LM Otero/AP
Texas Rangers manager Jeff Banister watches warm-ups before Game 3 of baseball's American League Division Series against the Toronto Blue Jays, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2015, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
It was one week into spring training games when the Rangers lost their best player, Yu Darvish, last spring.
For a team having compiled the worst record in the American League, it seemed the ultimate challenge for a rookie manager.
And yet Jeff Banister convinced his team this was not a death sentence.
Seven months later, the Manager of the Year toasted his players after capturing the A.