The Buzz: A-Rod Leads The Rangers To The World Series

Let’s all jump in our hot tub time machine and go the year of 2000. When the Texas Rangers shelled out a 10 year/$252MM contract to a 25 year old Shortstop named Alex Rodriguez. Here is what then Texas Rangers Owner Tom Hicks had to say about acquiring Alex Rodriguez from the Seattle Mariners.

"“Alex is the player we believe will allow this franchise to fulfill its dream of continuing on its path to becoming a World Series champion,” Rangers owner Tom Hicks said. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED"

So, there you have it the Rangers had Alex Rodriguez, Ivan Rodriguez, and Rafeal Palmeiro and were now destined to win the World Series. During A-Rod’s first season with the Texas Rangers in 2001, he hit .318/.399/.622 while belting out 52 home runs and driving in 135 runs. The Rangers, however, finished last in the American League West with a record of 73-89.

The Rangers and Rodriguez figured that the 2002 season would bring the success that was envisioned before the 2001 season when A-Rod was first acquired. Rodriguez, once again had a phenomenal year, hitting .300/.392/.623 with 57 home runs and 147 runs driven in. However, once again, the Rangers finished last in their division with a record of 72-90.

Then brought on the 2003 season, after the Rangers have been a disappointment in under their first two years with Alex Rodriguez. Rodriguez continued his stroke of excellence hitting .298/.396/.600 with 47 home runs and 118 RBI’s. Meanwhile, the Rangers continued their streak of disappointment as for the third straight year they finished last in their division with a record of 71-91.

After all the hype and excitement that resulted from the Rangers signing Rodriguez during the winter of 2000, the Rangers have finished last in their division the first three seasons that Rodriguez was with the team. And in the off-season after the 2003 season, the Rangers did the unthinkable.

Only three years after signing him to the largest contract in Baseball history, they told teams that they were willing to trade the $200MM slugger. At first, the Rangers had a trade agreement with the Boston Red Sox. However, the deal wound up being vetoed by Major League Baseball, as Rodriguez would have been forced to take a pay cut if he would have been traded to the Red Sox. Which is when the New York Yankees came into the picture, and decided to trade for him.

Now, let’s bring the clock back to October 22nd, 2010 at around 10:00PM. We are in the top of the ninth in Game Six of the American League Championship Series with the Rangers leading the series against the Yankees  3-2. The score of the game is 6-1 Rangers, with the Rangers one out away from their first ever World Series appearance. Former Ranger Alex Rodriguez is at the plate for the Yankees, and Neftali Feliz is the pitcher for the Texas Rangers. The Result, Rodriguez strikes out looking and the Rangers are headed to their first World Series.

So, a decade after Rodriguez signed the massive contract with the Rangers, he finally led the Rangers to their first World Series appearance. The only problem, Rodriguez was playing for the opposing team. Rodriguez was a combined 4 for 21(.190) against his former team in the American League Championship Series. Which, was a major factor in why the Rangers beat the Yankees to go to the World Series.  And, he finally achieved his original goal of leading the Rangers to the World Series.