'That Trophy's a Big Deal'; Rangers' Manager Chris Woodward Speaks on Losing to Astros in 2017 World Series
SURPRISE, Ariz. – In the fallout of the Astros' public apologies, numerous players have shared their disdain for the way it was handled. Rangers manager Chris Woodward shared his thoughts on the recent outrage surrounding the Astros.
"Once spring training starts, once somebody breaks the seal, I figured there'd be a lot of comments being thrown out after that," Chris Woodward said. "A lot of people are frustrated. A lot of pitchers were hurt by that. A lot of teams and managers – their own manager was let go. It hurts me to know we lost a World Series we potentially could have won. That stings. I'm not going to lie. It hurts."
Chris Woodward was the third base coach of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2017, who lost to the Astros in the 2017 World Series. Now going into his second season as the Rangers manager, while players are speaking very bluntly about how they feel, Woodward is a bit more reserved about lashing out emotionally.
"As a manager, I've got to hold myself to a higher standard," Woodward said. "The players are going to give their opinions. They're entitled to that. They're allowed to speak their opinion."
Woodward is currently a manager, but does identify with the players, having a 12-year playing career of his own. The closest he got to a World Series as a player was as a member of the New York Mets in 2006, who lost in game seven of the NLCS to the St. Louis Cardinals.
"Being a staff member, it hurts because you don't know how many times you're going to have an opportunity to win a World Series," Woodward said. "When you're that close, knowing that it possibly should have gone our way, that hurts. But as a player...I can't imagine the feeling I would have as a player because that trophy, I'm not going to quote Justin Turner, but it's a big deal."
Part of the audio from the interview with Chris Woodward is featured above.
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