One statistic can sum up this entire article: The Texas Rangers are 30-8 in one-run games in 2016. Simply unheard of. 30 of their 82 wins have come via 0ne-run victories. The statistic is a tribute to the entire team. Starting pitchers receive credit for keeping the games close, the offense is credited for their continuous timely hitting, and the bullpen gets credit for closing the games down… a true team effort.
There is a certain comfort that is felt when the Rangers are within shouting distance late in a game, a time which is supposed to be anything but comfortable. Whether it’s Mitch Moreland’s walk off home run from a month ago, Adrian Beltre’s from two weeks ago, or Rougned Odor’s from a few nights ago, the Rangers can force the opposing pitcher to walk off the mound with his head down in the blink of an eye.
There is no break in the Texas lineup. Often times a team’s comeback chances will deflate if the bottom of the order is coming up. That’s not the case with the Rangers. Moreland evidently has the capability to turn a game around in one swing, Carlos Gomez has already made his presence known with the long ball, and Elvis Andrus is a near .300 hitter who is having a career year in driving runners in. The Rangers lineup consists of seven consecutive hitters with 20+ home runs, including the newly acquired Carlos Beltran and Jonathan Lucroy. In a way it’s the classic “next man up” approach. Rangers hitters have the ease of knowing that if they don’t get the job done, there’s a good chance the next hitter will.
Another puzzling stat pinpoints the Texas bullpen. Rangers relievers own the American League’s worst ERA, however they lead the majors in wins and are tied with the Baltimore Orioles in saves. This proves the back end dominance of the bullpen. Although it’s been somewhat of a roller coaster ride, the back end combination of Jake Diekman, Matt Bush and Sam Dyson have proved effective since their assembly. All three have an ERA below three, Bush has a BAA (Batting Average Against) of .208 and Diekman a BAA of .171. It’s tough to win 82 games with a lack of bullpen depth, only the Chicago Cubs can get away with that. The Rangers wouldn’t have a 30-8 record in one-run games if they couldn’t close out tight games. Another reason they are primed for success in the postseason.
Texas had to tread water while Yu Darvish was out, they’ve done the same with Derek Holland and Colby Lewis. They were forced to replace the elite power hitter and lineup enforcer of Prince Fielder in a sudden and regretable way. Impact player after impact player unavailable, yet Texas holds a commanding lead in the AL West. The contributions of A.J. Griffin and Martin Perez have certainly helped, and the “team” mentality can even escalate up to Jon Daniels in the magic he pulled off at the trade deadline.
It sounds cliche to say a team wins because they play as a team, but that accurately describes the Texas Rangers. No other team in baseball can grind like the Rangers, and no other team in baseball has as much fun as the Rangers. Whether the timeless smile of Adrian Beltre no matter how intense the moment, or the excited smile of Jurickson Profar just to be in the big leagues after all the setbacks he’s encountered, the Rangers have fun playing, thus they have fun winning. Just count the number of Rangers mentioned in this article… this is not one man’s team, this is everyone’s team.
