The Texas Rangers end their season with only a few games left in the regular season and without any postseason opportunities. Being 5th in the American League West, the Rangers will finish with a three-game series against the Cleveland Indians. In 2020, the Rangers also finished 5th in their division with a record of 22-38.
An objectively stale season resulted from the iffy pitching staff and an offense that refused to ignite. A baseball analysis publication, Diamond Digest, focused their 2021 Rangers season outlook on the lack of pitching talent. “Rangers were in the bottom five in the American League in 2020 in just about every major stat category.” Diamond Digest reads.
By no means did the majority believe that this year would feature any crazy break-away from the recent Rangers slump. The PECOTA projected record for the season was 66.7-95.3, which even overestimated their current 58-100.
On the contrary, the Rangers still made impressive ripples in the baseball community for their 2021 season. A few standalone pitchers had decent seasons, with Joe Barlow locking in a 1.61 era and Ian Kennedy with a 2.51. Joey Gallo and Adolis Garcia performed well on the defense, keeping their combined error count under 10. Joey Gallo was traded and sent to the Yankees in July.
CBS Sports stats show Garcia hit in 88 RBI’s as of Thursday, as well as 30 home runs, a beacon of light in an otherwise dreary season. 1st baseman Nathaniel Lowe had an OBP over .350 and a slugging percentage of .410.
The 2021 season wasn’t quite a complete “rebuilding” opportunity for the Rangers, but players are using it to motivate themselves for the postseason. Manager Chirs Woodward added, “I have 100 percent belief in this organization, and we will win a championship at some point, hopefully soon. This 100-loss season, we’ll never forget.”
