Tale as Old as Time: The Silver Boot Series 25th Anniversary

Us baseball fans love it when two rival teams go head-to-head with each other. When you think of a rivalry in Major League Baseball, the two teams that automatically come to mind is the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, which dates back to 1919. However, one rivalry in baseball that tends to get heated every year is between the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros. The Rangers joined the American League West in 1972, the same year they were renamed the Rangers after their move to Arlington from Washington, while the Astros joined in 2013 from the National League West. Fans of their respective teams engage in trash talking, both online and at games. Yours truly has engaged in a few of these exchanges, so I'm not going to pretend that I don't. Both fanbases tend to get heated because of the love and passion for their teams.

The Lone Star Series, or the Silver Boot Series as it's most commonly known as, dates back to June 8, 2001. The team's first meeting was at The Ballpark in Arlington, where the Astros won by a score of 5-4. The next time the Rangers and Astros will meet each other this season is set to take place on May 15, less than a month from the 25th anniversary of the Silver Boot Series. This will be their 300th meeting and the Rangers lead the series with a record of 150-149. Both teams are tied in the regular season series at 146-146, and the Rangers have the Postseason edge record wise at 4-3. The Astros have won three in a row in the series.

Two years ago, I wrote a story on here about my thoughts about the Astros and the cheating scandal that soon unfolded. If you haven't read it, you can read the full story in the link down below. Let's just say that my grievances about them were less than pleasant.

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Since I've written that story, my opinions about the Astros still hadn't changed. With both Alex Bregman and Justin Verlander currently playing for different teams, just like any player who were part of that team between 2017 and 2022, the Cheater label will follow them forever, even when their careers are over. I don't care how good of a player they are; they're all cheaters and guilty by association. That includes Bregman and Verlander. I still loathe Rob Manfred for giving the Astros organization such a light punishment, if you can call it that, while the players got a slap on the wrist for cheating another team out of a World Series title. I hope the next Commissioner revisits this issue and take a much tougher approach on it. I've stated in one of my previous stories about the Astros that their 2017 World Series title, rings, and any bonuses the players might have received needed to be stripped away. If Olympic athletes are caught doping and have their medals taken away, then any MLB team who cheats should have their trophy confiscated and the players would be forced to return their rings and also pay back any bonuses. Plus, I believe that any mention of their World Series wins should be completely erased from baseball records and history. Not only they (the Astros) cheated the team that they went against in the 2017 World Series out of a championship, but they also cheated their own fans, baseball fans, the State of Texas, and the City of Houston out of an experience that should've been memorable. In 2017, they were an underdog story. I was rooting for them to win their first World Series title back then. Once I found out they won the championship under false pretenses, I was both disappointed and livid. They've betrayed me, because even though we're rivals, they should've had the integrity and common sense to not cheat. Because of the aforementioned cheating scandal, the legacies of these players, or what's left of them, will forever be tainted and have an asterisk attached to each one of them. I still hate the Astros and will always have a huge dislike for them for as long as I'm breathing. I'll never have respect for baseball players who cheat in order to win championships, awards, or any other accomplishment for either personal or professional gain. Cheating is the ultimate betrayal towards fans, regardless of what sport it is. Jose Altuve isn't getting any younger and I have zero respect for him at all either. Him and Bregman's half-assed apologies after the scandal broke were weak and fake as shit. Verlander made excuses and numerous deflections about the team cheating, being completely delusional about the controversy. I used to like and respect him. Now, I've since disowned him. Altuve and Bregman were unapologetic and their attitudes showed it. I'll never and still won't acknowledge them as World Series Champions. Cheaters will never win, because integrity will always overrule that every single time.

In closing, as far as this rivalry is concerned, it will live on for decades to come. The Texas Rangers will always run The Lone Star State. The difference between us and the Cheatstros is that we won a World Series title the right way, trash can and scandal free.