DALLAS — The Texas Rangers are one game away from winning the World Series, which is nice and all. But for Rangers fans, it also means something else: They are one game away from not having to listen to John Smoltz for another year.
The FOX baseball analyst isn't exactly making new fans in North Texas. Granted, this is a frequent complaint among fanbases and announcers, who can't possibly please all viewers.
That being said...if you're on Rangers X/Twitter during a playoff game, you'll notice two things dominate the discussion: The game, and Smoltz.
The long and short of it, according to the social media masses, is that Smoltz doesn't give the Rangers' proper credit for their current playoff run. And when the Rangers are winning big, like in Game 4 of the World Series, Smoltz is angling for the other team to come back, the naysayers complain.
Is all of this blown a little out of proportion? Probably. And to be fair, the Diamondbacks did mount somewhat of a comeback Tuesday night, forcing the Rangers to use their closer, Jose Leclerc.
Rangers fans were already knee-deep in the Smoltz complaints by then.
Rangers fans also seemed to find Smoltz's late-game compliments of the Arizona crowd perplexing. Our very own Mike Leslie showed video of the Diamondbacks fans streaming for the exits in the 8th.
Anyway, the Rangers Nation vs. Smoltz feud didn't start in the World Series. It really goes back a couple rounds to the American League Division Series, when the Rangers were playing the Baltimore Orioles.
The upstart Orioles were the toast of the league, with a wealth of young players and a knack for winning close games en-route to a 101-win season. Then they ran into a Rangers buzzsaw.
What ruffled Rangers fans' feathers was Smoltz's apparent focus on the Orioles, in the face of a decisive Rangers series sweep. Smoltz suggested that if the two teams played each other ten more times, the results would likely be different.
This didn't go over well.
Of course, all of these complaints and backlash won't mean much if the Rangers can win one more game.
The fans will be done with Smoltz for the year - and the Rangers will have a ring.
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