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The Rangers Win the Pennant!

Kinsler helps Texas to first World Series

by
Marc Tracy
October 25, 2010
Ian Kinsler knocks in his ninth run of the postseason Friday night.(Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
Ian Kinsler knocks in his ninth run of the postseason Friday night.(Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

Though we had to abandon our first Major League playoff team, the Tampa Bay Rays, you’ll recall we eagerly adopted their conquerors, the Texas Rangers and their hot-hitting Jewish second baseman, Ian Kinsler. And this time, we were not let down: The Rangers defeated the New York Yankees in a six-game series that was, if anything, less close than it appeared—after all, to get the job done, Texas required neither its final home game nor the second start of its ace, Cliff Lee, who in eight career postseason starts has now gone 7-0 with a 1.26 ERA, 67 strikeouts, and seven walks. And Kinsler! Through the ten playoff games, he is hitting .342 with three home runs and nine RBI, the final of which drove in a crucial insurance run in game six.

In the National League, the Giants won the pennant (the Giants won the pennant); Game 1 is Wednesday night in San Francisco (Lee will face Giants ace Tim Lincecum, a match-up you won’t want to miss). The Giants, of course, date back to upper Manhattan, where they were based when they won their previous championship with the aid of a pretty good centerfielder. Texas, on the other hand, had gone 50 years as a franchise (it began as the second iteration of the Washington Senators) without a single World Series appearance, much less victory. The Giants are likeable, but there can be only one winner, and Tablet Magazine can have only one team. Go Rangers!

Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.