How the Rangers' belief in Creed turned into a playoff singalong
Nathan Han
ARLINGTON -- Amid an up-and-down second half, the Rangers could count on one constant: playing Creed in the clubhouse before games.
Starting pitcher Andrew Heaney first mentioned the rock band¡¯s popularity within his team to radio broadcaster Jared Sandler on his pregame show Sunday, saying the club started ¡°having fun and playing Creed before games¡± during a second-half slump.
And as the Rangers stopped slumping and started streaking -- winning four straight road playoff games before the inaugural home playoff game at Globe Life Field ended with a 7-1 series-clinching win over Baltimore -- the Creed ties grew inside and out of the clubhouse.
¡°It¡¯s kind of just a random thing that everybody started singing to one day, and it¡¯s kind of built on itself,¡± Corey Seager said pregame Tuesday.
Rookie sensation Evan Carter said the team played Creed on the bus and had handshakes relating to the band.
Radio broadcaster Matt Hicks referenced Creed¡¯s ¡°Higher¡± in his call of Mitch Garver¡¯s grand slam in Game 2: ¡°Mitch Garver, can you take us higher? You most definitely can!¡±
And the band itself tweeted in support of the Rangers.
Heaney called for Creed to be played at Globe Life Field on Tuesday night during Game 3 of the American League Division Series, saying it would get the fans fired up.
He got his wish.
After Adolis Garc¨ªa¡¯s huge three-run homer staked Texas to a 6-0 lead, a raucous Globe Life Field crowd, the largest in the ballpark¡¯s history, sang along with ¡°Higher,¡± anticipating a potential sweep.
Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said he was aware of the clubhouse listening to Creed and theorized that it could have come from backup catcher Austin Hedges, who was acquired at the Trade Deadline.
¡°I don't know a lot of their songs, to be honest,¡± Bochy said on Monday. ¡°I do know we're playing a lot of Creed. ¡ So I don't know where it's coming from. It could be Hedges, though. I'll find out for you.¡±
Carter, who was just 8 years old when Creed released its last studio album in 2009, had to clarify that he had indeed heard of the rock band (His favorite song? ¡°One Last Breath.")
No matter the origin or the level of fandom, however, one thing is clear: Creed¡¯s music is becoming the anthem behind the Rangers¡¯ postseason run.
¡°It¡¯s something to bond over,¡± Seager said. ¡°That¡¯s the hard thing about teams, right? You have people coming in and out. How do you gel? How do you come together? How do you fight for each other? You find little ways on different teams, and that¡¯s one of our ways.¡±