ARLINGTON – Michael Helman must have left his cape in his locker Wednesday. All he did in a 6-3 win that capped the best series of a season suddenly shocked to life was single and score the tying run. Oh, right. Ran down a speeding bullet on the warning track, too.
Ho-hum.
Frankly, we expect more from superheroes.
Especially one who saves a September.
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Where was the extraterrestrial who drove in all five of the Rangers’ runs against the Brewers on Monday, then homered and subtracted a homer Tuesday, giving them a shot at Wednesday’s sweep?
Pardon the impertinence, but going into the final game of the series at the Globe, Helman’s .961 OPS was the fourth-highest in baseball for anyone with at least 50 at bats.
Judge, Kurtz, Ohtani . . .
Helman.
Like reading John, Paul, George and Gus.
For that matter, Helman was upstaged Wednesday by Jake Burger, who clobbered two homers to give Merrill Kelly all the cushion he needed. Of course, that’s the sort of thing the Rangers expected when they acquired Burger from the Marlins. The Rangers had no expectations for Helman. No one did.
Not the Twins nor Cardinals nor Pirates, all of whom employed him at one point or another this year. He wasn’t even with Pittsburgh long enough to make it out of Memphis.
Get this: The Pirates DFA’d him two days after claiming him to make room for Nick Solak.
Nick Solak.
The Rangers, who’d tried to claim him twice, liked Helman because of his versatility. He could play center, second or short. Good wheels. Over a career that took him from Hutchinson Community College to Texas A&M to four MLB organizations he’d also shown a little pop.
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But he’s also 29, too old to be considered a prospect anymore. Too old, actually, to qualify for the “Little Rascals” label the Rangers’ broadcast crew hung on the quartet of Helman, Cody Freeman, Alejandro Osuna and Dustin Harris, a group that has pumped life into a moribund clubhouse. Helman has a rascal of his own, 2-year-old Beckham. In fact, he’s older than all but three of the Rangers in Wednesday’s lineup, and Burger’s only got him by a month.
But funny things happen in September. Particularly when you help the Rangers to a sweep of a team with the best record in baseball for just the sixth time in franchise history and pull them within a hair of not only a wild card berth but maybe even the division lead. Under these circumstances, reality can get a little twisted. Performances become magnified.
Unlikely heroes are born.
Bruce Bochy knows all about such things. Back in 2010, when his Giants spoiled the Rangers’ World Series debut, he’d been forced to remake the left side of his infield when his third baseman, Pablo Sandoval, “got a little out of shape,” as Bochy put it, delicately. He moved Jose Uribe over to third and inserted Edgar Renteria at short.
Renteria had been a five-time All-Star, one of the most respected players in the league. He was also 33 and long past his prime. Bochy believed in him, though. Remembered him Wednesday as “a money player.”
Renteria cashed in the Rangers, that’s for sure. Homered in Games 2 and 5, put up an OPS of 1.209 and became just the fourth player in World Series history with game-winning hits in two games.
The other three players?
Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and Yogi Berra.
Only a couple weeks after joining that group and winning MVP honors, Renteria was without a job when the Giants declined his option.
The moral is, in baseball, you’ve got to enjoy it while you can, because it’ll come and go before you know it. One minute you’re an emergency call-up; the next, your hitting coach is telling the boys on 105.3 FM that you’ve got “Trae Turner-ish skills.”
The Trae Turner-ish?
The three-time All-Star with a career .297/.349/.479/.828 slash line?
“Yeah,” Helman said, smiling, “if you want to go Trae Turner, that’s fine by me.
“I’m not gonna complain.”
To say he’s making the most of the greatest stretch of his career would be an understatement. He was so flush with adrenaline the last few days, he said, he couldn’t sleep. Not that he’s carping.
Nothing’s worth grousing about when you’re this close with 15 games left and your path to the playoffs is no harder than anyone else’s in the division.
Sweeping the best team in baseball can do wonders for your mood this time of year.
“It’s huge for us as a team, just knowing where we’re at,” Helman said. “I think we’re in a good spot. Just keep winning ballgames.”
Besides, it’s not like anyone else is running away with it, right?
Why not the Rangers?
“Exactly,” he said.
When you’re living the dream, you might as well make it big. Could be quite a fall in the Helman household. Michael’s wife, Allie, whom he met at A&M, is expecting their second child at the end of October, near what would be the end of the World Series. Much still to be determined between now and then, but, as long as it lasts, you’re crazy not to enjoy it. Meanwhile, if Helman keeps this up, I say we name a condiment after him.
Twitter/X: @KSherringtonDMN
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