Professional baseball can serve as a hyperbole of life — why does one submit themselves to these monotonous cycles for days on end with the only guarantee being we get to do it all over again?
We shuffle through the motions for the promise of a better tomorrow, the endless desire that the next big opportunity or breakthrough is around the corner.
If it were up to the Round Rock Express, the white flag could have easily been raised after the first half of the season, when they ended with a 34–41 record, firmly occupying one of the last spots in the Pacific Coast League.
Nobody in the organization would have really faulted them for not caring about the season win total; minor league baseball is more about development to the next level rather than half or league titles.
But better days were ahead for the Express after that final first-half series in Oklahoma City. Their best baseball was yet to be played and somehow, through constant lineup shakeups from trades and callups, Round Rock would find itself as one of the best teams in the Pacific Coast League to close out the season.
“You get a group of guys that don’t really know each other, it takes a little bit of time to gel, to mesh, and then create your identity,” development coach Josh Johnson said to the Texan in August. “I think it’s just one of those things where it’s like, once you get locked in, and once we all kind of get a feel for the rhythm, it just snowballs.”
After winning just two series in the first half, the Express experienced a rebirth in the second, ringing off six series wins to close out the year with a 77-73 record.
Round Rock’s best stretch this season came within the final six weeks, with the team winning 29 out of its last 45 games for Triple-A baseball’s best record in that span. The Express also owned a Triple-A record low 4.26 ERA with veteran starting pitchers, Trey Supak, Michael Plassmeyer and Cory Abbott as some of the most formidable arms in the Pacific Coast League.
First baseman Abimelec Ortiz was one of the main contributors to the Express’ strong finish. The Puerto Rican power hitter was impressive during his 41 games at the Triple-A level, ending the season with a .283 batting average and collecting 39 hits, 33 RBIs and nine home runs.
“A lot of people ask me what I do to maintain these types of streaks, and sometimes it’s tough to answer because at the end of the day, like, if it’s God’s will, it’s gonna happen,” Ortiz said to the Texan after his hot streak when he got called up. “If it’s not, it won’t. So that’s where I put all my trust in everything.”
Going on a tear himself, infielder Justin Foscue got hot in the final month of play, recording at least one hit in 16 out of the last 18 games and batting .310 in September. In 103 games down in Round Rock, Foscue closed the season on top of the Express in home runs, tied for first with Cody Freeman.
“When you can perform, when you can put together good at bats, when you can take care of the ball, when you can run down fly balls, when we can throw strikes, when you can execute in all three phases,” Johnson said to the Texan in August. “That usually leads to wins and coming out of the second half. I believe the players took it upon themselves to grab accountability, to hold themselves accountable.”
Although he has not been with the team since Aug. 17, Freeman broke out both at the plate and on the field in his lone season at the Triple-A level.
After spending seven years in the Rangers minor league system, Freeman finally smashed through, earning a mainstay spot in Arlington during the last part of the MLB season. He was named the organization’s minor league player of the year for his contributions.
Despite coming five games short of a playoff appearance, the Express’ late-season Cinderella story alone is an incredible feat when evaluating how the year began.
