The phrase “World Series hangover” is both overused and underused in Major League Baseball. It seems like we are quick to acknowledge it when the defending champs are going through struggles, but we ignore its existence when that team continues to be excellent the following season. This year, though, it definitely applies.
The Texas Rangers, coming off their first World Series in club history, are currently 24-27, having dropped 10 of their last 12 games. They’re under .500 for the first time in Bruce Bochy’s brief tenure as manager, the offense is nowhere close to reaching its stratospheric heights of a season ago and the pitching staff has been ravaged with injuries, losing another hugely important arm in Jon Gray Thursday night. If they weren’t wearing brand-new diamond-encrusted rings, we’d say this was just a middling baseball team.
So when frustrated Rangers fans turn on their TVs to watch these losses pile up, who are the players making their hairs turn gray? These aren’t just the most underwhelming players for the 2024 Rangers, but those for whom the fans feel no optimism moving forward. Perhaps one could even say these are the players who are not Deep in the Heart(s) of Texas.
