Max Scherzer, a future Hall of Fame pitcher, will not pitch again for the Texas Rangers until at least June. Jacob deGrom, a two-time Cy Young champion, is out at least until August. Nathaniel Lowe, the Rangers’ first baseman, has an oblique strain that will likely sideline him for a month, necessitating his first time on the injured list. All-Star shortstop Corey Seager (sports hernia) and third baseman Josh Jung (left calf strain) have both been hurt this spring.
Their top two draft picks in the last two years, starters Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker, are unlikely to be ready to pitch in the major leagues this season. And, for the time being, Rangers owner Ray Davis refuses to sign playoff pitching hero Jordan Montgomery to a rich free-agent deal with no TV commitment after this season. But are you worried? Uh-uh. These are the defending World Series champions. They smirk at adversity and swatted away barriers like summer mosquitos, just like they did last season.
“I really feel good about our world championship,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy told USA TODAY Sports. “They now have something for the rest of their life, which includes Ray Davis and ownership. It’s simply the gift that keeps on giving.”We now feel comfortable playing and pitching with anyone. We made it over the last obstacle. Our expectations are different now. The standards are varied. “When the season begins, we’ll have the ring ceremony and all of stuff, but that’s when you realize it’s done. It’s time to go to work and win another one.
This is a club that has blown more games than any other team to ever make the playoffs. It lost the AL West title on the last day of the season. They had to travel from Seattle to Tampa for the first wild card series. They had to fly up to Baltimore for the next series. They had to meet the Houston Astros, the defending World Series champions, in the ALCS. Then, in the World Series, they’ll meet the red-hot Arizona Diamondbacks. Then laugh all the way home to Texas. “Everyone counted us out last year, but these guys never gave up,” Bochy explained. “They didn’t dwell on their misfortunes. They simply went out and worked. That’s what impressed me the most: their resilience. They remained unaffected the whole time.
“The best move they made was Bruce Bochy,” Los Angeles Angels manager Ron Washington told reporters before their game versus Texas. Washington guided the Rangers to back-to-back American League pennants in 2010-11. “In terms of leadership, he’s got it all. If you can’t follow Bruce, you can’t follow anyone else.And those guys will take his lead.” According to the Rangers’ players, he never appeared to be frightened, let alone panicked, assuring them all along that this was a team capable of winning the World Series. On the night of November 1, 2023, they believed him, capturing their first championship since the franchise relocated to Texas 52 years before.
“You know what, he’s a tough read,” outfielder Travis Jankowski admits. “He is always the same. So you never know whether he is stressed or not. He constantly appears to be in a pleasant mood. That is one of the reasons he helped us so greatly.We did not have the simplest path to the World Series. We had some ups and downs along the way, but when you see the skipper is not panicking and is the same guy every day, as a player, you go, “Okay, we don’t need to panic.” “He’s fine.”He could have been a duck on top of the water with those flailing feet, but props to Boch for keeping his poker face on there no matter what.
This spring, Rangers players are familiar with his personality idiosyncrasies, sluggish walks to the mound, and leadership traits that have earned him a Hall of Fame plaque. Sure, they’ll have plenty of challenges this season. They are not even favorites to win their own division. However, Bochy has them believing they can become the first team to win two World Series in a row since the New York Yankees a quarter century ago. “Things are more relaxed,” veteran starter Jon Gray says, “but he wants us to look forward this year. Last year was fantastic, but don’t let it get in the way this year.
