1996 ALDS vs Blue Jays
From expansion Senators to World Series champions.
The Texas Rangers are an American professional baseball team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Rangers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division.
Quick Facts
- Series result
- Rangers won 3-1
Lore & Background
The team was founded as the Washington Senators in 1961, an expansion team awarded to Washington, D.C., after the previous Senators incarnation moved to Minneapolis to become the Minnesota Twins. The new Senators relocated to Arlington, Texas after the 1971 season and debuted as the Rangers the next spring. The team's name derives from the Texas Rangers, a historic law enforcement agency.
Reader's Guide
The Rangers have made nine appearances in the MLB postseason (all as the Rangers). Seven of these followed division championships in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2010, 2011, 2015, and 2016; the remaining two were as a wild card team in 2012 and 2023. In 1996, the Rangers advanced past the Division Series for the first time, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays. The team then won its first American League pennant, beating the New York Yankees in six games. In their first World Series appearance, the Rangers fell to the San Francisco Giants in five games. They repeated as American League champions in 2011, but lost the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. The Rangers made it to the 2023 World Series and won their first championship, defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks in five games.
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