The Born-Again Rangers

Way back in April 2008, I wrote a post about the tortured history of the Texas Rangers baseball club. At that time, the team was at 7-16 and looking like they were done before the season really got under way. I announced their death that day and while the season proved me right (they finished 79-83 and , although officially in second place in the AL West, a full 21 games out in the division standings.

But while I called them "dead" that day, they were, in fact, about to be born again.

That previous summer, prior to the All-Star break, Texas made three trades that completely reversed the franchise' horrible history. On July 31, 2007, the Rangers stunned their fan base when they traded their star first baseman, Mark Texeira, to the Atlanta Braves, for catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia and four minor leaguers. Later that same day, they traded pitcher Eric Gagne (who had an all-star past and seemed on the verge of a comeback) for David Murphy, the Red Sox top draft pick a couple of years earlier, and a minor leaguer.

But the third trade happened the summer of 2008 and it put the Rangers in place to be reborn. On June 20th of that year, the team sent one of their best young arms, Ednison Volquez, to the Cincinnati Reds for Josh Hamilton.

Most pundits, following all of these moves, felt Texas was still 2-3 years away from winning. After all, the players they gave up - Texiera, Gagne and Volquez - were already performing at the major league level (and in Texiera's case, starring at that level). Team General Manager Jon Daniels, the youngest GM in the league, we looked upon as being way over his head.

But Daniels has proven them all wrong, hasn't he? Much like what Jimmy Johnson did to Mike Lynn, when the Cowboys dealt Herschel Walker to the Vikings back in 1989, this trade was not about what veterans the Rangers were getting. It was about the future.

Now, with the ability to use hindsight, we see that these trades not only boosted the big league roster (Murphy and Hamilton), but because of these acquisitions, the Ranger farm system ranked among the top 2-3 in all of baseball. And this year, it has finally come to the surface.

You see, the minor leaguers that were included in the deals included shortstop Elvis Andrus, pitchers Neftali Feliz, Matt Harrison and Beau Jones, and outfielder Angel Beltre.

This year, Andrus is an all-star, and perhaps the best young shortstop in the game, Feliz is among the best closers in baseball - as well as the leading candidate to win Rookie-of-the-Year, Harrison is a solid long reliever/spot starter, and Jones and Beltre are tearing up the minor leagues (Beltre was just voted minor league player of the year in the organization).

But perhaps the biggest contributions this season have come from Hamilton and Murphy. Murphy has been primarily used as the teams fourth outfielder for the past couple of years. Solid, but not spectacular. But because of injuries to Nelson Cruz and Hamilton, he has proven himself invaluable and likely to displace started Julio Borbon as a starting outfielder (when Hamilton comes back). Since Hamilton went out with a ribcage injury a couple of weeks ago, Murphy has hit over .400, with towering home runs and multi-RBI games (he had four more RBI tonight).

But the MVP of this team is Josh Hamilton. What Hamilton has been able to accomplish has not been seen in these parts before. After starting off slowly for the first month an a half, Ham-bone has been nothing short of remarkable. Since May 20th, he has hit over .400 (his current batting average is whopping .362), and has displayed tremendous power and outfield range. In addition, he plays with the intensity and desire of a true champion.

The play that epitomizes Josh Hamilton that comes to mind was when he scored from second on an infield single (he has done that twice now). In the same game, he homered, doubled twice and made two outstanding, highlight reel catches in the outfield.

Suddenly, the future has arrived in Arlington. With the new ownership of Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan, the emergence of guys like C.J. Wilson, Nellie Cruz and Ian Kinsler, as well as the stability of Cliff Lee, Michael Young and Vlad Guerrero, this Rangers team is vastly different that I've ever seen before.

No more are the 10-9 shootouts common in Texas. Today, you are more likely to see a 2-1 game here. In the past, a win required Juan Gonzalez or Rafael Palmeiro to hit enough home runs to survive suspect pitching. But these days are no more. And the games are even more exciting than ever. Who know "small ball" could be so much fun? Of course, there is still a lot of power in the lineup. But there is also a lot of speed.

But more importantly, there is good pitching. And a GM who isn't afraid of making deals.

I don't know if this is the year the Rangers finally have playoff success. But I do know that for perhaps the first time in the team's 38 years, the future looks bright and sunny.

Why Do I Do It?

Today, of course, is Father's Day. Since I'm the father to four (sometimes) wonderful children, I should have spent today surrounded by my kids and doing "Dad" things, like making a barbecue, having the kids wait on me hand and foot and you know, stuff like that. But that's not what my day was like this year.

Today started like most Sundays. I woke up pretty early, took an shower, and because my oldest son spent the night, woke him up so we could get haircuts (it was needed for both of us).

Before we came home again, one of my twins called and asked if I could come over because they wanted to give me something. Now understand, for all the years I was married, I don't ever recall any of my kids doing anything for Father's Day. As one of those cruel ironies of life, Mother's Day occurs during May, while kids are still in school. So each day, during that week, the teachers have them make art projects, or cards, for the kids to bring mom on Sunday.

Well, we fathers have no such luck. School ended a week ago and therefore, there weren't any teachers making my kids make ashtrays, or whatever it is they made when I was young.

Now, in my house, we always celebrated Mother's Day. But, whether it's because of my personality, or whatever, I was always lucky if one of the kids remembered me before I finally reminded them before bed. Don't laugh, they forgot my birthday two years in a row!

