A year ago, Rangers pitcher Alex Speas had put his professional baseball career behind him, transitioning to coaching youth baseball in North and South Carolina. On Wednesday, the sport’s winding path led Speas to the mound at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, where he made his MLB debut as the Rangers faced the Rays.
Within just six pitches, it was clear the moment was worth the wait.
With one out and Texas clinging to a 1-0 lead in the seventh inning, Speas struck out the first batter he faced—Tampa Bay’s star shortstop, Wander Franco—on a pitch that turned into a strikeout-caught stealing double play to end the inning. The moment was a culmination of Speas’s long road back to baseball after he quit back in 2021 after six years in the minor leagues.
