Nathan, Rangers Watch On As Stony Brook Earns Improbable CWS Berth

Rangers’ closer Joe Nathan had a pretty nice Sunday. He came in in the ninth inning of Texas’ win over the Giants in San Francisco, and shut the door with nine pitches, including a three pitch strikeout of leadoff man Gregor Blanco--an at-bat in which Blanco never had any chance.

On the flight home, Nathan recruited his Rangers’ teammates to root on his alma mater, SUNY-Stony Brook, as they earned an improbable College World Series berth with a game three, winner-take-all win over perennial powerhouse LSU.

"It was really a pleasure being on the flight, and this flight we had DirecTV and [I] was able to watch the game very closely," Nathan said, per ESPN Dallas. "I had the whole Rangers team rooting them on. It was a pretty cool experience watching the ballgame."

After spending three season as a shortstop there, Nathan remains a big supporter of the Sea Wolves. He donated a half a million dollars toward the construction of a new stadium, which was completed a little over a year ago and (for obvious reasons) is called Joe Nathan Field.

"I don't want to call it an upset," Nathan said of the win Sunday. "I truly felt like these guys could come in and do something special."