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Chris Young looks back at his favorite moments from Texas Rangers’ World Series run

Young also broke down how it feels seeing Nathaniel Lowe, Jonah Heim and Adolis Garcia as Gold Glove winners.

Before fully focusing on 2024 preparations, Rangers general manager Chris Young joined the G-Bag Nation on 105.3 The Fan (KRLD-FM) to relive his experiences as Texas won its first World Series.

Here are some highlights, edited for clarity:

What were some of your favorite memories from the World Series run?

Chris Young: “Well, the neatest thing for me is, it really sinks in when you go out in the parade and you see how many hundreds of thousands of fans you’ve made happy. How much joy this team has brought to their lives and to see them come out, show their support and their gratitude to these players and coaches who gave them something very, very special and really will forever be in Ranger history, the first team to win a world championship. Just knowing that all of D-FW and our fans across the state, across the country, can be proud of their team. That’s what the parade was for, for me. I just loved seeing so many fans there. It warmed my heart to see it. That’s what makes these jobs so wonderful, is that we can impact people’s lives, we can have a positive impact on people and seeing that — I can’t even describe how satisfying that was.”

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What postseason moment stands out to you?

Young: “I’ll always look back on that Houston series and the adversity we had and just kind of the way that Game 5 ended. Just what a heartbreaker it was, and then just remember the way the team responded. The resilience of the group and the way they responded. We had that next day off, I believe it was a Friday, we had a workout at the field and we came in and there was just a positive energy to the group. In fact, I think Austin Hedges said something to the effect of, ‘This will make a great 30-for-30 one day.’ When I heard that, I knew we were gonna go to Houston and win some games. I knew that we would go there and play good baseball. This team was motivated and they would find a way to win and Houston, and they did.

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“When you look at that series, you go down there and the series Adolis [Garcia] had, I’ve never heard somebody get booed that loudly. For him to have the 0-for-4 with four strikeouts and then his last at-bat hit that home run, it was one of the coolest moments I’ve seen. The next one that really stands out for me are the two home runs in Game 1. [Corey] Seager’s home run to tie the game and Adolis’ home run to win it. Just special, special moments in, really, baseball history. Not Rangers history, but baseball history and so cool that the last one happened in front of our fans in Arlington.”

Is there a certain amount of sadness to know that this team might not be all together again?

Young: “Absolutely. There always is a level of sadness. I have this every year, whether I was a player or in this role. These are special moments that you spend, really, eight straight months with your colleagues and you develop these bonds. You don’t always win championships, but when you do, it’s a super special time and a special group of guys. Really, the last night in Phoenix is the last time you’re kind of all together as one and the journey is what it’s all about. It really is satisfying, the ultimate prize of winning a championship, and all of a sudden the journey just ends abruptly and it’s over, and you all go your separate ways. Friday night, there was a good celebration with a majority of the guys but even at that point, some of the guys had to get home. They had families at home, kids who were going back to school and it’s just a very abrupt ending. That’s really the last time that full team will be together. Minus reunions, but even then it’s not quite the same.”

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How much pride do you take seeing Jonah Heim, Nathaniel Lowe and Adolis Garcia as Gold Glovers?

Young: “Well, I’m so happy for those guys. They’ve earned it. They worked so hard for it. Really, it shows the level of commitment and work that they put in to earn that. It’s great to see it recognized throughout the league, great to see that they were voted Gold Glove winners and really, really deserving. I actually think we had a few more, but I know these votes are hard and not everybody can win. Nonetheless, that was one of the traits of our team. We played great defense all year long and these guys definitely earned it.”

Listen to the rest of Young’s radio appearance here.

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