Robbie Grossman. He’s paid dividends with five RBIs over the first two games, though he struggled with balls in the sun in right field Saturday. You could also say a healthy Garver was something of an addition, too. He struggled with elbow pain from the time he got to camp last year until mid-July surgery.
OPPOSITE: Texas Rangers left fielder Robbie Grossman, left, and third baseman Josh Jung, right, cheer with catcher Mitch Garver after hitting a home run during the seventh inning of a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Globe Life Field, April 1, 2023, in Arlington. SHAFKAT ANOWAR / THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
REGULAR SEASON • 23
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Bruce Bochy is turning the Texas Rangers into winners by staying true to himself The manager currently owns 2,041 wins and has the Rangers on a mind-boggling start to the 2023 season. BY KEVIN SHERRINGTON • JUNE 4, 2023
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RLINGTON — Of the nine managers in front of Bruce Bochy on the wins list, only Dusty Baker isn’t in the Hall of Fame. He’s left a few in his wake, too. The Hall of Famer that Bochy passed Sunday, Walt Alston, was famous for managing the Dodgers to four World Series titles while on 23 consecutive one-year contracts, and for saying as little as possible along the way. His boss considered the latter a strong point. “Non-irritating,” was how Peter O’Malley described Alston. “Do you realize,” the Dodgers’ owner once said, “how important it is to have a manager who doesn’t irritate you?” A couple generations of Rangers could probably testify. The latest will do so gladly. In a little more than seven months on the job, Bochy has pulled off the greatest fix locally since Dallas officials straightened out the Trinity. The Rangers’ 12-3 win Sunday and a sweep of the Mariners before 36,495 at the Globe put an exclamation point on a recurring theme in a mind-boggling start. Nathan Eovaldi threw another gem as the place-holding ace. Travis Jankowski went over the wall once and nearly twice. The lineup keeps making history.
The bullpen didn’t exactly implode. Meanwhile, the big lug in charge keeps saying he tried to tell us in spring training the Rangers were going to be good. We believed him, too. Hard not to believe a guy who brings three rings to the argument but none of the usual ego. He’s as unassuming as your mechanic. So when he said the Rangers would be good, and they played like it in Surprise, we wrote it. But this good? “I didn’t come here not to get into the postseason,” Bochy said Sunday. “Go for a championship. “That’s why you play the game.” Easy for some of us to forget. Been awhile. Considering everything that’s gone right, it’s hard to put a finger on the reason for all this success. Shelling out $300 million for a rotation after dropping a half-billion on the middle infield certainly helps. Mike Maddux, one of the game’s best pitching coaches, has made a difference with his old-school approach, and the hitting coaches have managed to get their points across without overwhelming. But if you want to risk an occupational hazard by narrowing it down to just one reason, look no further than the manager.
“He came in and set the tone early in spring training,” said Jonah Heim, who went 2-for-4 Sunday with a single, homer and five RBIs. “He came in the first couple days and was like, ‘If we’re gonna be a championship team, we’ve got to act like it.’” Do three rings give that argument more merit? “Oh, absolutely,” Heim said. “He just has a calming influence in the dugout. “Just the calming, calming presence.” Non-irritating, in other words. For Josh Jung, it was the fact that a world-class manager believed in him from Day 1. The assurance gave him confidence when he didn’t play well, and the result is two straight months as the American League Rookie of the Month. Bochy told Jung that he’d hit fifth, and he’s stuck with that plan. Same with Marcus Semien and Corey Seager hitting 1-2 and Nate Lowe and Adolis García behind them. The bottom of the lineup may change because of matchups, but the top six are locked in. If you recall, Ron Washington, another non-irritant, set his lineups in April and pretty much put it on cruise control. The players, who like the consistency of knowing where they’re going to hit, responded in kind.
