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Texas Rangers: The franchise all-time bracket

By Bill Felber

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 24: A Texas Rangers batting helmet in the dugout before a game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on June 24, 2017 in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Rangers defeated the Yankees 8-1. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 24: A Texas Rangers batting helmet in the dugout before a game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on June 24, 2017 in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Rangers defeated the Yankees 8-1. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /
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Adrian Beltre, a Texas Rangers legend. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
Adrian Beltre, a Texas Rangers legend. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

The 2010 and 2011 Texas Rangers are the only teams in franchise history to reach the World Series. Which was best…or can another team make that claim?

Since the franchise’s creation as the Washington Senators in 1961, the team now known as the Texas Rangers has produced eight post-season participants. That’s a lot better news for people putting together an eight-team franchise bracket challenge than it is for Rangers fans.

Two of those teams reached World Series play, although neither won. In fact, the Rangers are one of seven franchises without a World Series banner, the others being the Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Angels, Tampa Bay Rays, Milwaukee Brewers, Colorado Rockies, and San Diego Padres.

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Make of that what you will.

The two best Rangers teams are probably those two pennant winners, the 2010 and 2011 teams. That 2011 club came as close as any team has ever come to winning it all, taking two-run leads into the bottom of the ninth AND bottom of the 10th of the potential clinching sixth game, only to lose both of them and eventually the ballgame in the 11th. Not that Rangers fans need to be reminded

The remaining six post-season contenders are the clubs of 1996, 1998, 1999, 2012, 2015, and 2016. Since there are no great differences among them, they’ll be seeded based on the regular-season record, post-season record, and also to maximize chronological diversity at least in the opening round

The format is identical to previous bracket challenges. Each matchup in the tournament is decided based on seven criteria. You can think of each as a ‘game,’ the winner of four games advancing. The seven criteria are:

  1. Game 1: Regular season winning percentage.
  2. Game 2: Post-season winning percentage
  3. Game 3: Team OPS+
  4. Game 4: Team ERA+
  5. Game 5 (if necessary): Team WAR
  6. Game 6 (if necessary: Fielding percentage above the league average for the season in question.
  7. Game 7 (if necessary): The standard for Game 7 is Hall of Famers or likely future Hall of Famers.
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