My New Love for October

Section 319, Row 1, seat 8.

That's the seat I was standing in front of when the Texas Rangers won their first home post-season game in franchise history. My voice is raspy, my face is sunburned, and I'm beyond tired, but I had a BLAST, and now understand fully why baseball fans love October.

Baseball fans for post-season teams that is. Today I watched the Rangers, while getting updates on my pokes who were playing in Lubbock, all while wondering if my Cowboys would get it together tomorrow in Minnesota. On top of that, the Mavericks season is about to get started. How is a sports fan supposed to concentrate when 4 of his teams could potentially be playing a game all within 2 days of each other?!

Now onto the Ranger game. First off, if you fully understand baseball, and understand what's at stake every game, then going to a post-season baseball game would probably be the best experience you could ever have. And if your team wins, it's even better. The stadium was packed (not a sellout, but probably 90-95% full), and every single fan was into it. Aside from the occasional "Yankees Suck" chant, I was extremely proud to be a Rangers fan. Walking from our seats to the bottom level and to the car was just as fun, as fans were "high-fiving" ushers and security guards, buying TONS of apparel and souvenirs, and even walking through all of the sections to grab the souvenir cups that are usually left there (I was upset, those are the cups I now use in my dorm, and I could only snag two.) It was an amazing day to be a Ranger fan, amazing day to be at the ballpark, and even better to be a baseball fan in general.

The Ranger players put on a show as well, torching the Yankee starting pitcher, and putting themselves in good situations against their bullpen. But one player stuck out to me more than anyone, and that was Darren O'Day.

The submarine pitcher came in after Oliver retired two batters, and his job was the same as it always is. "You'll have one or two batters, then we're pulling you. Get them out."

That makes me think two things:
1- How awesome would it be to be paid an amount of money to come into a game and pitch to one, maybe two batters, then go hang out in the dugout for the rest of the game?

2- How stressful would it be to be paid an amount of money to come into a game and pitch to one, maybe two batters, then go hang out in the dugout for the rest of the game?

But tonight, he ignored #2, and slammed the door shut, just as he has most of the season, by striking out the player he was matched up against.

This year he has pitched 62.0 innings in 72 games, with an ERA of just over 2. At most, he sees two batters an outing, which means he saw 62 batters at a minimum this year, and had 45 strike outs. Tonight, he seemed to give the bullpen the confidence to say "We can beat these guys", and actually did it.

So as the game wore on, and the Rangers seemed to score at will in the first half of the game (They scored one run in the 1st inning and two runs in the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th inning), the happier and more proud I became. Happy because the same team I went to the ballpark 15+ times this summer to see in the 105 degree Texas heat, is in the playoffs, and not only that, but is actually doing extremely well. Proud because I could enjoy it with my family, and proud that my mom is capable of getting those tickets for us.

October is only half finished, and I already never want it to end. Hopefully the Rangers can pull this series out and go from there, I know the Cowboys would appreciate their full fan base back, so the sooner the next 7 wins come the better!

Go Rangers, Go Pokes, and Go Cowboys!