Tuesday Newsletter time: Some early observations while strolling around the back fields at Texas Rangers instructs
Monday's opponent was the San Diego Padres, who brought several notable executives to the Surprise Recreation Campus.
SURPRISE, Ariz. — The Texas Rangers Newsletter is working on a budget these days, so Monday started with an early flight to Phoenix via El Paso to save money on airfare and cut one hotel night and one rental-car day off the bill for the first road trip.
By the time I rolled into the Surprise Recreation Campus, the morning workout was just about complete.
But six hours later, these were some of the observations between interviews and small talk with those playing and milling around the back fields.
Rangers pitching coach Doug Mathis, who lives in neighboring Peoria, dropped into the workout. He’s a regular. His goal is to get his arms around all the pitchers in the organization, but especially the ones at the lower levels. That’s most of the pitchers at instructs.
The Rangers’ opponent Monday was the San Diego Padres, who brought with them several notable non-players. The one Rangers fans would care most about was Ian Kinsler, the former All-Star second baseman with the Rangers who finished his career with the Padres and is an adviser to the team.
Also on hand were Hall of Fame closer Trevor Hoffman; Padres general manager A.J. Preller, the former Rangers assistant GM who was dressed, as usual, like he just mowed the lawn; and former Rangers assistant GM Mike Daly, less than a month into his new gig with the Padres.
It turns out that Dustin Harris, the Rangers’ Minor League Player of the Year, extended his stay at instructs. He played first base and third base during the regular season at Low A Down East and High A Hickory, but on Monday he was in right field. The Rangers think he could handle himself capably in the outfield corners. He tripled in the game.
Infielder Ezequiel Duran, the key player the Joey Gallo trade, was off from Arizona Fall League duty, so he stayed in Surprise to get at-bats with the instructs team.
Crammed for time at lunch, I hit the first fast-food place I saw on Bell Road and reached the following conclusion: While very good, In ‘N Out is not as good as Whataburger.
On his way back
The skinny guy in the Rangers bucket hat working with catchers looked from afar like he might be new to the organization.
But upon getting close enough to see his face, it was longtime coach Hector Ortiz.
Ortiz, who turned 52 on Friday, is down nearly 60 pounds following surgery roughly four months ago for pancreatic cancer, which he said is in remission. He said he is operating at about 65% of full strength but is planning to be at full strength by spring training.
That’s great news.
Ortiz, who also lives in Peoria, spent six seasons on the major-league coaching staff from 2015-2020 and will begin his 17th season with the Rangers in 2022.
Coming to Texas
The days are winding down for the instructional league in Arizona. Play will end here Friday.
But the Rangers won’t quite be done. They will resume game next week in Texas as minor-leaguers go barnstorming against four well-known college teams.
First up is a flight to Lubbock ahead of a 3 p.m. game Monday at Texas Tech. The Rangers will board buses after the game and drive to Arlington, get some sleep, and play next Tuesday at Dallas Baptist.
The Rangers will have a day off Oct. 27 before driving to Waco for a game against Baylor. The four-game tour will end Oct. 29 against TCU at Lupton Stadium in Fort Worth.
Right-handers Ricky Vanasco and TK Roby are expected to pitch against the Horned Frogs.
Doggy video!
Gosh, this is funny. Enjoy. See you Wednesday.
1000%+ agree on Whataburger! On a family trip to SF, one of the things I most looked forward to was In' N Out. Huge Disappointment. And it wasn't a one off, I tried again at another location. All hype.
Appreciate the pic of my boy Zavala. I predict this time next year, he's # 2 in the system behind only Jack Leiter.
So Jeff, for the game at TCU next week - can anyone just show up and watch?