The rookie became the youngest player in American League history to end a game with a grand slam.
ARLINGTON — Only 23 games are left in Wyatt Langford‘s rookie season with the Texas Rangers, and he will be the first to say that he hasn’t lived up to his expectations or those heaped upon him after a stellar spring.
But he’s still standing, still grinding through the longest season of his life and still building a mental rolodex that will help him improve in 2025 and blossom into the player the Rangers believe he will be.
No matter what the numbers say, Langford has never seemed overwhelmed or out of place. No matter how many calls go against him at the plate, he has maintained his composure and handled adversity.
He also has developed a knack for the big moment, and none was bigger than the ninth inning Tuesday night against the Yankees.
Langford became the youngest player in American League history to hit a walk-off grand slam, a towering blast into the second deck in left field, and the Rangers scored the game’s final six runs en route to a 7-4 victory.
Langford also became the first rookie in Rangers history to end a game with a grand slam, and it marked his third walk-off hit of the season. The last Rangers player to have three walk-offs in a season was Josh Hamilton in 2011.
“I think everyone likes those moments,” Langford said. “I think you like them even more if you’re able to come through. It’s really cool to be able to come through.”
The Rangers trailed 4-1 in the eighth inning but scored twice to close within a run. After Walt Pennington (1-0, first career victory) retired Aaron Judge to end the Yankees’ ninth, stranding a runner at second, the Rangers had an opening for a third walk-off win in their past four games.
Carson Kelly started the rally with a one-out single, and Josh Smith and Marcus Semien walked to load the bases. That brought up Langford, who had faced Yankees closer Clay Holmes on Monday night, collecting a ground-rule double.
There was a comfort that Langford hasn’t had much of the season as he faces pitchers for the first time. Even though two Holmes pitches off the plate were called strikes, Langford forced a full count and fouled off a 3-2 slider before launching another slider 407 feet with an exit velocity of 109.7 mph.
“I’m really just trying to do less — a small move, a small swing,” he said. “I was looking for something up in the zone the whole time.”
The three walk-off hits show that Langford has a clutch gene, but so did his home run June 30 at Baltimore to complete his first career cycle. He has also sniffed out RBIs with two outs on multiple occasions.
While the RBI stat has lost some luster in the analytics age, players and coaches appreciate the player who always seems to find a way to drive in a run. Bochy sees it in Langford.
“That’s not talked about enough,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “Guys become better hitters with a game on the line, and he has shown that.”
To that end, the clutch formula at FanGraphs spits out Langford at 0.55, which is good. But it’s also arbitrary and might not define high-leverage situations in the way others might perceive them.
The fact is that Langford has shown a knack for coming through when his team needs him most. He made some history while saving them Tuesday night.
Jeff Wilson, jwilson@alldlls.com
