Three Games. One Final Chance.

The Texas Rangers concluded their final home game of the season with a 3-1 win over the New York Mets Thursday afternoon, ending up in a tie yet again with their division rivals, the Houston Astros for the American League West lead. Just to remind everyone that both teams have a record of 79-80, but the Astros hold the tiebreaker, just in case they end up with the same record as the Rangers on Sunday. In other words, the Astros would win the division. The latter team began a four-game series against the Athletics in Sacramento Thursday night, where they won the first game 7-5. Meanwhile, Jacob deGrom will take the mound in the first game of the final series of the year against the Minnesota Twins on the road Friday night. There's a lot of pressure put on both the Rangers and Astros as they battle it out for the chance to win the division and punch their ticket to the Postseason.

Let's recap on how the Rangers fared last season. They finished with a record of 81-81, placing third in the AL West. For the second consecutive year, they missed the playoffs. A lackluster end to the season led to Bruce Bochy being fired after three years as manager. In 2025, I shared my thoughts about another disappointing season by the Rangers. You can read that full story in the link at the end of this story. I had a very pessimistic attitude about them a year ago. However, I have a much better attitude about this team. If they win the division, I will celebrate and cheer them on in the Wild Card round. If they don't win it, I know that they've done their best. I'm proud of my own team for being in the playoff chase and persevering, no matter what happens at the end of the day on Sunday. Them missing the playoffs for the third season in a row would be both heartbreaking and devastating, but I know that they'll use September 2026 as a way to strive and improve even further next season, if there's baseball played, that is.

Right now, I'm staying positive and hopefully, things will work out in the Rangers favor when the final games have been played on Sunday. The Rangers will need more than just hope to overcome this challenge. All they do is to have faith in themselves and fight the good fight. I've been a die-hard Rangers fan for 25 years and I've witnessed the losing seasons and Game 6 of the 2011 World Series, where they should've clinched their first championship, yet it slipped through their fingers. Yes, they've since redeemed themselves by finally winning their first World Series title. At the end of the day, I'm still going to be a fan and will continue to stand by my team. Being a baseball fan of your favorite MLB team is like being married to them. No matter how long you've been a fan and no matter how awful they perform, you still love them. Disappointment in your team not making the playoffs is understandable and frustrating, but disappointments as baseball fans gives us hope that they'll become better and stronger than they were this season. Just in case there isn't going to be a 2027 season, we'll still support them and post about them on social media.

As for the Rangers, the fight is far from over. I'll quote a line from High School Musical: "We're all in this together." The Rangers have their loyal fans by their side and have each other for support as they aim to win the AL West. Let's get the job done!

Another Year, Same Results | Unbalanced