When teams and players go through a playoff run, they celebrate the accomplishment of advancing to the next stage. Despite winning, they are always kept on the level by a coach who usually expresses one thought:
We haven’t won anything yet; we still got more to do.
Certainly, the reasoning for a coach saying such a statement is true. When a team is a playoff contender, they have that special chance to be a champion. They have the ability to control their own destiny and call themselves winners, a label that all pro athletes would die for a chance to achieve.
The 2010 Texas Rangers are one of those teams looking ahead at the possibility of winning their first title in franchise history.
The Rangers finished as American League West Division champions and are the third seed in the American League. They would end up beating the Rays in the first two games on the road, then losing two at home and finally finishing them off in Tampa Bay.
They remain one of four teams left in the playoffs and look to take out the New York Yankees in the ALCS to advance to the World Series.
Although a title is what the team is shooting for, the team and many of its players can view this season as a huge success in their lives regardless of the outcome. Many of them have come a long way with controversy surrounding them personally, as well as collectively on the Texas Rangers.
- Texas Outfielder Josh Hamilton
Josh Hamilton is one of the best and most popular players on the team. He was in the running for the Triple Crown throughout most of the season, but fell short of that goal. The slugger would still go on to lead the league in batting average and belted 32 homeruns and 100 RBIs in the season. Along with great stats, Hamilton is one of the team’s strongest leaders and a clutch hitter.
According to an article on the Bleacher Report website, reliability was not a quality that defined Hamilton early in his baseball career. Soon after being the first pick by Tampa Bay in the 1999 MLB Draft, he was involved in a car accident and hit with numerous injuries. He then became addicted to drugs and alcohol, forcing him to rehab and out of baseball.
With the help of his grandmother, he was able to get his life back on track by distancing himself from drugs and alcohol. He finally made it to the majors and is now becoming one of the most feared hitters in the game.
Aside from an incident involving photos of him partying at a bar showed up in early 2009, Hamilton has been able to stay clean for years. After defeating the Rays in the ALDS this season, his teammates doused him with Ginger Ale instead of the commonly used champagne.
- Texas Manager Ron Washington
Ron Washington is not one of the most popular managers.
Writers don’t create articles on him and companies don’t have him as their spokesman in commercials. Despite that, he has become the one of the best managers in Rangers history and is in consideration for American League Manager of the Year.
Praise and accolades are a new aspect though in Washington’s life.
A Sports Illustrated report surfaced earlier this year stating that the manager tested positive for cocaine during the 2009 season. He apologized to the Rangers franchise after the test results were released and to his team at the start of the 2010 spring training after the reports emerged of his failed drug test.
The Rangers organization would instill their faith in him by keeping him on as the manager. The end result: Washington’s team is now one step away from leading the Rangers to the World Series, a stage the organization has never been to before.
- Sale of the Texas Rangers during the 2010 Season
The Texas Rangers may currently be one of the teams in the final four of the playoffs, but the rest of the league deserves credit for the accomplishment.
According to a Dallas Morning News report, a central fund the MLB maintains for teams in financial crisis ended up assisting the Rangers for most of the 2009 season. The franchise had an insurmountable debt they could not pay and looked to the league for help with all their financial moves, such as payments needed to pay part of the team’s budget and player transactions.
The team ended up being sold during the summer of 2010 according to a New York Times article. The tab for the team would end up being picked up by a group featuring former Rangers pitching great Nolan Ryan, who would remain president of its baseball operations.
Of course, others on the team have dealt with challenges prior to their current playoff run. Vladimir Guerrero dealt with critics assuming his career was over and Michael Young ending his long absence from the playoffs this season.
The end result of this playoffs is up in the air as to whether or not the Texas franchise will win the World Series.
But for the Texas Rangers and many of its players, they have already won more off the field.
Texas Rangers Are Winners Even Before They Play In The ALCS
