ARLINGTON, Texas — For the first time in MLB history, the Texas Rangers and the Houston Astros will meet this year in a postseason series – and not just any series, but the American League Championship Series at that.
Expect fireworks, folks! And not only the traditional pyrotechnics seen when celebrating homers bombed into the stands, either.
Fans can head into this year's ALCS prepared to enjoy a war of words that are inevitably and already loaded into the chamber. Because, make no mistake, these two teams hate each other – and that passion definitely permeates into each team's fanbase.
So let's talk about it: Why do Rangers fans – and seemingly the rest of the league, too – despise the Astros so much?
Oh, there are many reasons. And the cockiness of the team and their fanbase after reaching their seventh straight ALCS is only the tip of this iceberg.
The whole story involves trash cans, "classless" celebration criticisms, bench-clearing spouts and some Lone Star legends who've played on both sides of this tiff.
It's a lot, y'all. Because, while the rivalry "on the field" is still fairly new, it's also deeply-rooted in Texas' baseball legacy.
Rangers-Astros rivalry quick facts
- First regular season meeting: June 8, 2001 (Astros won 5-4 in Arlington)
- Total meetings: 266
- All-time series: Rangers lead 134-132
- Lone Star Series/Silver Boot Series: Astros -10, Rangers - 9, Ties - 4
History of Rangers-Astros rivalry: "The Silver Boot" series
There were no Major League Baseball (MLB) teams in Texas until the Houston Colt .45s were introduced to the National League in 1962. In 1964, they'd switch their branding over to become the Houston Astros.
For a time, Dallas-Fort Worth was also considered for a location of an additional Texas-based National League expansion team, a move that had support from a majority of its owners – except from Houston team owner Judge Roy Hofheinz. In the end, San Diego and Montreal were selected as homes for expansion spots instead.
Then, in 1972, a decade after the the Washington Senators moved to Arlington and became the Rangers.
It would be another 20 years, though, before the Rangers and Astros would on the field -- and, even then, it would only be as part of an exhibition matchup. In 1992, the Rangers and Astros played in a spring training game that Texas won 2-0 over Houston. In doing so, the team claimed the first Silver Boot trophy – a 30-inch-tall display of a size 15 cowboy boot cast in silver, complete with a custom, handmade spur.
The next year, Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan, previous of the Astros, returned to the Astrodome as a member of the Texas Rangers to pitch in front of 53,657 – the biggest crowd to see a big league game in Texas up to that point. Even so, that game too wasn't an official, on-the-books contest.
The first official regular season matchup between the Rangers and Astros didn't come until 2001. Houston won that game, 5-4, at The Ballpark in Arlington. At the time, Texas was in the American League and Houston was in the National League, but the two clubs played each other in interleague play six times per season until the Astros switched leagues and joined the AL West in 2013.
More recently the two teams played each other 19 times per season, with the exceptions being a 10-game series in 2020 due to the COVID-19-shortened season and this past season, when league scheduling rules changed in-division matchups from 19 games a year to 13.
Across the overall series, the Rangers have won more overall games, 134 to 132. But Houston has claimed more Lone Star Series wins, 10 to 9. (The teams have also tied four of their series.)
Texas-sized drama: Heated hatred between the Rangers and Astros
Now that we've gone through the history of the teams, let's get to how things have heated up in recent years. Considering the lifespan of the MLB compared to how long these teams have been playing, it's one of the league's newer sources of bad blood. But while Texas and Houston haven't played each other for as long as, say, the Red Sox and Yankees have, their Lone Star rivalry has certainly made up for lost time.
Aside from the aforementioned Yankees, the Astros might be one of the most universally disliked franchises in all of baseball. Much of that hate stems from their well-documented sign-stealing scandal, which has tarnished the legitimacy of their 2017 World Series championship and 2019 World Series appearance.
But, of course, that's just the beginning.
This year, alone, the Rangers and Astros have been at the center of some Texas-sized drama. In July, both teams' benches cleared after Adolis Garcia hit a grand slam in fifth inning of a game that had been fiery all night.
“After I scored on Adolis’ grand slam, I told [Astros catcher Martín Maldonado], ‘I told you we were going to win this game,’ and all of sudden, their bench is out there and both of us are out of the game,” Rangers second basement Marcus Semien said at the time. “I didn’t want to get thrown out of the game. I just was talking to him.”
Social media "beef" extended to the fans, too.
In September, Houston Astros fans left less-than-pleased online reviews for Arlington's own Hurtado Barbecue, the official BBQ of the Texas Rangers, after owner Brandon Hurtado posted on social media about how the pit boss at his Globe Life Field restaurant had told him that Astros fans were exceptionally obnoxious and rude to him during a game the two teams played in Arlington in September.
