Express Defeat Rangers, Get Promoted to Major League

Photo by Will Eidam

On Friday, April 1, the Round Rock Express will play the Boston Red Sox at the Ballpark in Arlington for their opening game of the regular season. By defeating the Texas Rangers 4-3 on Wednesday, the Express were promoted to the MLB while the Rangers, whose roster includes former all-star outfielder Josh Hamilton, will be sent down to play in the minor league.

April Fools!

Okay, I know it's not April Fools' Day yet, but everyone expects to be "fooled" on April 1 so it only makes sense to move the "holiday" up a day so that you can properly execute shenanigans. And I know what you're thinking, "No one believed that the entire Express franchise would really be promoted to the majors." My response: Do you have any idea how many angry and concerned phone calls we got last year when we announced that the University of Texas was cutting the football program? Answer: A lot. So yeah, I think it was a worthy attempt.

So the Express will stay in AAA, but they did beat the Rangers. This is mostly credited to the fact that the Rangers didn't play their starters the entire game and went so far as to let their bullpen catcher, Josh Frasier, take a couple ABs in what was described by Frasier as only his second game played in about 10 years. Nonetheless, I think it's clear that the Express are a far superior team than the Rangers.

It's hard to talk about this game in any serious manner since a lot of the players were treating the event like a slow-pitch softball game, so how about I just go over a few highlights:

Josh Hamilton Gets It The entire Rangers organization was playing pretty relaxed during the whole game, fraternizing with the Express players and having a good laugh. But it was Hamilton who was saving all of his good-natured shenanigans for the crowd. Getting set for his second plate appearance of the game, Hamilton got into bunt mode for a quick second which not only disarmed Express pitcher Zach Jackson, who was probably taking the game a little bit more seriously, but also got a nice chuckle from the crowd. It wasn't a huge comedic moment, but it was the little things he did like that during the game that made it clear he was aware that this was a game for the fans.

Someone Promote Josh Frasier! During games like this it's less important to care about the stats or performances and care more about the stories. While everyone in attendance was at the Dell Diamond to see Hamilton, Nelson Cruz, or Ian Kinsler, once Frasier was put into the game he instantly became the player I was most excited to watch. He worked all three of his ABs to 3-2 counts, walking twice and grounding out to end the game in dramatic fashion. He also got caught leading too far off from second – a lack-of-experience blunder which backed up his statement about not having played in too many games during the past decade. I was in the press box watching the game, and while it's inappropriate to cheer during the game, I was openly rooting for his success.

Major League 3 Was Full Of It I half jokingly suggested that Wednesday's game was similar to the plot of the American classic, Major League 3: Back To the Minors. At the climax of the movie, the AAA affiliate, the South Carolina Buzz, play the Minnesota Twins at their own tiny stadium and the Buzz fans couldn't have been more supportive of their South Carolina ball club. Not the case in Round Rock on Wednesday. Fans openly rooted for the Rangers which made me question why everyone showed up to the game. I could have sworn everyone was there to see Express journeyman pitcher Brett Tomko in action. I guess I was wrong.