Banister urged Rangers players to let sting of ALDS loss 'burn' all winter
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Texas Rangers' Elvis Andrus tosses his helmet after striking out during the eighth inning in Game 5 of baseball's American League Division Series against the Toronto Blue, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2015, in Toronto. The Blue Jays clinched their first trip to the American League Championship Series since 1993, overcoming one of the most bizarre plays in playoff history by taking advantage of three Rangers errors for a 6-3 victory. (Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT
The Texas Rangers led the Toronto Blue Jays two games to none in the best-of-five ALDS this past October, but came up short. Toronto's furious rally earned them three straight wins and a trip to the ALCS, while the Rangers saw the series slip through their fingers.
In a recent appearance on KTCK The Ticket (as summarized by the Dallas Morning News), manager Jeff Banister addressed a few things about his 2015 club - including his words to the team after that frustrating ALDS exit.
As Banister sees it, losing a series in the manner the Rangers did provides the players - many of them young and relatively inexperienced, after all - with a chance to learn and be even more motivated should they return to October in the future:
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Being a professional athlete pretty much requires one to have a short memory and/or be able to bounce back quickly from disappointment, but given the context of the Rangers' ALDS loss Banister's perspective makes sense since it can really be a learning tool moving forward.