ARLINGTON — Call him: “Goodbye, Texas Ranger.”
Wyatt Langford may not be the AL Rookie of the Year, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t had an eventful rookie season. In addition to an inside-the-park home run, a homer for the cycle and the team’s lone grand slam, he also hit the Rangers’ first walk-off grand slam as a rookie on Tuesday in a 7-4 win over the New York Yankees, who were homered in a game that featured explosive relief pitching.
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It was Langford’s third walk-off hit of the year, the most for the Rangers since Josh Hamilton hit three in 2011. It was the Rangers’ first walk-off grand slam since Nelson Cruz in Game 2 of the 2011 ALCS and their first in the regular season since Marlon Byrd on Aug. 4, 2008. The opponent was the Yankees.
And yes, the Rangers have won three of their last four games with walk-offs, which would have been breathtaking, but they’re seven games below .500 and have already lost more games (73) than they did last year. But don’t get disheartened.
If the last month is about the future, Tuesday night was another sign that Langford’s good stuff is still going strong, despite his slow start. His home run was a beautiful at-bat. He got down in the count when a Clay Holmes two-seam fastball was called a strike when it might have been above the zone. The count went 2-2 when Holmes hit a sweeper that might have been off the plate. He threw full out, fouling off one slider and smashing another as Holmes went for a double strike. The ball came off the bat at 109 mph and might not have even landed when Langford piled up at home plate.
“That guy was very calm out there,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “He got into those situations and got through them. He took some good swings. That’s part of his development. He’s got a knack for getting the big hits when he needs to. It doesn’t show up on a spreadsheet, but some guys get better as hitters when the game is on the line.”
“I think he likes those at-bats.”
Spoiler alert: it does.
“I think people love those situations,” he said. “Especially when you get results. I try to do less in those situations. I make smaller movements. I make smaller swings.”
He thrived in those situations. At his best, he’s a patient, disciplined hitter. At his worst, he can be hesitant about subtle pitches, which can be deadly for a rookie. Too many subtle pitches seem to be a disadvantage. According to Baseball Savant, Langford entered the day having been called for strikes on pitches outside the zone 54 times, including nine third strikes, fourth-most in baseball.
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In the Rangers’ walk-off win over Oakland over the weekend, he showed a more willingness to hit pitches on the outside corner that aren’t his forte but aren’t close enough to hit. With two outs and a runner on first in the bottom of the 10th, he was down 1-2 against Mason Miller. He fouled off consecutive 102 mph fastballs, forcing Miller to hit another. He hit consecutive sliders far off the plate that Langford caught as balls and could have been the winning run. Josh Jan followed with a walk-off three-run homer.
Over his last 17 games, Langford has significantly improved his pace, batting .279/.348/.508/.856 with four home runs and 16 RBIs. And let’s not forget he’s still a rookie, with plenty of room to grow at the major league level. It’s September, and the Rangers may not be in playoff contention, but they still have work to do.
“It’s really important for me to go into the offseason with a solid foundation of what I want to be able to do next year,” he said.
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