Corey Seager Bought Texas Rangers Pitch, Club Fulfilled Promises in Playoff Return

Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager raised eyebrows when he signed with the team, but he said there has always been a plan.
Corey Seager Bought Texas Rangers Pitch, Club Fulfilled Promises in Playoff Return
Corey Seager Bought Texas Rangers Pitch, Club Fulfilled Promises in Playoff Return /

ARLINGTON, Texas — When Corey Seager signed his 10-year, $325 million contract with the Texas Rangers two offseasons ago, it made headlines and it raised eyebrows.

Here was one of the best hitters in baseball choosing to leave the Los Angeles Dodgers — where he was a NLCS and World Series MVP in 2020 — for a Rangers team that had not had a winning season since 2016.

He listened to the organization’s pitch in the winter of 2021 and signed on to a plan that he said appealed to his meticulousness. The Rangers — who have a 2-0 lead in the American League Division Series entering Tuesday’s Game 3 — weren’t just throwing money at a problem.

They saw Seager as part of the plan. Seager understood that going in. So far, everything he was promised he says the Rangers have delivered.

“Yeah, they pretty much met everything that they told me,” Seager said.

The Rangers’ pitch wasn’t just about money and playing time. They knew that Seager enjoyed hitting at Globe Life Field during the 2020 World Series. He has commented on many occasions about the batter’s eye in center field and his ability to see the ball well coming out of the hands of opposing pitchers.

The short right-field porch fits well into his left-handed swing, and he produced one of the best offensive seasons of his career, nearly winning the American League batting title despite missing more than a month of time due to two different injuries.

But a winning team isn’t built around a stadium, nor is it built around one player. The vision that the Rangers pitched him during free agency wasn’t just about him, he said.

“It was what they saw in the minor leagues, what they saw in future free agents,” Seager said. “It was their whole process of getting back to the playoffs. When I was in Los Angeles it was a long time since they won (a World Series) and I saw what that did for a fan base. When I heard they had never won that here, that was extremely exciting for me to be a part of something and to be on the ground floor and build that.”

With a win on Tuesday, the Rangers can get one step closer to that first World Series title and fulfilling the remainder of their sales pitch to Seager and the other free agents they’ve signed the past two offseasons.

Rangers-Orioles ALDS Schedule, Results

(Best-of-5 series, all times central)

Game 1: Rangers 3, Orioles 2

Game 2: Rangers 11, Orioles 8 (Rangers lead series, 2-0)

Game 3: Baltimore at Texas, Tuesday, 7:03 p.m., Fox

Game 4: Baltimore at Texas, Wednesday, 6:07 p.m., FS1*

Game 5: Texas at Baltimore, 7:03 p.m., Friday, FS1*

*-if necessary

MLB Decision on Roof for Game 3

You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.

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Matthew Postins
MATTHEW POSTINS

Matthew Postins is an award-winning sports journalist who covers the Texas Rangers for Fan Nation/SI and also writes about the Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies. He also covers the Big 12 for HeartlandCollegeSports.com.