Baseball Archives - D Magazine

Who Is Roki Sasaki, and Could He Be the Rangers’ Next Ace?

Mike Piellucci — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 15:38:51 +0000

Staring at the ticker running across the bottom of the TV screen can be rough for Dallas fans right now. I knew that as I sipped my beer and heard the thud of disappointment hit the bar to my left. I looked up, watched my friend from Allen stare at the words announcing Dak Prescott’s … Continued

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One Year Later, Nathan Eovaldi Remains a World Series Anomaly

Mike Piellucci — Fri, 01 Nov 2024 13:39:59 +0000

Few know the torment of deep World Series pitching expeditions quite like Nathan Eovaldi. Before the Rangers right-hander gutted through six dicey innings, one year ago today, to clinch the franchise’s first championship, he did masterful work for the Red Sox in the wee hours of 2018 World Series Game 3 that went unrewarded, if … Continued

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Jonah Heim’s Rocky Road

Mike Piellucci — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 13:46:59 +0000

Jonah Heim is all of us. OK, maybe that’s a little presumptuous of me. But I assume most passionate fans of a team are like I am—quick to fall for the Adrians and Lukas and Emmitts who are uniquely gifted and flash it the minute they arrive, but also latching onto the Ian Kinslers, the … Continued

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Cole Ragans Revisited: A Win-Now Trade One Year Later

Mike Piellucci — Fri, 11 Oct 2024 13:30:00 +0000

As the last micro-units of World Series dopamine wane in their bloodstreams, Rangers fans might have winced when Cole Ragans trotted to the mound for the Kansas City Royals in the American League Division Series on Monday night. The former first-round pick had battled through injuries to make the majors as a long reliever when, … Continued

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The Wait For a Great North Texas Championship Defense Continues

Mike Piellucci — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 18:46:12 +0000

The 2024 Texas Rangers never hit their stride, undone by poor health and worse hitting. If you’re the superstitious sort, perhaps it’s the bad end of Bruce Bochy’s every-other-year World Series voodoo, too. Nevertheless, I knew by May that I’d have license to write this piece by the time the calendar hit July. Sure, there … Continued

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How Can the Rangers Get Back to the World Series? Start by Catching the Astros

Mike Piellucci — Mon, 30 Sep 2024 14:00:00 +0000

A slow start after a deep October run. An entire viable starting rotation on the injured list. Intermittent and inconsistent performance from an aging future Hall of Famer. That describes the way the summer set up for the Texas Rangers. Also for the Houston Astros. Their paths diverged from there. The Rangers never kicked it … Continued

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Wyatt Langford’s Rookie Learning Curve Is Baseball’s New Normal

Mike Piellucci — Thu, 19 Sep 2024 13:30:00 +0000

The expectations for Wyatt Langford’s arrival with the Texas Rangers fell somewhere between Evan Carter and the Kool-Aid Man. The fourth pick in the 2023 MLB draft after demolishing college pitching in the SEC, Langford tore through four levels of the minors in 44 games last summer, slashing .360/.480/.677. He tallied 29 extra-base hits to … Continued

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Chris Young’s Extension Is a Win For Rangers Continuity

Mike Piellucci — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 13:44:36 +0000

As I pulled into the parking lot on the Rangers’ half of the complex at 15850 North Bullard Avenue for what has become a nearly annual trip to the club’s Fall Instructional League camp, a sight I had looked right past countless times stopped me in my tracks. It’s not that anyone would have expected … Continued

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Kumar Rocker Was Everything the Rangers Waited On

Mike Piellucci — Fri, 13 Sep 2024 15:28:55 +0000

It’s supposed to look like 98 miles per hour hissing up in the zone; like a breaking ball cosplaying as a cliff diver; like hitters frantically fouling off anything they can to stay alive for just a little longer. It’s supposed to feel overpowering and inevitable, a battering ram breaking down an old door. … Continued

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Back to Back: Why the You Gotta Believe Team Returned to Fort Worth Sports History

Zoe Roberts — Fri, 30 Aug 2024 17:39:44 +0000

Ty Roberts didn’t set out to become the chronicler of Fort Worth sports history on the big screen. But sometimes as a filmmaker, one story leads to another. Such was the case with Roberts following up the 1930s football drama 12 Mighty Orphans with You Gotta Believe, another true-life underdog saga about a 2002 squad … Continued

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Back to the Future: Jacob deGrom Returns to the World Built in His Image

Mike Piellucci — Fri, 30 Aug 2024 13:40:54 +0000

There’s something about distance that provides clarity. Be it from outer space, or a plane window, or two steps back, perspective is easier to find when there’s more space to seek it. It’s why Jacob deGrom might be the most vividly realized pitcher of the generation. The two-time Cy Young winner has not pitched in … Continued

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Kumar Rocker Is the Brightest Spot of the Rangers’ Cruel Summer

Mike Piellucci — Wed, 28 Aug 2024 13:30:00 +0000

There’s a month left in what, at best, can be described as a disheartening title defense for your Texas Rangers. The bats have betrayed the club and the fan base in 2024, as the Rangers linger at double-digit games under .500 and 10 games back (or thereabout) in the division all while making a habit … Continued

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