Texas Rangers express liking for National League-style of play – MLB Update
With home-advantage with the St. Louis Cardinals for the World Series, the Texas Rangers are not deterred at all. Instead, they believe that they are better suited to the National League-style of play and the contest will get more interesting with no designated hitter when the games are played at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri.
National League rules will be applicable when the games are played in National League ballpark, which means that emphasis will shift from sheer power hitting to a more technical style of play where runs will have to be manufactured.
Unlike the Cardinals, the Rangers have a tendency of being aggressive in stealing bases and running hard between the bases. The Cardinals are prone to smashing the ball out of the park and have a powerful line-up to compliment their style of play.
To Rangers’ advantage, their manager Ron Washington adores the National League-style of play and has trained his team well for it. Texas’ versatility gives it an upper-hand to prevail in the series, but the Cardinals cannot be ruled out for the fact that they are more inclined towards playing with these rules.
Explaining his teams craving for success in the World Series after losing out last year to San Francisco Giants, Texas’ second baseman Ian Kinsler said, "We're built for anything. Any way we can score runs we will, whether it's hit the ball out of the ballpark, steal bases, bunt guys over and go from first to third. Whatever the game asks, we will do it. If that's National League-style ball, then we're prepared to do it."
Comparing the both teams statistically, the Rangers stole 143 bases during the regular season while the Cardinals managed just 57 in 162 games during the season. Tyler Greene and Albert Pujols led the Cardinals in stolen bases with 11 and nine respectively. Elvis Andrus and Kinsler lead the Rangers in stolen bases and their combined total of 67 is more than the total of St. Louis.
Washington, however, dismissed talks of an outright advantage in the series and expressed that handling pressure will be key in the games. With nothing to lose, the Cardinals are favoured to win the series. The Rangers, nevertheless, feel otherwise.
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