Rangers History Today: A Wild 7th Inning and ... a Bat Flip
On this date in Texas Rangers history, they played one of the most memorable postseason games in franchise history.
It was Game 5 of the American League Division Series. You may know it better as the ‘bat flip’ game.
It has to be one of the strangest games in Rangers history, up there with 10 cent beer night in Cleveland in 1974. Writer Joe Posnanski wrote a piece with television writer Michael Schur (the guy behind Parks and Recreation and The Good Place) on this game, starting their oral history of the game like this:
The series was tied 2-2 on Oct. 14, 2015, when the Rangers visited the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre. To that point, the road team had won each game, so the Rangers felt good about their chances. They also felt good about the fact that ace Cole Hamels was on the hill.
An RBI single by Prince Fielder and a solo home run by Shin-Soo Choo fueled a 2-1 Rangers lead after three innings. The Blue Jays tied the game in the bottom of the sixth inning.
And then came the seventh inning.
Odor, who had singled to start the top of the seventh for the Rangers, was at third with two outs when Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin threw the ball back to pitcher Aaron Sanchez, something Martin had likely done thousands of times in his baseball career. But, this time, his throw hit Choo’s bat, who happened to be in the batter’s box. The ball rolled toward third base and Odor ran home to score a run.
Home plate umpire Dale Scott called it a dead ball, but Rangers manager Jeff Banister appealed and the umpires reversed their call. The reason? Rule 6.03a. Applied to this play, since Choo wasn’t intentionally trying to interfere with the throw and was in the batter’s box, interference could not be called. Therefore, Odor’s run counted, giving the Rangers a 3-2 lead.
Well, Jays fans didn’t like that. For the next 18 minutes, fans threw whatever they could find on the field, delaying the game. The umpires confirmed the ruling via replay, and Blue Jays manager John Gibbons told them they were now playing the game under protest.
But that had nothing on the bottom of the seventh.
The Blue Jays loaded the bases with no one out, thanks three straight Rangers errors, with shortstop Elvis Andrus at the center of it all. Andrus had a fielding error, followed by a throw to first base that ended up being a Mitch Moreland error and followed by a missed catch error by Andrus.
The Rangers got the first out without giving up a run, as Moreland threw out pinch runner Dalton Pompey on a fielder’s choice by Ben Revere. But, Pompey’s slide prevented Rangers catcher Chris Gimenez from attempting a double play, and that led to the Rangers asking to have that play reviewed for interference. The umpires ruled there was no interference after looking at the replay.
At that point, Banister took Hamels out of the game and brought in reliever Sam Dyson. He faced Josh Donaldson, who hit a ball directly at Odor, but the ball hit his glove and only got far enough away from him to score the tying run. Odor was able to get an out at second base, giving the Jays two outs.
The Rangers were nearly out of it. And, then along came Jose Bautista.
Bautista connected with Dyson and hit a three-run home run, but before stepping out of the batter’s box he executed the bat flip of all bat flips and rounded the bases, something to which Dyson took exception. Shortly after, the benches cleared. And the tension didn’t end there. When Dyson got the third out of the inning, for some reason Dyson touched Troy Tulowitzki on the butt and, well, the benches cleared again. Somehow, no one was injured or ejected.
The Rangers never scored again, as Roberto Osuna recorded a five-out save to become the youngest pitcher in American League history to record a save in a postseason game.
The bad blood between the two teams would spill over into 2016, when Bautista and Odor got into a brawl at second base during a game in Arlington.
Also on this date…
Oct. 14, 1994: The Rangers named Johnny Oates as its next manager.
Oates replaced Kevin Kennedy, and Oates’ hiring came during an impasse between the league and the players union over a new collective bargaining agreement. The World Series had even been canceled for the first time. New general manager Doug Melvin, who was formerly the assistant general manager at Baltimore and worked with Oates, made the hire.
With the Rangers, Oates went 506-476 and led them to their first three American League West titles, coming in 1996, 1998 and 1999. Oates was also named the American League Manager of the Year in 1996. His No. 26 was retired by the Rangers, and he’s a member of both the Rangers and Orioles Hall of Fame. Oates passed away on Dec. 24, 2004.
Oates carved out a 593-game Major League career as a backup catcher, making two World Series appearances with the Los Angeles Dodgers (among his teammates was former Rangers pitcher Charlie Hough). Oates hit .250 for his MLB career, and then moved into coaching and managing after his retirement after the 1981 season.
Oates became the manager of the Baltimore Orioles for the 1991 season, and served four seasons, winning 291 games, but never leading the O’s to an East Division crown. Baltimore let him go on Sept. 26, 1994. Melvin hired Oates to take over, as the two had worked together in Baltimore.
Are we missing a moment from this day in Texas Rangers history? We’re happy to add it. Hit us up on Twitter @PostinsPostcard and let us know what to add.
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