Seattle fans have had no disappointment in a decade. No heartache.
Rangers fans? The start of Even Year Magic. Nelson Cruz misjudging a fly ball. A September collapse embodied by Josh Hamilton dropping a lazy pop up in shallow center. Yu Darvish getting out-dueled by Joe Saunders in the Wild Card game. Losing a play-in game to the Rays. The error-filled game in Toronto, capped by the Jose Bautista bat flip.
We've had a lot of heartache.
But I'll take that heartache over the numbness of the previous decades, seasons that were effectively over by July. The highlight of the Rangers' postseason accomplishments before 2010 was winning one game in the Division Series against the Yankees, which was followed by nine straight losses in the playoffs. DFW was a baseball desert, filled with mirages of prospects and veterans past their primes. I remember cheering for the Astros in the 2005 World Series because they were a baseball team from Texas. That's how desperate things were.
Another October has ended badly, but to be realistic, it ends badly for 29 teams every year. We thought this one might be different, and we were wrong.
The best thing we can do is remember how boring baseball used to be in Arlington, and realize how exciting it is now. Jon Daniels, Jeff Bannister, and the rest of the Rangers' front office are some of the best in the business. We have a core of great young players and productive veterans who are fun to watch and genuinely love to play baseball. The future is bright.
There will be heartache if you follow the Texas Rangers, because they're going to be in contention every year for a while, and even good teams don't win the World Series every year. But what makes it worth it is the potential payoff, the relief of all that heartache washing away when the trophy is lifted high in the infield on a chilly October night.
Then there will only be joy.
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