Jeff Banister Hired as Rangers Manager: Latest Details, Comments and Reaction

A new era of Texas Rangers baseball has begun. Coming off the franchise's worst season since 1985, the team has found a new man to lead the club in 2015.    

As first reported by Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Rangers have hired Pittsburgh Pirates bench coach Jeff Banister as their next manager:

The Rangers later confirmed the report:

Banister spoke about the big news:

The hiring does come as a bit of a surprise, though not a huge one. Banister was one of three finalists for the job, along with Cleveland's Kevin Cash and Texas' Tim Bogar, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

Wilson reported on Oct. 9 that Bogar, who served as the interim manager for 22 games after Ron Washington resigned in September, was believed to be the front-runner for the job.

"The Rangers remain on schedule to hire the full-time replacement for Ron Washington before the World Series, which begins Oct. 21," Wilson wrote. "Bogar is considered the frontrunner for the post after going 14-8 following Washington’s resignation Sept. 5."

For some background on Banister, Tyler Kepner of The New York Times wrote about everything the 49-year-old has dealt with and overcome in his life.

"Banister had bone cancer in high school and endured seven operations on his left ankle," Kepner wrote. "In 1983, at a junior college game in Alvin, Tex., he was temporarily paralyzed from the neck down after a home-plate collision."

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

Banister has been with the Pirates virtually his entire career, dating back to his playing days in the minors and one day in the majors. He was drafted by the franchise in 1986 and has the unique distinction of having a perfect MLB batting average (1.000) after getting an infield single during his only plate appearance in 1991. 

In Kepner's piece, Pirates owner Bob Nutting raved about Banister's integrity and character off the field as an inspiration for everyone on the team to feed off.

"Jeff really is a remarkable person and a remarkable story" Nutting told Kepner. "The character that he demonstrates every day, in his own life, makes everyone around him a little bit better. I think that’s true in the clubhouse and throughout the organization. I love Jeff."

While this is certainly a loss for the Pirates and Clint Hurdle's staff, it's a great opportunity for Banister and the Rangers. He's walking into a situation that isn't as bad as Texas' 67-95 record in 2014 would indicate. The Rangers lost so many players to injuries that their disabled list would have been the best playoff team in the AL. 

With an offseason to get healthy, the Rangers should get back to contending for a playoff spot in a tough American League West that saw Los Angeles and Oakland make the playoffs and Seattle finish one game behind the A's. 

Banister certainly has enough experience as a bench coach, working alongside Hurdle for the last four years, to make an immediate impact in Texas. We won't see the results for six months, but this seems like a strong marriage between a talented team and new manager. 

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