Oakland A’s are the biggest problem for Texas Rangers and Jon Daniels | Opinion
Their home attendance is Double A-ish, they don’t even bother trying to keep their own free agents, and while the Texas Rangers have enjoyed two grand MLB stadiums the A’s are looking to Las Vegas because, apparently, what happens in Oakland doesn’t stay in Oakland.
The A’s, not the Houston Astros or any other division team, are actually the biggest rival the Rangers have.
The A’s are the constant reminder of what can be done with less. They are the constant reminder of what you are not doing well.
Both the Rangers and A’s have the same number of World Series rings since 2000, and we have now reached the final destination on the similarities between the two teams.
The A’s remain in town as the finale to the first half of the 2021 season, and, of course, they are having a nice year and in contention for a wild card spot, at least.
On Saturday, the Rangers took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on consecutive home runs from Adolis Garcia and Joey Gallo, and tied the game in the bottom of the eighth at three.
The teams traded runs in the 10th inning before the A’s scored four in the top of the 11th and won, 8-4.
The A’s (50-40) look to be headed to their fourth consecutive postseason appearance, because this is what they always do regardless of who pitches, who hits, or how much money they spend.
The 35-53 Rangers, meanwhile, have reached their normal cruising altitude of 87.3 feet en route to their fifth straight losing season.
As a fan, what would you prefer? The A’s way of being “around it” often, but never actually having won a World Series since 1989? Or the Rangers way, built on the hopes of going on a run to hopefully win your first World Series ever?
The A’s are the type of team Texas Rangers’ czar Jon Daniels’ first boss, then team owner Tom Hicks, wanted to build when JD was fresh out of Cornell, and a baseball operations assistant under then GM John Hart back in 2004.
After acknowledging that signing expensive free agents was not working, Hicks gutted the team with the idea to rebuild his roster with younger players. He was in awe of the Atlanta Braves when they were in the midst of a historic run when they made the playoffs 14 out of 15 years.
Hicks went so far as to hire then Oakland A’s GM Billy Beane’s assistant, Grady Fuson, to come to the Rangers.
Rebuilding the farm system and winning with younger talent did work, as the Rangers were one of the best teams in the American League from 2009 to 2012, but they just couldn’t flip it again.
No team flips better than Oakland.
Since 2000, the A’s will have had 14 seasons with winning records, and 11 playoff appearances, but no World Series ring or World Series appearances.
They have achieved all of this despite consistently having one of the lowest payrolls in baseball, and with what essentially amounts to an unwritten pledge not to pay any of their best players. They just replace them.
“They just keep rolling,” Rangers manager Chris Woodward said before Saturday’s game. “I think they started the season [0-6] and it was, ‘Oh, the A’s aren’t going to be very good this year.’ And then they rattle off 13 [wins] in a row.
“They always seem to have a long winning streak,” he said. “They obviously have some younger players that are pretty darn good right now. Their model of player on the offensive side [is consistent]; they don’t chase, stay in the strike zone, maybe slug, they get on base, they walk, and they always have good pitching no matter what. They are basically in every game.”
In the same time frame, the Rangers will have had eight seasons with winning records, five playoff berths and two World Series appearances.
You might remember the Rangers were twice within one strike of winning the 2011 World Series.
The A’s have been close, but they have not been that close since they were swept out of the 1990 World Series by the Cincinnati Reds.
As it stands today, the A’s are once again much closer to “it” than the Rangers. But, more importantly to Rangers fans, the A’s are reminder of what can be done with far less.
