 | This article appears to be slanted towards recent events. (August 2020) |
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The Texas Rangers Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise was established in 1961 as the second incarnation of the Washington Senators, an expansion team awarded to Washington, D.C., after the old Washington Senators team of the American League moved to Minnesota and became the Twins. The new Senators remained in Washington through 1971 playing at Griffith Stadium in their first season and at RFK Stadium for the next 10 years. In 1972, the team moved to Arlington, Texas, where it became the Texas Rangers. The Rangers played at Arlington Stadium from 1972 to 1993. Arlington Stadium was demolished, and the new Ballpark at Arlington was built, opening in 1994. The Ballpark at Arlington was renamed Globe Life Park in Arlington in 2014.
It took the team 36 seasons to make the playoffs and they have made nine appearances since, seven following division championships in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2010, 2011, 2015, and 2016 and as a wild card team in 2012 and 2023. In 2010, the Rangers advanced past the Division Series for the first time, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays. The team then brought home their first American League pennant after beating the New York Yankees in six games. In the 2010 World Series, the franchise's first, the Rangers fell to the San Francisco Giants in five games. They repeated as American League champions the following year, then lost the 2011 World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. The team won the 2023 World Series, effectively ending the longest drought amongst all North American pro sports franchises that are yet to win their first championship. The Rangers are in the American League West Division along with the Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Angels and the Houston Astros.