Rangers finally in Series
ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers did a victory lap, sharing the moment with their frenzied fans. They sprayed each other with ginger ale on the field to involve the AL championship series MVP in the celebration, and doused their manager with the contents of a water cooler.
Fireworks and confetti filled the Texas sky. A flag proclaiming the Rangers as the AL champions was raised high above the ballpark, whipping in the wind alongside more than three dozen Lone Star state flags.
And to make their first World Series berth even more satisfying, the Rangers earned it by beating the defending champion New York Yankees. The clincher was a 6-1 victory Friday night in Game 6 of the ALCS.
"Coming out of spring training, this team showed such a heart," said Rangers icon Nolan Ryan, the Hall of Fame pitcher who is the team president and a part-owner. "There were so many things going on, and they were just unbelievable."
The celebration erupted when former Ranger Alex Rodriguez took a called third strike from hard-throwing rookie closer Neftali Feliz.
"The World Series is coming to Texas," said Michael Young, the longest-tenured Ranger in his 10th season. "These fans have waited longer than we have. I know how bad we wanted it and they must have wanted it more."
The World Series begins Wednesday in either San Francisco or Philadelphia, and the first game in Texas will be next Saturday. The Giants have a 3-2 lead in the NLCS with Game 6 Saturday night in Philly.
Texas, which had never won a postseason series or a home playoff game before this year, dispatched the $200 million-plus Bronx Bombers with little drama — especially after a four-run outburst in the fifth inning snapped a 1-all tie.
"They beat us," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "They outhit us, they outpitched us, outplayed us and they beat us."
The Rangers showed the 27-time World Series champions something Ryan has brought them: a culture where pitching rules, and starters expect to go deep into games.
Colby Lewis dominated over eight innings for his second win of the series and Josh Hamilton earned the series MVP award. In a state where most sports fans gear up for fall weekends by watching high school football, the Rangers gave a new meaning to Friday Night Lights.
Vladimir Guerrero, heading for baseball's biggest stage for the first time in his 15 major league seasons, drove in three runs before scoring on Nelson Cruz's homer in the fifth.
Hamilton, who homered four times in the series, admitted he shed a tear in center field right before the final out.
"We are here as a group. This group is here because they don't know how to fail," said Hamilton, whose comeback from cocaine and alcohol addictions after being the No. 1 overall pick has been well-documented.
After going 2 for 18 with two singles in the division series, Hamilton broke out in the ALCS. So much so that he was intentionally walked five times, an ALCS record, including three times in the clincher
Ryan, whose only World Series as a player came for the 1969 New York Mets, was presented with the AL championship trophy after spending much of the game standing, clapping and hollering along with the rest of the raucous crowd of 51,404.