OPPOSITE: Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy gets introduced before their home opener against the Philadelphia Phillies, March 30, 2023, at Globe Life Field in Arlington. SHAFKAT ANOWAR / THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
REGULAR SEASON • 31
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AL WILD CARD SERIES GAME 2 // RANGERS 7, RAYS 1
Rangers sweep Rays to win AL Wild Card Series, march on to Baltimore The Texas Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-1, sweeping their hosts and advancing to the ALDS. BY EVAN GRANT • OCT. 4, 2023
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T. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Here are five immediate thoughts from the Rangers’ 7-1 win over Tampa Bay on Wednesday to clinch the AL Wild Card Series. The Rangers swept the best-of-three series. They head to Baltimore to start the AL Division Series on Saturday against the Orioles. The first two games will be in Baltimore with Games 3 and 4, if necessary, in Arlington. Game times will be announced later. Game 5, if necessary, would be in Baltimore. Nate the great: Nathan Eovaldi pitched six scoreless innings before allowing a two-out, run-scoring single in the seventh. It was Eovaldi’s first quality start since July 18, also against Tampa Bay. The rotation did heavy lifting in the wild card series, running through 13.2 scoreless innings and taking the middle of the bullpen out of it. The work also allows the Rangers to forego having to worry about cobbling together a pitching plan for a Game 3 that would have called for either going to Dane Dunning on three days’ rest for the second consecutive start or turning to
lefties Andrew Heaney or Martín Pérez. Instead, Dunning will be in perfect shape to start Game 1 of the AL Division Series with Jordan Montgomery and Eovaldi to follow, on regular rest. Legendary: With his fourth-inning homer, Evan Carter, at 21 years and 36 days old, became the 11th youngest player to ever homer in a postseason game. Usually, we limit such notes to the top 10, but it’s a mostly fabulous bunch led by Andruw Jones (19, 177), Bryce Harper (19, 362), Manny Machado (20, 96), Miguel Cabrera (20, 172) and Mickey Mantle (20, 352). He’s in really fancy company. Carter reached all four times in Game 1 on a pair of walks and a pair of doubles, then walked in his first plate appearance in Game 2 before the homer. When Carter struck out in the sixth, it ended a streak of six consecutive times reaching base to begin his postseason career. The Rangers had such high hopes for Carter and he’s surpassing all of them. The only player to reach base more times consecutively to start a postseason career: the Chicago Cubs’ Jorge Soler in 2016.
Drought over: It seemed impossible that a short series, even one as short as a best-of-three, could go by without high-energy, high-adrenaline players like Adolis García and Randy Arozarena making a big impact somewhere along the line. They are close friends and have an intense friendly rivalry. “I see what you are seeing,” Bruce Bochy said when The Dallas Morning News posed that theory to him. “There’s obviously a very close connection there. They are both great players. So, it wouldn’t surprise any of us with the talent that these two have.” Well, García struck first. His homer on a cutter to lead off the fourth got the Rangers offense started. It was the Rangers’ first homer in 44 innings, ending a season-long drought. Before the end of the inning, the Legend of Evan Carter had homered, too. And the Rangers led 3-0. The Rangers feed off García homers. They were 25-9 during the regular season when he homered. Streakly speaking: Speaking of streaks, who says Tropicana Field is a dump? It’s a beautiful sight to the
OPPOSITE: Texas Rangers starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery, center, is doused with beer and champagne by teammates in the clubhouse after defeating the Tampa Bay Rays to win the AL Wild Card Series at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., Oct. 4, 2023. Montgomery was the winning pitcher in Game 1 of the series. S MILEY N. POOL / THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
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RIGHT: Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager hits a double during Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series, Oct. 4, 2023. SMILEY N. POOL / THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS OPPOSITE: Texas Rangers players celebrate around catcher Jonah Heim after a victory over the Tampa Bay Rays to win the AL Wild Card Series, Oct. 4, 2023. SMILEY N. POOL / THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
Rangers’ eyes in the postseason. They’ve won all seven games they’ve played there over three different seasons — with three champagne celebrations following series clinchers. It’s been the sweetest home for the Rangers. 64 • LONE STARS
You’re unpredictable: We’ve spent the last two months detailing the unpredictable nature of the Rangers. Maybe no better stat to sum it up than this: At 40-41, the Rangers had the second-worst road record of any club in the 12-team
playoff field. They swept the Rays, who at 53-28, had tied the Los Angeles Dodgers for the best home record in the majors. You can’t predict baseball. And certainly not this Rangers team. They march on to Baltimore.
