Beasley talks thrill of Rangers' championship

This story was excerpted from Kennedi Landry's Rangers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

FRISCO, Texas -- Rangers third-base coach Tony Beasley is the longest tenured on-field coach for the club, having joined the organization ahead of the 2015 season.

Beasley joined the Rangers at Double-A Frisco’s Riders Field last weekend for the Winter Caravan stop and fielded questions from the media about his most exciting season with Texas.

Being the longest tenured coach, how was winning the World Series for you personally?

“Oh man. I still don't have the right words for it. Incredible. I guess I'll just stay there with it. It's just tough to describe it. I mean, I don't know that I expected us to win a World Series last year. I expected us to have a good team and compete. And possibly, you know, be in the playoffs and then maybe this year [in 2024] finish it off. We did something unimaginable. We’re just so thankful and blessed that we were able to get that done. Fifty-two years, I guess depending upon if you're counting the Senators, right? It's way too long for an unbelievable fan base to have to wait to celebrate a World Series. So I'm very thankful that we were able to deliver that to the fan base.”

Is there anything different about the offseason after winning a World Series?

“It’s way more hectic. But in a good way. Everyone recognizes you when you win a World Series. They recognize who you are and everyone wants to celebrate that, even in [my hometown in] Virginia. I mean, most people where I live are Orioles fans or Braves fans, but everyone that knew me in Virginia, they watched the games for me and they fell in love with the team and how we played and how we won. And this whole postseason, you know? Going 11-0 on the road, and everyone talks about how we play defense and everything. So they all just fell in love with our team, the personality of our team, the makeup of our ballclub and how they played, just how we went about the game. So, yeah, everyone in Virginia fell in love with the Rangers. So now we have a large following in Virginia.”

How much of a difference did Bruce Bochy make?

“He made a tremendous difference, no doubt about that. I think I said this when we hired Boch, but we hired a win-now manager and a lot of things came with that, in my opinion. He's not getting off that couch to manage the same team that previous managers had. So you're gonna have to give him more assets. Chris Young and Ray Davis did that. They provided the team with needs, not in a minimal way.

“We added impact guys into our clubhouse and onto the field. That makes a huge difference. But the Bochy effect was that sense of urgency and making you earn your ability, your right to play the next day or pitch the extra inning or what have you, and I think he knows when to take a guy out or put a guy in or stay away from certain guys.

“Being able to do what he [believes in], it made a huge impact on us. His leadership was consistent. You know exactly where the buck stops, it stops with him. He's a leader of men. He has a presence and he's well respected because he had done that before, three times. … He knows how to manage those scenarios.

“But for me, he manages every game like it's Game 7 of the World Series. He doesn't just start in the playoffs, which is a good thing. He was consistent with what the expectations are. Those things are conducive to winning. They're conducive to holding players accountable to play at a higher level.”

How happy were you for Nathaniel Lowe winning the AL Gold Glove at first base?

“I was extremely happy, just because of the amount of work that he put in, in Spring Training. Early work, too. I mean, seven o'clock in the morning work, and he was diligent about it. You guys know it's cold at seven o'clock in the morning in Surprise. I didn't even want to be out there, but he was out there and he was diligent about it. We just focused on the details that went into kind of breaking him down and starting from scratch.

“It was his willingness to take constructive criticism and to apply things and not just push back all the time. He said, ‘Give me feedback, because I need it.’ But ultimately, he made the necessary adjustments and I still think that there's room for improvement. Obviously, I don't think it's finished yet. And so we'll get right back at it in Spring Training again. But for him to see his defense improve and to be talked about in a positive manner and to get the ultimate prize of a Gold Glove is so special, so I'm just so happy for him.”