The Texas Rangers and the Houston Astros have not only been at each other's throats in recent years just because of proximity, but because they are standing in the way of each other's goals.
MLB's Will Leitch recently went through each division to find the most bitter rivalry within it and as for the AL West, it was clearly the Rangers and the Astros.
For years, Houston dominated the Lone Star series. Between 2017 and the 2023 regular season, the Astros had taken the series every year (outside of the shortened 2020 that was split) with ease. The closest that Texas had held it was keeping it within five games a couple of times.
That all changed when it came to the 2023 postseason, however. The Rangers had to go through Houston to get to the World Series and ended up beating them in a tough seven game set. Strangely, the away team won every game which only added to the rivalry.
Texas obviously went on to win it all that year and took back an advantage. The 2024 campaign was not a banner year for either team, but the Astros did once again take series by one game.
The last regular season series that the Rangers won was all the way back in 2016. They do still hold a slight 144-142 lead in the all-time series, however. They built up a huge lead when Houston spent years as bottom-dwellers in MLB.
Now, entering 2025, it feels like the rivalry could go either way. The Astros built up some momentum once again, but both teams are trying to figure out exactly where they stand.
They are likely the top teams in the division, but both need to answer last season's struggles with a quick start to the campaign.
Houston traded away one of the best players in baseball this offseason when sending Kyle Tucker to the Chicago Cubs. They got a solid return, but look to be worse off in the immediate future as the top player they got back was a prospect.
If their pitching staff can stay healthy, though, it has proven to be one of the most talented groups in the sport.
Texas is in a somewhat similar spot with their starting pitching. They desperately need Jacob deGrom to finally put together a healthy season.
As for their lineup, they should be better than they were last year. Stars like Marcus Semien and Adolis Garcia need to bounce back while youngsters like Evan Carter and Wyatt Langford need to develop.
Maybe the most dissapointing part of the team was the bullpen, and that has gotten almost completely reworked.
Both teams have realistic hopes of more success than they had a year ago, but will need to go through each other to find it.