The 2023 World Series and the triumph of the Texas Rangers – considered a severely crippled underdog by some – offered Christians and normal Americans some sweet, sweet satisfaction.
For the uninitiated: the Rangers are the only Major League Baseball team that has never hosted a Pride night or decked out in sparkly rainbows for June.
Declaiming on God’s intentions is a dangerous hobby. After all, we have his word that good men will suffer while evil men flourish.
But we also know that there are no coincidences in the workings of Providence, and that once in a while God gives us a laugh.
Which makes us think:
Here’s why a win for the Rangers – and one of the best World Series runs in MLB history – was so very sweet in 2023.
Since 2001, when the Chicago Cubs hosted the first “Pride” game, the entire MLB family has caved to LGBT activist pressures. Team after team has hosted a “Pride” night – each trying to outdo the others in rainbow gear and trans-themed stadium decor every June.
This year, it all came to a head when the Los Angeles Dodgers announced they would be honoring the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence,” an anti-Catholic hate group of men mocking religious sisters, at their Pride night.
It was the most egregious act of bigotry from an MLB team to date… but the Dodgers were just taking to the next level what every other team has been doing for years.
Every team, that is, except the Texas Rangers.
As CatholicVote, together with many bishops and allies, raised an unprecedented public outcry against the Dodgers’ decision, the media and sports world tried to turn attention to the recalcitrant Rangers.
FanNation, part of the Sports Illustrated universe, fomented discord among the team’s own staff with a piece titled “Texas Rangers Criticized By Employees For Not Hosting Pride Night.”
The AP ran a top-news sports piece asking: “Why are the Texas Rangers the only MLB team without a Pride Night?”
Six days later, Tasha Tsiaperas wrote “Texas Rangers are lone MLB team to ignore Pride Month,” which could more accurately have been titled “Everyone Else is Bending the Knee: What Evil Republican Runs the Rangers?”
But the Rangers never took the bait and never caved: “Our commitment is to make everyone feel welcome and included in Rangers baseball. That means in our ballpark, at every game, and in all we do — for both our fans and our employees.”
The very idea that a team would respect fans who believe in two sexes and the dignity of marriage has long infuriated progressive sensibilities.
The Dallas Observer ran a 2022 op-ed by Ritchie Witt titled: “The Rangers Will Honor Just About Everything on the Field Except Gay Pride… and Winning,” mocking the team’s failure to win a Championship in over 50 years.
Well, who’s laughing now? As Eric Sammons remarked:
Which makes us wonder: should this headline have been in “Not the Bee,” Seth Dillon?