But this time, they actually bought me a gift. Well, their mother paid for it. But it was something the kids wanted me to have. It was so sweet that I was at a loss for words.

Anyway, that isn't why I'm writing today. What I did today was - after hanging out with the kids for a short time - was coach baseball.

I've always enjoyed playing ball. Even as a kid, when I was pretty awful, I still loved the competition. By high school, I became a pretty good basketball player, and a decent quarterback in football. But of course, I was just a legend in my own mind - especially once I seriously injured my back, when I was just 20.

But I still loved the games, even of I wasn't able to play anymore. I knew how to play and as they say, those who can, do. Those who can't, coach. I knew how to coach. Oh, I wasn't able to necessarily teach the kids any great moves, and I certainly am no genius. But one thing I've always known was how to interact and motivate kids. It was the reason I spent so many years as a youth adviser for NCSY (National Conference of Synagogue Youth).

My first coaching opportunity came in Houston, where I coached the kids from the Hebrew Academy, in basketball. We were not expected to be able to really compete, especially given that we were generally smaller than the other teams. But we only lost one game that season and somehow, someway, defeated that team in a rematch for the championship. It was at that moment that I realized I could do this.

While I spent many of the following years continuing my career as a youth director, I didn't get another opportunity to coach again until my own kids started growing up. Then, a few years ago, I came to the conclusion that my older son would greatly benefit from playing in a league. For those who know him, you know that he has Asperger's Syndrome (I don't say he suffers from it because in many ways, it's a blessing as well). But although he loves baseball, he was simply outmatched in this league. Nonetheless, the experience turned out to be very beneficial.

This team was pretty good. But what made them great was the way they not only accepted my son as a teammate, but they way they all reacted when he finally managed his first base hit. It was magical for him and for me. These boys were so good together that it was no surprise when they scored 5 runs in the bottom of the 8th (these games are only 7-inning contests and the championship game went to extra innings) to win it all. While my son did not get the game winning hit, the boy who did was also in the same boat as my son. He was not a very good hitter, but was treated so well by the team that even when he got out, he knew no one was making fun of him.

Well, we won that season. But the season took a lot out of me. I was still recovering from my heart transplant and would often need a day or two just to get back on my feet afterward. But my son asked me to coach again the next year. This time, it was softball and it seemed that this group of kids were not all that interested in playing. I was lucky to be able to field enough players to play each week, and a couple of times, we had to forfeit because we didn't have enough players. It was a brutal season and I felt afterward that it took too much out of me.

But this year, my youngest son decided he wanted to play and he asked me if I would coach his team. How could I refuse? This time, I was in far better health and far better prepared for a season.

When I met my players, I knew I had something special here. The only thing that upset (and disappointed) me was that for some reason, there weren't many parents coming to the games. While that was a concern, I used it as a motivator to show the boys that they only had each other. However, the first game was a disaster, as we fell behind 8-0. But my boys proved to me that they had no quit in them and although they lost, they ended up coming very close - losing just 8-7.

The next week game us our first win and our only tie - which would have been a win had the umpire not blown a call on the last batter. Still, at 1-1-1, I started to see my boys start to play as a team. From there, we reeled off 6 straight wins - some by very large margins. What I also noticed, which was similar to my last championship team, was how the better players treated the less talented ones.

My son started the season afraid to swing a bat. However, he was pretty good in the field, so I kept him at second base. His talent really showed through in the one game he missed. His replacements made four errors at his position that one day. But the team continued to help him learn to hit and by the end if the season, he became one of the better hitters on the team. I was very proud of him, but I was even more impressed with his teammates.

In the first playoff, we were missing one of our best players (and my second pitcher). It showed when we were at bat. But the two boys who pitched were unhitable and we pulled it out 1-0 in 9 innings. Of course, I figured that with that player back in lineup, our chances were excellent that we could win it all.

But sometimes, things don't always work out the way we expect. Today's game started okay, but though the first two innings, we left 4 players on base. After two, the score was tied 0-0. Because of the rules of this league, a pitcher can only pitch 4 innings. So, to keep my best picture available to close the game, I went with my second best pitcher to get us through the middle innings.

That was when things went downhill, and fast. The pitcher has a lot of power and often strikes. But today, the other hitters were just teeing off of him. By the time I had to relace him, the score was already 4-0 them.

The next few innings were hard to watch. We didn't let up any more runs, but it seemed we left at least two men on every inning, but just couldn't score. In the 7th, all the wheels came off and we let up another 5 runs. We did manage, once again, to load the bases in the bottom of the 7th, but once again, they were able to shut us down. We lost 9-0.

And yet, as horrible as I felt for my boys, I still couldn't get over how incredible the season went. Winning isn't everything and tomorrow, these kids will no longer care that they came up a game short. As summer camp, or vacation trips become the focus of their lives, I know that the experience this kids had, coming together as they did, will be a source of pride wherever they go.

I know it is for me.

So now I've been asked to coach in the summer league and I am considering it. Both of my twin boys may play and it would be wonderful if they could have the same incredible experience one of them just had.

So maybe this wasn't the standard Father's Day. And it didn't end with us winning the big trophy. Yet, I wouldn't have traded this Father's Day with anyone. I hope they are all as wonderful as this one was.