Nathan Eovaldi has two World Series rings, which means he’s one of the few Texas Rangers that knows what it’s like to have a target on his back the following season.
Eovaldi won his first ring with the Boston Red Sox in 2018. That season Boston won 108 games.
The following season the Red Sox won 84 games and missed the playoffs.
Yep, repeating is hard, which is why it hasn’t happened since the New York Yankees finished off a three-peat in 2000.
Eovaldi reflected on what he learned in 2019 as the Rangers reported to Surprise, Ariz., on Wednesday for the first day of spring training. Sometimes the hardest thing a player can do is turn the page after winning a World Series.
“In 2019 when I was with the Red Sox, we experienced it and it was tough,” Eovaldi said. “We came in, we had that chip on our shoulder, we just kind of expected to figure things out. And we did. We dug ourselves a big hole at the start of the season. This year we have to come in ready to go.”
Eovaldi isn’t the only Rangers player with experience trying to repeat. Corey Seager, who will miss much of spring training after sports hernia surgery, won a ring with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020. The next season the Dodgers lost to Atlanta in the NL Championship Series.
Rangers manager Bruce Bochy has done this three times with San Francisco, winning titles in 2010, 2012 and 2014. Each successive year the Giants missed the playoffs.
What Eovaldi learned in that 2019 season was that communication was key. If you are struggling, talk to your manager. If you have an injury, don’t try to be a hero.
Eovaldi embodied the latter part of that last season. He ended up being the Rangers’ ace, finishing with a 12-5 record and a 3.63 ERA despite missing more than a month with an injury. He wanted to get back but he remained patient and took a beating in September in his initial appearances as he had to stretch himself back out as a starter without a rehab assignment.
He partnered with Jordan Montgomery for a tremendous one-two punch in the postseason. Eovaldi won his first four postseason starts and went 5-0 in the playoffs, including claiming the win in Game 5 of the World Series.
Eovaldi does see one difference between the Rangers and that Boston team in 2019. The Rangers’ young core of players, especially its every day batting order, could keep the Rangers from the slow start that derailed Boston’s season.
“I think we have a really good young core here, and that’s one of the biggest differences from what we had in Boston,” Eovaldi said. “You look at our lineup and everybody’s healthy, back and ready to go. It’s crazy to think of what we’ll be able to do this year, as long as we’re able to stay healthy.”
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