The best thing Patrick Corbin could do was get out of Dodge. It has been a painfully frustrating last several years since COVID for the Washington Nationals. They were on top of the world in 2019, and now they regularly get toppled on. One of their biggest punching bags on the mound had been Corbin, who really struggled to keep it together in Washington, outside of their World Series run.
Dave Sessions of MLB.com wrote a great article on the dynamic turnaround from Corbin since joining the Texas Rangers this past offseason. He is now part of a starting rotation that might be the best in franchise history. Tyler Mahle, Nathan Eovaldi and Jacob deGrom have outpaced him, but all four starts have sub-.400 ERAs and winning records on the year. Texas looks to be back to good of late.
Corbin touched on what has changed for him in a Texas uniform, mainly locating his pitches better.
“I feel like the movement and the velocity on most of the pitches are the same [but] I think I’m locating a lot better, throwing better pitches in better counts and just kind of having a game plan instead of giving into hitters in some counts. Command, getting ahead and just trying to keep them off balance, to simplify it, was my mindset coming into this season.”
The other big thing he said was he does not want to let the other members of the rotation down.
“It's great to build off each other. No one wants to be that weak link in there. You want to go out there and compete. You see somebody else go out there and dominate, you want to do the same. ... I think starting pitching is the most important thing on a team. And when you’ve got guys that are pitching deep in games, it helps out a lot. It cleans up a lot of things, and that's our job, and it's great to be a part of it.”
Do not be shocked if Texas goes on another run deep into the postseason like it did two years ago...
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Patrick Corbin is experiencing a career renaissance with Texas Rangers
I remember Corbin breaking in with the Arizona Diamondbacks way back in the day. I distinctly remember watching an Atlanta Braves telecast vs. the Snakes and the announcing crew talked about Corbin's path to the big leagues. He famously showed up to try out for his high school team wearing jeans. He ended up becoming an NL All-Star in Arizona and a World Series champion in Washington.
Over the last few years, pretty much throughout Corbin's 30s, he has really only stuck in MLB because of his left-handedness. He had a massive contract with the Nationals, from what I can remember. I think the losing got to him, as well as the franchise no longer being all that interested in competing. I hate it for their fans, despite rooting for one of their biggest rivals. Empathy is key here.
After reading Sessions' article for MLB.com, I am once again reminded of how great of a manager Bruce Bochy is. The man was part of every great San Diego Padres team of my childhood as their manager. He won three World Series with the San Francisco Giants last decade, their only titles since coming over from New York. And guess what? Bochy guided Texas to its first World Series title ever!
In short, I think Bochy's feel for the game is reigniting the Rangers in a big way. It has become a lost art in the sport, in my honest opinion. When you have been around the game as long as Bochy and Corbin have, you do not take these type of moments for granted. It may be early, but Texas is giving off the vibes of a team that could be dangerous to face in the AL postseason. Keep an eye on them.
Corbin's return to prominence has given the Rangers a new identity heading into the middle of 2025.