"There were people in Astros jerseys walking out in handcuffs, fights breaking out, people rude to our employees at the stand," Hurtado said. "So, it was a rough series all around."
So, later that night on X, formerly known as Twitter, Hurtado wrote: "Astros have the worst fan base in any major league sport anywhere. And I used to think the Giants were bad."
Astros fans responded by flooding his restaurant's Yelp pages with bad reviews.
Then, earlier this month, the Rangers-Astros rivalry just even spicier. Texas Rangers General Manager Chris Young blasted criticism from the Houston media over Texas' clubhouse celebration after clinching at least a Wild Card spot in the playoffs.
"I find it ridiculous that that's even a subject, honestly," Young said in an interview on "GBag Nation" on 105.3-FM The Fan. "This is the most professional, responsible group of players that I've ever been around. We had a very subdued champagne popping. Beyond that, there was no partying. There was nothing outlandish. These guys had earned the right to pop champagne bottles. And that was the extent of our celebration."
Young was referencing a report from Astros beat reporter Brian McTaggart of MLB.com saying "The Rangers partied last night while the Astros had a champagne toast and quickly turned their attention to Sunday and one more win."
Rangers longtime television field reporter Emily Jones corrected the record in a reply to McTaggart, saying "They partied for 30 minutes in the clubhouse. Then took it to the house. Faced a legit ace in game 162. What has happened to you dude?!"
The Dallas Morning News' Rangers beat writer Evan Grant also refuted McTaggart's post on X.
Still, Astros fans berated Jones on X to the point that she took down her account.
Rangers-Astros roster crossovers
Quite a few players to have played for both franchises over the years, but none more notably than Nolan Ryan.
Ryan's jersey number has been retired by both teams. But it should be noted that he chose to have his Hall of Fame plaque show him wearing with a Rangers cap, even though he played just five seasons (1989–93) with the Rangers compared to his nine (1980–88) with the Astros.
Hmmm. We wonder why that might be?
In total, 77 players have played for both the Rangers and Astros. Click here for a full list of those players. Some of the most notable names are listed below:
- Nolan Ryan, Astros 1980–88, Rangers 1989–93
- Ken Caminiti, Astros 1987–94, Astros 1999–2000, Rangers 2001
- Iván "Pudge" Rodríguez, Rangers 1991–2002, Astros 2009, Rangers 2009
- Darren Oliver, Rangers 1993–98, Rangers 2000–01, Astros 2004, Rangers 2010–11
- Richard Hidalgo, Astros 1997–2004, Rangers 2005
- Carl Everett, Astros 1998–99, Rangers 2002–03
- CJ Nitkowski, Astros 1998, Rangers 2002–03
- Jay Powell, Astros 1998–2001, Rangers 2002–04
- Gregg Zaun, Rangers 1999, Astros 2002–03
- Lance Berkman, Astros 1999–2010, Rangers 2013, Astros April 5, 2014 (One Day Retirement Contract)
- Mike Lamb, Rangers 2000–03, Astros 2004-2007
- Francisco Cordero, Rangers 2000–06, Astros 2012
- Roy Oswalt, Astros 2001–10, Rangers 2012, Astros April 5, 2014 (One Day Retirement Contract)
- Pedro Astacio, Astros 2001, Rangers 2005
- Carlos Peña, Rangers 2001, Astros 2013, Rangers 2014
- Dan Miceli, Rangers 2002, Astros 2003–04
- Bruce Chen, Astros 2003, Rangers 2007
- Doug Brocail, Rangers 2004–05, Astros 2008–09
- Carlos Beltrán, Astros 2004, Rangers 2016, Astros 2017
- Wandy Rodríguez, Astros 2005–12, Rangers 2015
- Scott Feldman, Rangers 2005–12, Astros 2014–2016
- Carlos Lee, Rangers 2006, Astros 2007–12
- Armando Galarraga, Rangers 2007, Astros 2012
- Carlos Corporán, Astros 2011–14, Rangers 2015
- Anthony Bass, Astros 2014, Rangers 2015
- Carlos Gómez, Astros 2015–16, Rangers 2016–17
- Robinson Chirinos, Rangers 2013–18, Astros 2019, Rangers 2020
- Hunter Pence, Astros 2007–11, Rangers 2019
Rangers-Astros playoff information
This ALCS series is the first time either team has faced each other in the playoffs, so it's only fitting a trip to the World Series should be on the line.
Let the fireworks begin!
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