Pettis has fond memories of his Rangers days
ARLINGTON — Gary Pettis stepped out of the dugout at Globe Life Field and surveyed the stadium. Leaning on a baseball bat for support, the Astros' third-base coach let the action come to him. Person after person, each wearing some form of Rangers blue, approached to warmly greet their colleague-turned-rival.
A reporter jokingly remarked that Pettis seemed like the ballpark mayor.
“I am!” he responded, then leaned in to hug another friend.
In his two stints with the Rangers, for two seasons as a player and eight seasons as a coach, Pettis never imagined he'd one day be part of an Astrosrangers playoff battle.
Three years ago, he was just determined to remain in baseball after he was diagnosed with cancer at age 62.
Now, the five-time Gold Glover is seeking to advance with the Astros to a third straight World Series — at the expense of his former Rangers club, who led the Astros 2-0 in the AL Championship Series entering Wednesday night's Game 3.
“Obviously I had some very good times there,” Pettis said. “I'll never forget them. They're very special to me. But I'm here (with Houston) now, and so obviously I want our team to win. They have a good ballclub over there but we're gonna do everything in our power to try and get the W.”
A center fielder known for his jaw-dropping catches and base stealing skills, Pettis played for four teams during his decade-long major league career. He joined the Rangers for the 1990 and 1991 seasons, and won his final Gold Glove award in 1990.
He returned to the Rangers organization as a coach on manager Ron Washington's staff in 2007 following coaching stints with the Angels, White Sox and Mets. Pettis spent the next seven years in Arlington, including when the Rangers won consecutive AL pennants in 2010 and 2011 and made the playoffs again in 2012.
But after the 2014 season, Pettis' contract with the Rangers was expiring.
Washington had resigned as manager, and Pettis wasn't sure whether his replacement intended to keep any of the coaching staff. Weeks passed with minimal communication until the team called and told him that the Astros had requested permission to interview him. The Rangers intended to grant it, all but confirming that Pettis' time in Arlington was over.
“I didn't expect that to be the situation that would unfold,” Pettis said. “I thought I was going to go back no matter what. But it didn't, I'm here now and, luckily, I came right into an organization that was on the rise. And I think I've added some things to the organization as far as helping guys with their outfield, base running and bunting skills. So I'm very happy with where I am right now.”
Pettis joined former Astros manager A.J. Hinch's staff for the 2015 season, during which the Astros ended a 10-year playoff drought and lost in the ALDS to the Royals. Houston has played in the division series in seven of the eight postseasons since then.
Pettis said he sees some parallels between the Astros dynasty he is now a part of and the Rangers teams he helped coach to back-to-back World Series in 2010 and 2011.
Both clubs, Pettis said, possessed a similar dynamic blend of players with varied skills. Speedsters, bunting aficionados, home run sluggers and contact hitters melded harmoniously in the same clubhouse. Texas had Michael Young and Josh Hamilton. Houston has Alex Bregman and Yordan Alvarez.
Then there's the common denominator that goes beyond the field: The mindset that drives success.
“Those teams that I was on with the Rangers there, that was one of the driving forces was the mentality of the players,” Pettis said. “They held one another accountable for what they did on the field. So we have the same thing here. Our guys hold one another accountable as well.”
In September 2020, Pettis was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer. He remained away from the team until July 2021 getting treatment that included chemotherapy and radiation. In California, Pettis often woke up at 4 a.m. to virtually join the Astros' spring training meetings before driving to his appointments with medical specialists. There, he'd sit for hours hooked up to a machine that drew his blood, separated the plasma from the liquid and returned the blood to his body.
Throughout his treatment, which continued even after he returned to the team, the Astros worked to allow Pettis flexibility to perform his duties as well as he could while managing his health.
Astros manager Dusty Baker, who fought prostate cancer two decades earlier, said his own battle gave him a new perspective that he believes Pettis shares.
“From the birds flying to the flowers, the trees, the moon — things that you really don't notice or take for granted, you start noticing,” Baker said. “He loves life. He has this very positive outlook on it. He gets mad like the rest of us at some point in time, but he can hold his temper as well as any man I've ever seen. He shows his displeasure and still puts it in a positive light. He's a quiet warrior and I'm more of a warrior.”
Pettis' cancer is officially in remission. In addition to the 2017 World Series title he won with the Astros, he enjoyed another championship season in 2022. That second title, and the opportunity to repeat this season, means even more given all he has endured.
“Oh, this is so special,” Pettis said. “The organization was definitely really behind me, told me to take as much time as I needed, and that made me feel a lot better about being away from the guys. … But you know, baseball has been my life.”