The 2007 Texas Rangers Roster Were Everything

Next month will mark 25 years of me being a die-hard Texas Rangers fan. Also, next year will mark the 20th anniversary of one of the best games in Rangers history. I'll highlight that in a moment. The year 2007 was an important one for me, because that was when I graduated from high school. The Rangers roster from that year was everything, but record wise, not so much. They finished the season with a record of 75–87 and placed fourth in the American League West. The manager at the time was Ron Washington, who served in that role from 2007 to 2014. He led the Rangers to back-to-back American League pennants and World Series appearances. Unfortunately, they didn't win either of those titles. He held coaching positions with the then Oakland Athletics and Atlanta Braves, finally winning a World Series title with the latter team in 2021. Washington was named the Los Angeles Angels manager in late 2023, his first managerial job in over a decade. Unfortunately, after three seasons as skipper, the Angels announced that the then 73-year-old wouldn't return for another season. He and Jeff Banister, who succeeded Washington, are two of my favorite managers. Banister was the Rangers manager from 2015 to 2018. He won the American League Manager of the Year in 2015 and led the team to back-to-back American League West titles in 2015 and 2016. They would lose to the Toronto Blue Jays in both appearances in the ALDS.

Here is a list of players I enjoyed watching the most during that season:

Scott Feldman, Brandon McCarthy, Kevin Millwood, C.J. Wilson, Gerald Laird, Hank Blalock, Ian Kinsler (duh), Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Mark Teixiera, Michael Young (of course), Nelson Cruz, and David Murphy

Sure, the Rangers finished the 2007 season under .500, but the aforementioned consecutive World Series appearances became even more exciting. 2007 was also the season where the Rangers played one of the most explosive (not literally) games in both franchise and MLB history. On the evening of August 22, the Rangers were in Baltimore as part of a four-game series at Camden Yards. Just to note that it was a game that was rescheduled from Monday, due to inclement weather and part of a doubleheader. The starting pitchers for that rescheduled game were Kason Gabbard (Texas) vs Daniel Cabrera (Baltimore). I graduated from high school nearly two months before this game took place. I'll give you the short version of this game. After trailing in the game 3-0, fast forward to the top of the 6th inning: Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit a solo home run, making it 6-3 Rangers. Just to remind everyone that the Rangers were behind earlier in that game. Frank Catalanotto, Ian Kinsler, and Michael Young had the bases loaded, with Marlon Byrd at bat, eager to bust this game wide open. He did just that by hitting a grand slam, making the score 10-3 Rangers. At the end of the 6th inning, the score was 14-3 Rangers. Going to the top of the 8th inning, Travis Metcalf hits the second grand slam of the game, making the score 20-3 Rangers. In the top of the 9th inning, Ramon Vasquez sealed the deal by hitting a three-run homer, making the score 30-3 and that would be the final score in the first game of the doubleheader. Kason Gabbard got the win, while Daniel Cabrera was handed the loss. Wes Littleton recorded his first save of the season. The game lasted nearly three and a half hours, but the blowout win by the Rangers made MLB history. The 30 runs scored was a modern-era record for a single game since 1900. The 29 hits in a single game was a Rangers club record. I'll have a link to the original story down below for your viewing pleasure.

The Rangers made their third appearance to the World Series in 2023, the first since 2011. They would end up winning their first World Series title in franchise history. November 1, 2023, would a night that I'll remember forever. The roster from 2023 would be on the top of my list. If you get a chance to see the highlight from that game in 2007, it's worth the watch.

The One Texas Rangers Game You Probably Forgot About | Unbalanced