One strike away.
4 days ago the Texas Rangers stood one strike away from a World Series title. Twice. It was a meltdown of epic proportions.
The emotional roller coaster the fans were riding was previously unthinkable. You know why? Because what we just witnessed is the single worst moment in Dallas sports history.
The previous generation will talk to you about Jackie Smith - the Cowboys tight end who dropped a pass in the end zone. He was all alone - nobody there to make a defensive play - and the ball hit him right between the numbers... in the Super Bowl. They had to settle for a field goal and Dallas would end up losing Super Bowl XIII by those 4 points. But that play wasn't as the clock ran out. There were 28 points scored AFTER that happened. No contest.
Cowboy fans also would be remiss if they didn't mention "The Catch." In January of 1982, Joe Montana found Dwight Clark in the back of the end zone on a heart-wrenching TD play in the final minute of the NFC Championship game. I'll say that again - the NFC Championship game. This wasn't the Super Bowl and this was simply a good play by the other team, not a disaster. Next?
The Mavericks had a meltdown of their own in 2006. Their first trip to the NBA Finals and they were rolling over the Heat. Dallas had won both games at home and was dominating in Game 3 in Miami when suddenly it all collapsed. The Mavs blew a 13-point lead in the final six minutes. They didn't win another game. If that had been game 4, we'd be in the same stratosphere here, but the Mavericks had plenty of time to right this wrong.
No, the Metroplex has never seen this type of heartbreak and they never will again.
Because it's impossible.
Sports gives us incredible drama and wonderful moments. But only baseball gives us this. The game was over. A fly ball off the bat of Ryan Freese was in the air and going to land in the field of play. If Nelson Cruz gets over there and catches it, the Rangers are World Series champions. He didn't... and they aren't.
This is a Hail Mary jump ball TD as time expires in the Super Bowl. This is a full-court heave at the buzzer of NBA Finals game 7. But this is worse, because there's no clock to force this action... only white-knuckle, nail-biting eternal moments that only the national pasttime can provide.
This is the reason true fans love baseball so much... and also the reason they hate it.
It is impossible to come any closer to winning than the Rangers did.
So take some solace here, Dallas sports fans - it will never be worse than this. It literally can't be.
it's interesting how Curt Schilling said after the game that he would not have thrown Freese a fast in that situation. A slider away would have struck him out. I still can't beleive that Feliz didnt pitch the next inning. 22 pitches but Wash thought Darren Oliver would be better. Wow. So many things that led to that disaster.
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