The Texas Rangers were eight games back of the Houston Astros for the AL West lead on Aug. 1, but a late-season run of epic proportions vaulted them back into the pennant chase and the postseason party for the first time since 2012.
On Thursday, the Rangers secured a playoff spot with a 5-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels. The victory also shrank their magic number to clinch the AL West down to one.
ESPN Stats & Info broke down just how improbable the Rangers' return to the postseason is by referencing their early-season struggles:
Bleacher Report's Scott Miller offered up some praise for Rangers manager Jeff Banister following the win:
Utility pitcher Anthony Bass passed along a celebratory picture from the locker room:
Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki also joined in on the congratulatory parade:
To put the accomplishment in perspective, the Rangers became just the fourth team in the last 30 years to gain sole possession of first place in their division beyond the season's 144th game, according to Elias Sports Bureau (h/t ESPN.com). The three teams that accomplished the feat prior to the Rangers were all bounced in the divisional round of the playoffs.
Ever since the trade deadline, Texas has resembled a completely different beast. While a 42-46 pre-All-Star Game record didn't provide much reason for optimism, the Rangers bounced back and throttled the opposition by going 18-10 in August. Since the All-Star break, Texas has posted a cumulative mark of 45-26.
Although the Rangers' biggest trade-deadline splash revolved around the acquisition of left-handed ace Cole Hamels, the team's most noticeable improvements beyond July 31 came at the plate. After batting .247 as a team in the 88 games prior to the break, Texas experienced a revival that pushed its second-half batting average toward .270.
Shin-Soo Choo has been particularly hot of late, as his batting average and on-base percentage have both spiked in concert with the Rangers' ascent up the American League ladder. In September, Choo is batting over .400 with an on-base percentage in excess of .500.
"He's got a gap-to-gap approach," Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said, according to the Star-Telegram's Jeff Wilson. "It doesn't matter lefty or righty or off-speed. He's locked in. You see the difference it makes when you have him on base. It changes the whole dynamic."
On the mound, Hamels has offered Texas' pitching staff an added dimension. Since arriving in Arlington, the 2008 World Series MVP has gone 6-1 with a 3.86 ERA.
Buoyed by Hamels' experience on the big stage and his well-rounded arsenal of pitches, the Rangers have the ability to play the role of postseason disrupter—especially if Colby Lewis and Yovani Gallardo raise their games under the bright lights of the second season.
Factor in Prince Fielder's big bat and Adrian Beltre's wealth of talent on an offense that ranks among the league's best, and Texas is in prime position to keep its positive momentum churning.
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