By Dave Sessions/McClatchy Newspapers
ARLINGTON, Texas (MCT)—Jarrod Saltalamacchia’s bat is going to the Hall of Fame, complete with the outdated “Atlanta Braves” inscription under his name and the number 18, which the Texas Rangers catcher no longer wears, written on the end.
Eric Nadel’s scorecard, scribbled all over in blue and red ink and pencil, is also going to Cooperstown. So is manager Ron Washington’s lineup card, filled with inexperienced hitters, and the ball Wes Littleton used to earn a save with a 27-run lead.
Weary from a flight that landed after 4 a.m. Thursday, the Rangers were just beginning to realize by the afternoon that their 30-3 victory Wednesday night in Baltimore carried huge historical significance.
When Rangers PR director Gregg Elkin asked Saltalamacchia for his black Louisville Slugger, the rookie asked why.
“ I was like, what do you really want it for?” Saltalamacchia said. “You mean the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame, is that what you’re talking about?”
Nope, the one in Cooperstown, N.Y., wants to display the items. That’s how off-the-charts unbelievable this late August game between two noncontenders was.
Nadel, who is in his 29th year calling Rangers baseball, was incredulous as he described the final innings on local KRLD/1080 AM.
As Nadel watched what he called a “bizarro world” taking place on the field, just about everyone at Oriole Park in Camden Yards must have shared his sentiments.
“ It was amazing,” Washington said. “I don’t think we’ll ever experience anything like that again … I don’t think the odds are good. We never thought this would happen.”
Starting pitcher Kason Gabbard earned the win and sat in the clubhouse after a solid day’s work, watching the madness unfold.
“ To me it was like a joke, it was so surreal,” Gabbard said.
Littleton earned the save by pitching three scoreless innings to end the game. He had a different opinion of all the offense.
“ When I was sitting down on the bench I thought, ‘Stop scoring so many runs and let me just go out there and pitch,’ “ Littleton said. “I was getting a little stiff. But other than that, it was cool to be in the record books for most run support in a save. I’m not going to complain about it.”
For every sports journalist in the building, it was a scoring nightmare that will be remembered.
