So Far, So Good for Postseason Odor

Ever since Rougned Odor burst on to the scene in 2014 as the youngest position player in Major League Baseball, we've known he has a special kind of mental makeup.

But for a while this year, he made us question that idea.

Odor, as we all know, was awful over the first six weeks of the season and was demoted to Round Rock to fix an awful plate approach and possibly somewhat to send the youngster a message. Whatever he did, or what was said, worked wonders, as Odor came back to the bigs in mid-June and was one of the best hitters in the game from that point on.

On Thursday in his first career postseason game, Odor flashed the greatness we've all seen in bunches, and he did it on the biggest stage he's seen in his brief career.

Odor was the catalyst for a 5-3 win over the Blue Jays in Game 1 of the ALDS on Thursday, drawing two hit-by-pitches in his first two at-bats against David Price — scoring both times. Then, in his third at-bat, he hit a laser home run over the right-field wall that had an exit velocity of 113 mph, tying Joey Gallo for the hardest hit ball of the year by a Ranger.

He also made several big plays in the field, including two key plays when he didn't try to do too much and prevented one of his untimely errors we've grown used to seeing from time to time.

Odor played well beyond his 21 years on Thursday, and it was a welcomed sight for the Rangers.

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