For the first time in history, the Texas Rangers and the Houston Astros met in the MLB playoffs. The stakes couldn’t have been any higher: the winner would go to the World Series, the loser would go home. The Silver Boot Series has been a storied rivalry, and it came down to a best-of-seven to decide the newest champion of the American League Championship Series (ALCS). With so much on the line, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.
I’ve been a Texas Rangers fan since I was five years old, and they were the first team I ever supported in a live game. Neither I nor my parents can remember who the Rangers played on a sweltering summer day in 2007, but we do remember the foul ball we caught that still sits in my bedroom today.
I was hooked throughout this incredible season watching Texas get its first playoff appearance since 2016, and I even went to a game in July to watch the Rangers crush the Miami Marlins 6-0. As soon as the Rangers clinched their first ALCS appearance since 2011, it felt like Christmas had come two months early. When the Astros defeated the Twins to face them in the championship, I knew I had to see a game in person.
I have made no secret about my disdain for the Houston Astros and my desire to see them fail. But when the team defeated the Minneapolis Twins in the American League Divisional Series, the series meant so much more than just baseball.
Houston vs. Dallas has been a rivalry for as long as sports have existed in the state of Texas. You’re either a Cowboys fan or a Texans (or Oilers) fan, Rockets or Mavericks, Rangers or Astros. Beyond sports, the Houston-Dallas divide is both a geographical and cultural split in the state’s identity in a battle of south vs. north and urban vs. suburban living.
The Rangers and Astros had never met in the playoffs, and now they were fighting for the American League Championship. In a battle to decide who goes for the championship, the ALCS was no longer just about baseball.
When I arrived at Globe Life Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the atmosphere was beyond electric. Music was blasting from the speakers of trucks, fans cheered and waved flags, and it felt like the game was the only show in town — and this was only 20 minutes after the first pitch.
Houston had already jumped out to a 1-0 lead off an Alex Bregman solo home run, but it never felt like the Rangers were out of reach. The in-stadium atmosphere was perfect, with a powder keg of 41,500 fans waiting to go off. In the fifth inning, first baseman Nate Lowe lit the match.
A solo home run deep into left field narrowly missed the foul pole, and the crowd exploded. My seats were near the big screen in right field, and the fireworks were so close that I could feel the blast in my chest. Even though it was a tied game, the Rangers fans had newfound hope and excitement. The Astros retook the lead later in the inning to send Jordan Montgomery out of the game, but relief pitcher Josh Sborz got out of a bases-loaded jam to keep it a one-score game.
With Corey Seager and Evan Carter on base, right fielder Adolis García came up to bat against future Hall of Fame pitcher Justin Verlander. García sent the ball high and deep to left field, and it cleared the wall to the loudest roar I’ve heard in my life. The crowd was so loud that I couldn’t even hear the fireworks, much less my own voice.
Of course, it wasn’t meant to be. García was hit by a pitch in the eighth inning, causing a benches-clearing fight that lasted for over 20 minutes before the Rangers pitched again. With a cold arm, star closing pitcher José Leclerc — one of the best closers in baseball in 2023 — allowed a three-run homer to José Altuve (Why is it always Altuve?), which the Rangers couldn’t recover from in a heartbreaking 5-4 loss.
I had a wide range of emotions when I left the stadium that night. On one hand, a loss always hurts — especially one that went down to the final pitch. But on the other, I witnessed one of the most incredible sporting events of my life. The Rangers didn’t give up, and the Astros showed why they have practically owned the American League for the last half-decade. Rather than a blowout defeat, it felt like a game where, unfortunately, someone had to lose. As a sports fan, that’s all you can ask for in a big game.
The final two games of the series would be just as electric as the fifth. The Rangers closed out both games in blowouts, stunning the world with a 9-2 Game 6 and a crushing 11-4 Game 7. Adolis García earned ALCS MVP after a grand slam in Game 6 and a 2-HR performance in Game 7. It will be the Rangers’ first time in the October Classic since 2011. I can’t wait to watch.