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ABOVE: Texas Rangers catcher Jonah Heim, facing, hugs Austin Hedges as they celebrate after a victory over the Houston Astros in Game 7. SMILEY N. POOL / THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS ABOVE LEFT: Texas Rangers right fielder Adolis García hoists the ALCS MVP trophy after defeating the Houston Astros in Game 7. SMILEY N. POOL / THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS OPPOSITE: The Texas Rangers celebrate after the last out in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series. The Rangers won the series, 4-3. TOM FOX / THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS LEFT: Texas Rangers players celebrates in the clubhouse after the
Rangers’ victory over the Houston Astros in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series on Oct. 23, 2023, in Houston. MILEY N. POOL / THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS S
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WORLD SERIES GAME 1 // RANGERS 6, DIAMONDBACKS 5 (11)
Is it time to truly believe? Rangers rally, may finally exorcise demons of the past The Rangers rallied for a dramatic, walkoff win in Game 1 of the World Series against the Diamondbacks. BY TIM COWLISHAW • OCT. 27, 2023
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RLINGTON — Indoor fireworks were shut off for three hours Friday night. Not quite long enough for the Arizona Diamondbacks. The normally placid Corey Seager let out a scream almost before he finished his swing. His two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth — this coming on the 12th anniversary of the Game 6 disaster in St. Louis that needs no further clarification here — tied Arizona before Adolis García’s walk-off home run in the 11th inning gave Texas a frenzied 6-5 Game 1 victory. Maybe the demons really are being exorcised this time. Maybe Bruce Bochy is the most magical manager of all time. Maybe all this team ever needed was a World Series that starts at home and not in a National League park. Remember 2011 (sorry to bring that up again) when the Rangers had the better record than St. Louis but the Cardinals got home-field advantage for the World Series because the National League won the All-Star Game? Yeah, it seems silly now and it didn’t make a heck of a lot of
sense then, but the Cards dearly loved having those sixth and seventh games at Busch Stadium. This time it all began in Arlington, but it appeared the Rangers were headed for a Game 1 defeat, trailing Arizona 5-3 going into the bottom of the ninth. Unlike Texas, Arizona’s bullpen has been mostly lights out in this postseason. Meanwhile the Rangers, in spite of all their success, have not been a come-from-behind team all season. They were forced to play from behind because for the first time this postseason Nathan Eovaldi did not supply them with a win or a quality start. Eovaldi was brilliant for two innings, retiring the first six Arizona hitters on strikeouts or ground balls to first. But he surrendered a tworun triple to super rookie Corbin Carroll in the third inning, a Tommy Pham home run in the fourth and left the game in the fifth inning trailing 5-3. It wasn’t the start the Rangers had in their hopes or plans. The night began with former President George W. Bush bouncing a first pitch to Hall of Fame favorite Pudge Rodríguez.
Maybe we were expecting too much. As President, Bush famously delivered a strike in Yankee Stadium less than two months after the 9/11 attacks, but 22 years can take a toll on all of us. Still, the Rangers jumped out to a 2-0 lead with Evan Carter and García driving in runs in the bottom of the first inning. The first World Series game played at Globe Life Field was off and running, and the third time had the feeling of charm for the Rangers. After losing World Series to Bochy’s Giants and the Cardinals just over a decade ago, wasn’t a series against the 84-win Diamondbacks possibly a gift from the baseball gods? Heck, even with the club’s postseason success, Arizona has still surrendered more runs than it has scored. And didn’t the Rangers have a solid advantage in any number of areas? A deeper, more powerful batting order to be sure. Best fielding team in baseball? Check. And the manager with all those postseason wins piling up? He’s on Texas’ side now, too. But Arizona plays like a team that just
OPPOSITE: Texas Rangers’ Adolis García hits a walk-off home run during the 11th inning in Game 1 of the World Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Oct. 27, 2023, in Arlington. SMILEY N. POOL / THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
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WORLD SERIES GAME 5 // RANGERS 5, DIAMONDBACKS 0
These resilient Rangers can go no higher. For first time, they are World Series champions The Rangers beat the Diamondbacks in five games to win the 2023 World Series, their first in franchise history. BY EVAN GRANT • NOV. 1, 2023
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HOENIX — Sorry, Creed. The answer is: No. You cannot take them higher. The Rangers are world champions. No-hit for six innings on a warm Wednesday night in the desert, the Rangers put more than 50 years of futility to rest with a 5-0 win over Arizona to clinch their first World Series title. They won the best-of-seven series, 4-1. On the way to the title, the team that adopted the ’90s post-grunge band Creed’s anthem “Higher,” for much of the second half of the season and which happily scarfed hot dogs wherever it could find them won all 11 road games they played in the postseason, an MLB record. D-backs pitcher Zac Gallen didn’t allow a baserunner through four and didn’t allow a hit through six, but it also meant facing the Rangers’ lineup a third time. No. 2 hitter Corey Seager, who won his second World Series MVP in a four-year span, squibbed a curve ball through the empty left side of the infield to start a rally. Mitch Garver’s single drove him home. The Rangers scored four runs in the
