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The Texas Rangers and Me: A Baseball Writer's Thirty-Two Years in Arlington
Not yet published
Expected 1 Jul 26Since the team was established in 1971, the Texas Rangers have built a rich history and identity that makes them unique among MLB teams. The Texas Rangers and Me takes readers on a journey through the incredible highs and lows and the unforgettable moments that have shaped the franchise through the eyes of beat reporter T.R. Sullivan, who covered the team for 32 years, longer than any reporter in franchise history. Sullivan attended 32 spring trainings, covered some 4,000 regular season games, traveled the country over many post-season Octobers, and spent thousands of hours in the clubhouse and press box.
Sullivan was there for Nolan Ryan’s final two no-hitters, his 300th win and 5,000th strikeout, and his famous brawl with Robin Ventura. He covered José Canseco, Alex Rodriguez, and Josh Hamilton. He was there for Kenny Rogers’s perfect game and his assault on two cameramen. He was at the 1989 Earthquake World Series and was on the road with the Rangers on September 11. Sullivan covered sixteen World Series, including the first two ever for the Rangers. He reported through the steroids era and saw firsthand how it impacted the Rangers.
Sullivan covered the team’s ascent to their first World Series, led by manager Bruce Bochy and shortstop Corey Seager, as well as the less-known players and people who have influenced the team’s history. Sullivan portrays the heart and soul of a team that embodies the spirit of Texas gritty, determined, and always fighting for glory. With firsthand stories from players, coaches, and fans alike, Sullivan brings the history of the Texas Rangers to life in a way that honors the team’s unique legacy and their dedicated following.
Sullivan was there for Nolan Ryan’s final two no-hitters, his 300th win and 5,000th strikeout, and his famous brawl with Robin Ventura. He covered José Canseco, Alex Rodriguez, and Josh Hamilton. He was there for Kenny Rogers’s perfect game and his assault on two cameramen. He was at the 1989 Earthquake World Series and was on the road with the Rangers on September 11. Sullivan covered sixteen World Series, including the first two ever for the Rangers. He reported through the steroids era and saw firsthand how it impacted the Rangers.
Sullivan covered the team’s ascent to their first World Series, led by manager Bruce Bochy and shortstop Corey Seager, as well as the less-known players and people who have influenced the team’s history. Sullivan portrays the heart and soul of a team that embodies the spirit of Texas gritty, determined, and always fighting for glory. With firsthand stories from players, coaches, and fans alike, Sullivan brings the history of the Texas Rangers to life in a way that honors the team’s unique legacy and their dedicated following.
- GenresBaseball
336 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication July 1, 2026
7 people want to read
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Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
If a reader wants to get the inside scoop for their favorite baseball team, the best source of information would be one of the beat writers who cover the team regularly. T.R. Sullivan was one of those writers for the Texas Rangers and his career covering the team is a good collection of his time performing that task.
Sullivan’s career covered a lot of ground for the history of the team, through the good times and the bad ones. Players he highlights in the book could make up a Who’s Who of Texas Rangers history. There is great information on stars who had great seasons with the Rangers. These include Nolan Ryan, Michael Young, Adrian Beltre, Josh Hamilton and Alex Rodriguez. Not only are their exploits on the field covered, but Sullivan also shares personal stories about interactions he had with them and for some, such as Rodriguez, how they ended up becoming Rangers.
The stories are not limited to the players. Sullivan also shares anecdotes on managers and front office leaders as well. The best of the managers during Sullivan’s time covering the team, Ron Washington, gets a great write up. For front office staff, that honor would go to Jon Daniels. It probably is no coincidence that these two individuals got this amount of text in the book as they were the field manager and general manager respectively when the Rangers won back-to-back American League pennants in 2010 and 2011. Sullivan retired after the 2020 World Series (played in Arlington even though the teams were the Dodgers and the Rays) so he did not cover the first championship for Texas in 2023, but he did include his observations on that team as well.
Through these personal stories, Sullivan also takes the reader through the Rangers’ seasons, both good and bad. He starts with an event where the Rangers were not playing – the 1989 World Series between the Athletics and Giants and the earthquake in San Francisco that interrupted it for ten days. From there, he works for a Dallas-Fort Worth newspaper covering the Rangers and occasionally will give the reader a peak of life as a beat reporter.
Because of all these interconnected stories about the people and the team, there is repetition of many events in Rangers history. From that, it appears that Sullivan wrote each chapter without looking back to see if an event had already been addressed. That is the only true flaw I found in this book and if that’s the worst thing one can find, it’s truly a book worth a reader’s time. Even if that reader is not a Rangers fan, it’s still fun to read about this team’s personalities and history.
I wish to thank University of Nebraska Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
https://substack.com/@lances629948/no...
Sullivan’s career covered a lot of ground for the history of the team, through the good times and the bad ones. Players he highlights in the book could make up a Who’s Who of Texas Rangers history. There is great information on stars who had great seasons with the Rangers. These include Nolan Ryan, Michael Young, Adrian Beltre, Josh Hamilton and Alex Rodriguez. Not only are their exploits on the field covered, but Sullivan also shares personal stories about interactions he had with them and for some, such as Rodriguez, how they ended up becoming Rangers.
The stories are not limited to the players. Sullivan also shares anecdotes on managers and front office leaders as well. The best of the managers during Sullivan’s time covering the team, Ron Washington, gets a great write up. For front office staff, that honor would go to Jon Daniels. It probably is no coincidence that these two individuals got this amount of text in the book as they were the field manager and general manager respectively when the Rangers won back-to-back American League pennants in 2010 and 2011. Sullivan retired after the 2020 World Series (played in Arlington even though the teams were the Dodgers and the Rays) so he did not cover the first championship for Texas in 2023, but he did include his observations on that team as well.
Through these personal stories, Sullivan also takes the reader through the Rangers’ seasons, both good and bad. He starts with an event where the Rangers were not playing – the 1989 World Series between the Athletics and Giants and the earthquake in San Francisco that interrupted it for ten days. From there, he works for a Dallas-Fort Worth newspaper covering the Rangers and occasionally will give the reader a peak of life as a beat reporter.
Because of all these interconnected stories about the people and the team, there is repetition of many events in Rangers history. From that, it appears that Sullivan wrote each chapter without looking back to see if an event had already been addressed. That is the only true flaw I found in this book and if that’s the worst thing one can find, it’s truly a book worth a reader’s time. Even if that reader is not a Rangers fan, it’s still fun to read about this team’s personalities and history.
I wish to thank University of Nebraska Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
https://substack.com/@lances629948/no...
Displaying 1 of 1 review