‘Stinkin cheaters’ vs. ‘Fake fans’: Astros and Rangers fans sound off on the rivalry
Angel Medina feels like he’s failed as a father.
His 18-year-old son, Angel Jr., became an Astros fan after seeing his first baseball game in Houston.
The pair made the over 300 mile journey from Midland to Globe Life Field Wednesday to see the Texas Rangers face off against the Houston Astros in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series.
Rangers fans had few kind words for their interstate rivals Wednesday pointing to the Astros’ 2017 cheating scandal and their recent dominance of the American League West as the main sources of the teams’ rivalry.
However, the match-up has extra meaning this year as both teams compete competing for a chance to go to the World Series.
“(The Astros) have been good for a while, and it’s been since 2011 since we were decent,” Medina said.
The rivalry really started when the Astros joined the American League in 2013, said Raylene Sampson, who’s been coming to Rangers game since her father brought took her to Opening Day in 1974.
Before Houston switched leagues, Sampson rooted for the Astros because they were a Texas team.
“And then they came over and it was like, no we’re not letting you take the American League. This is our territory,” Sampson said.
Lifelong Dodger fan and 30-year Texas resident Armando Contreraz attended Wednesday’s game to root against the Astros as much as he was rooting for the Rangers.
He sported a custom Astros jersey with, “cheaters,” and the number 17 written on the back — a reference to Houston’s 2017 World Series victory that was called into question following a cheating scandal.
Contreraz attended game 7 of the 2017 World Series between the Dodgers and Astros. He said it felt like the Astros players were hitting batting practice.
“Later I found out they were hitting the trash can,” he said, referring to an alleged tactic the Astros used to alert their batters to tip them about the opposing team’s pitches.
With only four players from the 2017 Astros still playing on the team, Contreraz said he hopes the scandal will pass eventually.
The Rangers-Astros rivalry is good for baseball and good for Texas, he said.
“Most of the Rangers fans I know are fake,” said 18-year-old Boerne resident Nicolas Cortez.
He’s been an Astros fan since he was 8, and said most of his friends who are Rangers fans can barely name the line up or know anything about the team’s history.
It’s clear both teams don’t like each other, Cortez said, referencing the July 26 game where both teams’ benches cleared following a grand slam by Rangers outfielder Adolis Garcia.
Both teams represent big cities in Texas, and the state has a lot of pride, but there can be only one champion, he said.
