Texas Rangers and the real reason for their struggles
The Texas Rangers have some bad juju floating around them, and the time has come to get rid of it.
The Texas Rangers find themselves in a position that’s almost a polar opposite of last season. They’re in a funk and can’t seem to get out of it. Some experts have explanations while others just watch, mystified. But there’s a more logical answer that has stared us all in the face for a while, now.
While everyone else breaks down batting averages, on base percentages, slugging percentages and fielder independent pitching, I have a different frame of reference. Sure, those things do have a purpose. They hold some meaning as well. But, there may be a simpler solution for the Texas Rangers. Check this out.
Since 2000, the Rangers have a road record of 640-763 for a winning percentage of .456. That’s an average win-loss per 162 games of 74-88. Plus, from 1971-1982 and from ’87-93, they went 630-789. That gave them an even worse .444 winning percentage. Overall, that’s a .450 win%, which is a recipe for failure.
You may be asking what those seasons have in common, and you wouldn’t be crazy for saying it. With some help from the geniuses over at sportslogos.net, though, and the Texas Rangers website, we can see the pattern and it’s an obvious one.
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It’s those dang gray and blue uniforms. That’s right. In all the seasons listed above, the Rangers have worn simple gray and blue on the road with little to no variance. Meanwhile, from 1994-1997 when the Rangers exclusively wore gray and red, they went 216-231.
Sure, that still translates to a .483 winning percentage, but it’s still a step in the right direction. But think about some of the team’s most dubious moments. Notice what they all have in common and why they’re really so infamous.
May 26, 1993
This will seem like an obscure date to most Texas Rangers fans. But those of us that have followed the team our entire lives remember it well. To us, the date lives in infamy.
Carlos Martinez stepped up to the plate for the Cleveland Indians at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The guy hit 25 career home runs over seven major league seasons. But he got a cheap one that day.
He hit a deep fly ball to the right field warning track. It really had no chance of going out. But big-time slugger and all-time lug, Jose Canseco “tried” to “make a play” on the ball. Instead, it clanked off his noggin and into the seats for a home run.
Nearly everyone blames Canseco’s clumsiness and goofiness. Those that don’t, blame steroids. But I know better. The real culprit was that gray and blue uniform. Yep, it carries some bad stuff with it.
October 27, 2010
Look, this date isn’t all that bad. Yes, the Rangers were just happy to make it to the World Series that year. But they lost game one to the San Francisco Giants after scoring seven runs.
Seven runs will win most playoff games, thanks to a trend towards great playoff pitching. But it wasn’t enough that night.
Former Texas Rangers great Cliff Lee gets a raw deal from this one. He did so much good for the team leading up to that moment. But it was the gray and blue unis that took their toll on him that crisp, cool autumn night on the bay. Cut him some slack for that one. He really had no choice.
October 27, 2011
Woah, this is eerie. Not until I researched today, did I realize that these two dates coincided. Now, I won’t spend too much time on this one, because virtually every Texas fan remembers it. So, I’ll just say “World Series Game six in St. Louis.”
Point the finger all you want at Nelson Cruz and his inability to catch that ball. Give some blame to Neftali Feliz if you think it’s appropriate for failing not once, but twice with a two out, two strike count. But again, place the strongest of gazes and eyebrow furrows at the uniforms.
October 14, 2015
This one sits in the ol’ memory banks even more freshly for us fans. The Rangers and Blue Jays entered game five of the ALDS tied two games apiece. Things looked great until the late innings after Cole Hamels pitched a great game.
But Hamels, the bullpen and Elvis Andrus fell apart in the bottom of the seventh, giving way to four Toronto runs. This led to people yelling at Andrus, and reliever Sam Dyson to a lesser degree. It also created great hate for Jose Bautista and Molson Lager. But once again, the dreaded gray uniforms and blue trim had their way with us again.
It appears it’s all taking its toll this season on them. The Rangers have clearly had enough. Just 27 road games into the 2017 season, they’re 9-18 on the road. Of course, you say “on the road,” but it’s really 9-18 while wearing those awful, cursed uniforms.
Next: What the Rangers can expect from the Dyson trade
It’s time for a change. Bring back the red. Take us back to a time when the Rangers quasi-dominated on the road and didn’t evoke memories of Cecilio Guante and Jeff Kunkel. Give us a look that doesn’t carry so much awful baggage.