How the Texas Rangers built an AL champion

ARLINGTON, Texas - The Texas Rangers haven't taken the conventional route to the World Series, which begins Wednesday in San Francisco against the National League champion Giants.

The Rangers needed 50 years to win a playoff series and spent most of this season in bankruptcy. But they were able to make season-altering trades, retain their manager despite a failed drug test, and help their star player overcome troubles with drugs and alcohol.

It may not have been the easiest path to the Fall Classic, but Texas, with its offensively charged team, is looking to put the finishing touches on a wild season.

In mid-March, SI.com reported that manager Ron Washington had failed a drug test following the 2009 all-star break.

It was a shocking revelation that Washington, a baseball lifer, had tested positive for cocaine. There was speculation as to whether the Rangers would replace him. Team president Nolan Ryan, the Hall of Fame pitcher as popular in his new role in Texas as he was as a player, said he and general manager Jon Daniels did plenty of soul searching before deciding to move forward with Washington.

"We just felt that we had given a lot of other people in our organization a second chance, and we certainly felt like Ron was deserving of that," Ryan said during the American League Championship Series, in which the Rangers ousted the defending champion New York Yankees in six games. "And we felt like that Ron as a manager was maturing and developing . . . and we just felt like it was the right thing to do and that we should stand behind him."

Washington said he appreciated the support from his bosses.

"I can never thank the organization for the opportunity, and I can never thank the organization for standing behind me, and the players, coaches and the minor leagues, from top to bottom," Washington said. "I didn't want their sympathy. I just wanted their heart, and they gave me their heart because they know they had mine."

Washington has a great rapport with the players. One of the players closest to Washington is Josh Hamilton, the 29-year-old centerfielder who missed three full seasons from 2003-2005 because of his own drug and alcohol problems.

Hamilton was the ALCS MVP after batting .350 with four home runs, seven RBIs and a .536 on-base percentage.

When the team won its first playoff series ever, over Tampa Bay in the American League division series, the Rangers doused each other with ginger ale so Hamilton could join in the celebration without hesitation.

After they beat the Yankees, the ginger ale came out again on the field.

"It means so much for my teammates to understand my situation and let you know what kind of character they had and want me to be part of the celebration," Hamilton said.

He was asked about his dark days and whether he had envisioned going to the World Series.

"No. To be honest, I only cared about how to use more drugs back then," Hamilton said.

Now, Hamilton is mentioned as a leading MVP candidate. He batted .359 with 32 home runs and 100 RBIs despite missing most of the last month with a rib injury.

On the financial side, the Rangers may have been in bankruptcy, but it didn't stop them from making deals that were difference makers.

No deal was bigger than acquiring former Phillie pitcher Cliff Lee in a July 9 trade with Seattle. Lee went just 4-6 with a 3.98 ERA in the regular season for the Rangers but has been lights-out in the postseason. He was 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA and won the fifth and decisive game against Tampa Bay. Lee then beat the Yankees, 8-0, in Game 3 of the ALCS. The Rangers led just 2-0 before scoring six runs in the ninth inning. Lee allowed two hits, struck out 13 and walked just one in eight innings.

It's likely the Rangers would not be playing without Lee, who was 4-0 with a 1.56 ERA in the postseason last year for the Phillies. This year, in 24 postseason innings, Lee, a free agent after this season, has struck out 34 and walked one.

"He is a treat to watch pitch," Ryan said.

"We knew that Cliff was a clear difference maker," Daniels said. "We were in bankruptcy, and guys with multiple years on their contract presented us a different challenge."

So the Rangers used their deep farm system to make the Lee trade. They also acquired catcher Bengie Molina on July 1 from the Giants, and Molina has had a profound influence on the pitching staff.

Finally, the team got some positive news on the business front on Aug. 5 when a group headed by managing partner and chief executive Chuck Greenberg outbid Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban for the team. Major League Baseball approved the $590 million deal a week later.

"We're in very solid shape financially," Greenberg said. "The old Rangers are gone, a thing of the past. We are very well capitalized."