ninth to blow it open. It was punctuated by Marcus Semien’s two-out homer. It was his second homer in as many games after going without one for the postseason. “Just emotional,” Semien said during a postgame TV interview. “Everything I’ve ever worked for is for this moment. Kind of a crazy game. We’re getting no hit through six or whatever it was. Gallen was unbelievable tonight but we came through. Once Corey got the first hit, everyone kind of woke up. Pitching was unbelievable.” Seager, who won the MVP in 2020 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, joins Bob Gibson, Sandy Koufax and Reggie Jackson as the only two-time World Series MVPs. He hit three homers and drove in six runs in the series. But the win was built by pitching. Which is the difference between this Rangers championship team and all the teams that came before. Nathan Eovaldi, a World Series hero once while with Boston, matched Gallen in zeroes for six innings. Eovaldi was one of five free agent pitchers GM Chris Young
signed over the winter as he sought to remake the pitching staff. Eovaldi went 5-0 over the postseason in six starts; he became the first pitcher to win five starts in a single postseason. Aroldis Chapman, the first in-season acquisition made by Young during the summer, got two outs in the seventh. Josh Sborz, whom Young held on to when it looked like he had no spot on the roster, got the final seven outs to finish off a dominant postseason. He closed out the game by getting Ketel Marte on a called third strike. “Surreal,” Sborz said of being on the mound when the Rangers won it. Jonah Heim, one of the six All-Stars on this team, caught the final strike and offered his own perspective on the postgame broadcast. “Man, that’s one of the coolest feelings of my life, other than having my kids and getting married, of course,” Heim said. “This is what you work your whole life for and we accomplished our goals. I’m so proud of this team.” They are the third team to go from
OPPOSITE: With confetti racing down, the Texas Rangers, Adolis García, left, checks out the World Series trophy with Marcus Semien after defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix, Nov. 1, 2023. TOM FOX / THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
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ABOVE: Texas Rangers first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, right, scores on a single hit by Jonah Heim, with a fielding error by Arizona Diamondbacks center fielder Alek Thomas, during the ninth inning in Game 5. T OM FOX / THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
ABOVE RIGHT: Texas Rangers’ Josh Jung
celebrates scoring on a single hit by Jonah Heim during the ninth inning. SMILEY N. POOL / THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS OPPOSITE: Texas Rangers players gather for a team photo as they celebrate after defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks to win the World Series. S MILEY N. POOL / THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
RIGHT: The Texas Rangers players celebrate the final out of a 5-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks to win the World Series in five games, Nov. 1, 2023, in Phoenix. S MILEY N. POOL / THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
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THE PARADE
Texas Rangers dedicate first World Series championship parade to loyal fans Between 400,000 and 700,000 people descended on Arlington with rowdy and electrifying energy, abuzz with pride in the hometown team. BY MAGGIE PROSSER, JAMIE LANDERS, SASHA RICHIE, SUSAN MCFARLAND, ZAEEM SHAIKH, MARÍA RAMOS PACHECO, IMELDA GARCÍA AND MARIN WOLF • NOV. 3, 2023
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RLINGTON — There was a catharsis Friday. After decades of heartbreak, defeat, humility and resounding grit, roughly half a million people let out their bated breaths and relished a long-awaited Texas Rangers victory. It was a once-in-a-lifetime, unforgettable scene in the American Dream city of Arlington as fans showered the Rangers in admiration and appreciation — a Texassized homecoming for the World Series champions. The Rangers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks in five games, capping the series with a 5-0 win Wednesday to clinch the first world championship in the franchise’s 63-year history. People showed up in the middle of the night, bearing bitter cold. They set up makeshift kitchens and sprawled out on piles of blankets. As more showed up in droves, the crowd mushed together, shoulder-to-shoulder, everyone vying for the best view — even hanging off of lampposts and street signs. After a two-hour parade, the players took turns hoisting the Tiffany and
Co.-made Commissioner’s Trophy on the Texas Live! stage. “Higher” by Creed accented the ceremony; the ’90s grunge rock anthem became the unofficial clubhouse hype song. Blue and gold confetti and sprays of champagne coated front-row fans. Texas Rangers Manager Bruce Bochy, who has led four teams to championships, said the winning feeling never gets old. “Their resilience and the heart that brought them together to play as one and do what they did,” he said. “These guys put aside their individual action to become collective power. Years from now, I’m going to think about this moment and I’m going to cherish the time that I had to spend with them.” Bochy then dared: “I want to do this again, let’s go!” His granddaughter agreed. “Everybody was wondering what would happen if the Rangers didn’t win the World Series,” shortstop and MVP Corey Seager said, taking a jab at the Houston Astros. “I guess we’ll never know.”
‘Texas has been waiting for this’ The throng’s excitement was rowdy and electrifying, abuzz with pride in the hometown team. Fans lined up behind crowd-control metal barricades as early as Thursday night — a small sacrifice compared to the 12-year wait they endured for another chance at the World Series win after a haunting loss in 2011. Fans braved morning temperatures in the low-40s, bundled in Rangers garb layered with extra jackets or blankets. People camped out in lawn chairs and under canopy tents; they set up cornhole and kids tossed footballs and soccer balls or tapped away on their phones. The brisk air was ripe with the smell of booze, bacon and barbecue. Michael Hinojosa of Grand Prairie stocked his camp to serve the early birds pancakes, eggs, chorizo, and for later — burgers. Jonathan Guy, owner of Puerto Rican restaurant Coqui Rico, sold his famous “pastelillos,” a fried dish made of shrimp and beef. He was among the street vendors at Randol Mill Road selling bottled
OPPOSITE: Texas Rangers players spray champagne during a post-parade public celebration on Nov. 3, 2023, in Arlington. SHAFKAT ANOWAR / THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
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