November 2009 Archives

Entering the 2009 season, the picture looked bleak for the Texas Rangers. Coming off 2008, when attendance dropped to a 20-year low, many wondered if the team’s train had enough steam to leave the station.

Season ticket holders had declined almost 10 percent. No big-name free agents had been signed to generate fan interest. Negative press had arisen in the off-season over the team’s moving veteran Gold Glove shortstop Michael Young to third base in deference to untested 20-year-old rookie Elvis Andrus. And the dismal economy produced expectations that fans would be cutting their baseball-spending budgets.