Skip to main content

MLB playoffs: Texas Rangers swept the Baltimore Orioles, and they have ’90s band Creed to thank – here’s why

They swept the O's to go... higher... in the playoffs

The Texas Rangers MLB field.
Daniel Lee / Unsplash

In the 2023 MLB playoffs, the Texas Rangers swept the Baltimore Orioles in the American League divisional series. The Rangers have advanced to the AL championship series, where they will face the Houston Asterisks. The Rangers’ secret weapon? Creed.

Yes, Creed, the ’90s band that, in the pantheon of music history, will be remembered as the beta version of Nickelback and booed as a straight rip-off of Pearl Jam. While Creed may have peaked almost 25 years ago, the band and their hit Higher is having a moment, thanks to the Rangers.

Recommended Videos

Things could always get weirder, so this isn’t so bad

Just believe it, Creed is the unofficial mascot of the team. The Rangers started out singing Creed songs on the bus like a high school team on the road to an away game, then graduated the band to their warmup routine. The players have gone so far as to come up with special handshakes to go along with the songs. Where are the videos of those? Maybe the fans could grab some footage at the next game for everyone. We want to learn the moves.

We all get to that place in different ways — no judgment — but we can’t give all of their success to the power of 2000s butt rock music. Bringing on shortstop Corey Seager from the Dodgers and pitcher Max Scherzer plucked from the Mets didn’t hurt things. Seager has bragging rights as the MVP in both the World Series and the National League Championship Series in 2020, with Scherzer’s postseason pitching stats posting impressive numbers as well. Creed’s old-school jams might be keeping the mental game sharp for the team, but the talent speaks for itself.

The need for Creed

Whatever works, and seeing as how the Rangers haven’t seen the ALCS since 2011 or the playoffs since 2016, leave their ways alone. Not everyone cranks Started from the Bottom to get in the zone. The Rangers have gone undefeated in the postseason, and if they make it to the World Series, you know Creed will have to make a performance. Target already carries ’90s Gadzooks fashion, so we’ll be ready. If NSYNC can throw us into a frenzy, why not Creed? Just bring it all back and give us something to look forward to.

In the game on Tuesday, the club asked the fans to sing along to Higher, even throwing up the lyrics on the screen so everyone could pretend they didn’t secretly rock out to Creed and already knew the song word for word. The band even heard about the love and tweeted a good luck shoutout to the team on Monday, making #NeedForCreed a thing. It all worked, and the Rangers won.

Nickelback versus Creed, settled

Putting your arms wide open for unconventional music doesn’t always help turn things around. The Angels found that out in 2022, when the coach wanted to end an embarrassing losing streak. Thinking to liven things up, he gave each player their own cool walk-up song. The problem was that it was all Nickelback songs, and the Angels went on to lose 14 games in a row to take home the title of the 50th-longest losing streak in MLB history. So, maybe Creed is better than Nickelback. There’s that feud sorted.

Dust off those old Human Clay CDs and be ready to sing with the Rangers as they continue their playoff journey. Since they’ve already leaned into Higher, maybe we’ll get to belt out bangers like My Sacrifice or Arms Wide Open next.

Topics
Dannielle Beardsley
Dannielle has written for various websites, online magazines, and blogs. She loves everything celebrity and her favorite…
What to watch: The best shows on Hulu in January
Looking for a new binge series? Here are the best you can stream on Hulu right now
Jeremy Allen White in The Bear.

There was a time when great TV was hard to come by. While not every TV show is great, these days it can sometimes feel like viewers have the opposite problem. There are simply too many shows, and too many streaming services, to choose from. Thankfully, the best shows on Hulu are also among the best shows you can watch anywhere. From new originals to legacy series from decades past, it has tons of shows that will fill the hours of your day.
Those archival shows are hugely important to me, because they helped me define the kind of TV I really loved. Sprawling mysteries, intricate characters, and plenty of high stakes drama unify many of the titles on this list. There are also some, though, that I just think are really funny.
You're probably aware that, while Hulu shows are great, it's far from the only streaming service with plenty of TV to offer. So whether you’re looking for the best Amazon Prime shows, the best Disney+ shows, or the best Netflix shows, we've got you covered. Below, we'll dig into the best shows on Hulu that you can watch now.

Shōgun (2024)

Read more
The best movies on Amazon Prime to watch this January
Add these Prime movies to your watchlist this month
Remote close-up watching TV

Amazon Prime has one of the largest libraries of content in the world, filled with good movies to watch. Whether you want to watch a comedy movie or a crime drama television show, Amazon probably has what you're looking for as far as the best movies to stream right now.

When there's so much to watch, it can be hard to sort through everything to find the best viewing options, though. Thankfully, we're here to help. We've already compiled a list of Amazon Prime TV shows for you to enjoy. And if you're looking for the best movies to watch right now, we've also found a selection of the best movies on Amazon Prime for you to browse.

Read more
David Fincher says he met with Warner Bros. for ‘Harry Potter’
This wasn't the last time the franchise flirted with hiring an autuer filmmaker.
Harry Potter holding a wand and looking disappointed.

David Fincher has dipped his toes into the world of blockbuster adaptations in the past, but his take on Harry Potter probably would have been quite different from the films we ultimately got. During a recent interview to celebrate the re-release of Se7en on 4K, the legendary director said that he met with Warner Bros. about directing the first film.

“I was asked to come in and talk to them about how I would do ‘Harry Potter,’” Fincher explained in an interview with Variety. “I remember saying, ‘I just don’t want to do the clean Hollywood version of it. I want to do something that looks a lot more like Withnail and I, and I want it to be kind of creepy.’”

Read more