Wyatt Langford’s walk-off grand slam is Texas Rangers rookie’s latest massive moment

ARLINGTON – Just call him: Walk-off, Texas Ranger.

Wyatt Langford won’t win AL Rookie of the Year, but you can’t say he hasn’t had an eventful rookie season. To go with the inside-the-park-homer, the cycle and the team’s only previous grand slam, on Tuesday he added a Rangers’ rookie first: The first walk-off grand slam in a 7-4 win over the New York Yankees and their exploding bullpen.

It was the third walk-off hit for Langford this year, the most by a Ranger since Josh Hamilton had three in 2011. It was the first walk-off grand slam by a Ranger since Nelson Cruz in Game 2 of the 2011 ALCS, the first regular season walk-off grand slam since Marlon Byrd hit one on August 4, 2008. Also against the Yankees.

Oh, yeah, it was also the Rangers’ third walk-off win in the last four games. This would be the kind of stuff that leaves one breathless – if not for the fact they are still seven games below .500 and have already lost more games (73) than they lost all last year. But, hey, why wallow.

If the final month is about the future, Tuesday night was another indication that Langford’s remains very bright despite a slow start. His homer was a masterful at-bat. He got down in the count when Clay Holmes’ two-seamer that might have been above the zone was called a strike. The count went to 2-2 on a sweeper that might have been off the plate. He worked it full, fouled off one slider then crushed another when Holmes tried to double up on it. The ball, which left the bat at 109 mph, might not have landed when Langford leaped into a pile at home plate.

“I saw a guy up there who was very poised,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “He’s been in that situation and he’s come through. He had some good swings. It’s part of his growth. He just has the knack to get the big hit when we need it. It doesn’t show up on spread sheets, but there are guys who become better hitters with the game on the line.

“I think he likes those at-bats.”

Spoiler alert: He does.

“I think everyone likes those situations,” he said. “You especially like them when you get results. I just try to do less there. Make smaller movements. Take smaller swings.”

He’s also grown in these situations. When he’s at his best, he’s patient and disciplined hitter. At his worst, he can occasionally get passive on close pitches. For a rookie, that’s deadly. Too many close calls seem to go against them. According to Baseball Savant, Langford entered the day with 54 called strikes against him on pitches out of the zone. That included nine called third strikes, tied for the fourth most in baseball.

Over the weekend, in a wholly different Rangers’ walk-off win over Oakland, he showed more willingness to spoil pitches on the outer edge that aren’t in his comfort zone, but also aren’t close enough to take. With two outs in the 10th inning and a runner on first, he found himself in a 1-2 count against Mason Miller. He fouled off consecutive 102 mph fastballs away, forcing Miller to try something else. He threw consecutive sliders well off the plate that Langford was able to take for balls and became the potential winning run. Josh Jung followed it up with a walk-off three-run homer.

Over his last 17 games, Langford has picked up the pace significantly, slashing .279/.348/.508/.856 with four homers and 16 RBIs. And it is still worth remembering, he’s a rookie. There is a lot of development that still takes place at the big league level. It’s September. The Rangers may not be in a playoff race, but there is still work to be done.

“It’s super important for me to go into the offseason with a good base of what I want to be able to do next year,” he said.

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