3 Texas Rangers collapses that were at least as bad as this one

Coming out of the trade deadline this year, the Texas Rangers were the talk of baseball. They led the AL West fairly comfortably, had the best offense in the league, and were the most aggressive team a the trade deadline by a wide margin as they traded for Jordan Montgomery AND Max Scherzer. It is hard to be more all-in than that.

However, instead of taking the baseball world by storm since then, the Rangers have nose-dived in the standings and not only cost themselves the lead in the division, but they are now 1.5 games out of any playoff spot at all.

There are a lot of reasons why the Rangers have collapsed this season. The bullpen has been bad, injuries have taken their toll, and the offense isn't destroying everyone like it was in the first half. It is tough enough to keep things rolling when one thing like that starts to go wrong, let alone all of them.

For long time fans of the Rangers, this should be a familiar feeling as a look in the not-too-distant past reminds us that Texas is an organization that has broken plenty of hearts with some epic choke jobs.

Here are 3 Texas Rangers collapses that were as bad or worse than their current one

Sometimes when a team collapses, it is over a long period of time and feels like a form of water torture as the losses pile up and a lead slowly disappears. Other times, the pain is more sudden and short and is more like getting sucker punched which is also not great. The Rangers had the full range of collapses....and they did them in back-to-back-to back years!

Let's take a look at some collapses by the Texas Rangers that were as bad or worse than the one they are currently in the middle of.

The Rangers' late season collapse in 2012 was one for the ages

Coming off back-to-back World Series appearances, expectations were understandably high for the Rangers in 2012. They put a lot of money into their roster and had many of the same players that had helped propel them to two straight AL pennants, so thinking that they could make another run at the title.

For most of the season, it looked like that is exactly what was going to happen. They were dominating the AL West for most of the season and led by 13 games at the end of June. As the weeks and months went by, their lead would shrink, though, especially as Oakland got hot. Things were still looking good at the end of the season as they had a five game lead in the division with just nine games to go.

After a couple of mediocre series, the Rangers' lead over the Athletics was just three games and the final series of the season was against, yep, Oakland. Oakland had to sweep the Rangers to win the division which was a tall order. However, that is exactly what they did including the Rangers blowing a four run lead in the third game and losing the division in spectacular fashion. Oakland would go on to lose a close ALDS series against the Tigers, but the Rangers didn't even make it that far as they lost the one game wild card playoff against the Orioles 1-0.

This collapse was pretty close to what we have seen from the Rangers this year as it was a slow, painful one that was built over weeks and months. However, it did have a brutal and sudden end which sort of gives this one the worst of both ends of the spectrum of sadness. If the Rangers find themselves with a real chance at the end of the 2023 season and then blow that, too, then the 2012 season is the one to compare it to.

The 2013 Rangers' season was a cornucopia of disappointment

Finally, we come to the 2013 season and the Rangers were coming off some of the more brutal chokes seen from any team the previous two seasons. However, the 2013 season is a bit different as the Rangers were never in a particularly dominant position.

Texas did have a lead in the division late in the season yet again, but the race was tight as they had just a two game lead over Oakland at the end of August. However, a brutal stretch in September saw that lead evaporate and Oakland take a commanding lead in the division and the Rangers' hopes turned to the wild card race.

However, the Rangers were SO bad in September that they ended up having to play a tiebreaking game 163 against the Rays to even have a shot at the last wild card spot. Such games had been exceedingly rare in baseball history and Texas went down in the history books in the worst way as they lost that game 5-2 and the Rangers failed to make it to the playoffs for the first time in years. The Rays would end up winning the one game wild card playoff before dropping to Red Sox in the ALDS.

There are some similarities to the 2023 season here as well as the Rangers' 2013 season also died a slow and painful death. Time will tell how closely the seasons will compare as there is still a lot of baseball left to be played this season. One thing is certain, though: it is clear that Rangers fans know better than most the pain of watching their team fold late in the season.

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