Impact
Last year I went to a charity event held by then Texas Rangers left handed reliever C.J. Wilson. I arrived a little early, before most of the crowd, but in the end the crowd never reached over a couple of hundred people. You could imagine had it been an event held by star outfielder Josh Hamilton, the number would have been in the thousands. But in speaking to Wilson he said he knew the numbers reflected the fact that he wasn’t as much of an impact player as say a “Josh Hamilton”. Even though he liked the intimacy of the small event, he said he wished he was more of an impact player.
Fast-forward through the off-season into spring training and it was clear C.J. was making the push to become more of an impact player as he told management he wanted to be considered for a spot in the rotation. To the surprise of many people C.J. earned a spot on the rotation and complied a 15 win season. Although he sometimes threw too many pitches, walked too many batters, and had a mid-season slump, he proved he could make the transition from reliever to starter, and do it successfully. His impact on the team was starting to rise.
In game 1 of the ALDS Cliff Lee delivered a dominating pitching performance (7 IP 4H 0BB 10K 1ER) that led the Rangers to a 5-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. Wilson would get the ball for game 2. He was the second part of a back to back lefty tandem that had the potential to be a pitching force to be reckoned with if he could step-up and deliver. The stage was set for Wilson and with his calm demeanor and an unquenchable desire to succeed, C.J. pitched like a Post Season veteran, rather than a first year starter making his Post Season debut. At the end of the day Wilson’s line near flawless (6 1/3 IP 2H 2BB 7K 0ER) and his Post Season record was 1-0.
Wilson helped the Rangers gain the lead in a Post Season series, which they had previously never done. The Rangers returned to Texas in a great position to win their first ever Post Season series and it was C.J. Wilson’s performance that helped propel them there. That is impact.
