As someone who had never been to Houston or Dallas until I covered baseball games there, I will refrain from attempting any intra-state analysis that might underpin this series. But even when considering just the teams themselves, there are interesting parallels, the most obvious being recent — and even relative historical — success.
The Houston Astros are the reigning World Series winners; the Texas Rangers are still searching for their first championship. The Astros have played in the ALCS every season since 2016, which is the last time the Rangers were in the postseason.