Watching the Rangers win the pennant while thinking about Joe Lovitto

I wish Joe Lovitto could have lived to see this day. I really do.

I was working for UPI in 1972  when the Texas Rangers opened their first season in Arlington. Man, was that a miserable year for baseball in North Texas, a season of 100 defeats. I always knew if a team got a two-run lead on the Rangers, the game was over, Texas couldn't come back. That was a miserable offensive team: Dick Billings behind the plate, Ron Howard (long past his prime) at first, Dave Nelson at second, Len Randle at short, Toby Harrah at third, Tom Grieve in left, Elliott Maddox in right and Lovitto in center.

Lovitto was one of those "can't miss" prospects who did -- miss, that is. He had blazing speed and was a career .300 hitter in the minors. He was being groomed to be the first superstar of Texas' newest sports franchise. And, as Billy Martin wrote in his autobiography, he might have become just that if not for the injuries. In his rookie season of 1972, however, he hit only .224 with 19 RBI and 13 stolen bases. But for us covering the Rangers, he was usually the sacrificial lamb the team used to speak for the team in the locker room after every home game. Night after night we had to try to force meaningful words out of Joe Lovitto who was, to put it kindly, not the brightest intellectual light in the locker room.

Because of injuries he only played in 26 games in 1973. In 1974 he played he played in 113 games but hit only .223. He was on the disabled list for most of 1975 and then at the beginning of the 1976 season he was traded to the New York Mets, who cut him during spring training.

Lovitto settled in Arlington where he died of cancer in 2001 at the age of 50.

For the overwhelming majority of the time the Rangers have made Texas their home, they were more Joe Lovitto than they were Josh Hamilton. That, as the world now knows, is no longer true. The Rangers are going to the World Series and I really don't care what happens to any other area sports team -- even my beloved Texas Longhorns -- for the rest of the year and into a goodly portion of next. The Rangers are going to the World Series. I was seriously concerned I would never live long enough to write those words.

And they did it not by beating the best team in the American League -- they had already done that earlier when they eliminated Tampa Bay. But they did by beating baseball's gold standard -- the New York Yankees. And they beat them in just about every phase of the game -- hitting, pitching, playing more aggressively, out-managing the Yanks. The only area I would call a push would be defense. And because they completely dominated the team all others usually genuflect before, I'm convinced the Rangers can take either the Giants or the Phils in less than seven games, if they can continue to play at this level. And I see no reason why they shouldn't, especially now that Cliff Lee is set up to pitch the opener. This team doesn't know the meaning of pressure. They aren't daunted by your pedigree.

I also think this series finale wrapped up the American League Most Valuable Player Award for Josh Hamilton. His only serious contender was Robinson Cano, but the Yankee second baseman had a donut at the plate in his season finale and made that critical throwing error in the first inning that allowed Elvis Andrus to score the Rangers' first run.

The World Series begins Wednesday night in either Philadelphia or San Francisco (personally, I would prefer San Francisco) and the Rangers are going to be in it. For some strange reason, I wished Joe Lovitto could have been around to witness this memorable day.