ARLINGTON, Texas — Perhaps you have witnessed the revelry. There was Game 2 of the Wild Card series in Tampa, when Rangers outfielder Adolis García demolished a baseball 416 feet into the half-barren stands at Tropicana Field. García held his pose, twirled his bat toward the dugout, beat his chest and basked in the moment.

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Then there was Tuesday night, in Game 3 of the Division Series against the Orioles. Two runners were on. García got an elevated fastball, kept his hands inside and unleashed his powerful swing. A boom reverberated through the building. García’s baseball soared into the second deck of Globe Life Field. At home plate, the wrecker stood and admired his destruction. He took one step out of the box, then another. He tossed his bat and let it fall far from his tri-colored spikes. The Rangers went up 6-0 in the second inning. It seemed like García’s way of saying: Game over.

This is the flair that comes with Adolis García.

“I play with my emotions,” he said Tuesday night, speaking through an interpreter. Rangers fans have responded accordingly, feeding off García’s fire, channeling his fervor en route to the American League Championship Series.

“I feel that connection with the fans,” he said. “I feel that they feel the same thing. … Whenever I do something well on the field, I show it. I think they appreciate that, and I think it’s something that’s really beautiful that we have.”

The Baltimore Orioles had 101 wins coming into the ALDS.

Adolis García and the Texas Rangers don’t care.

🎥 @MLB

— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) October 11, 2023

That, though, is only one part of what makes García so captivating. Let us revisit the origin story. Long before he was a member of the Texas Rangers starring in the postseason, García was a kid trying to make it out of Cuba. He played five years for the club Ciego de Ávila in the Cuban National Series. Going to the U.S. was forbidden, but the Cuban baseball federation did allow for players to go to Japan. In 2016, García played for the Yomiuri Giants. He hit only .234 in 111 at-bats. But seeking greater opportunity, he made plans to defect from Cuba. His older brother, Adonis — named after the Greek god — had done the same five years earlier and spent three seasons with the Atlanta Braves.

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On a return flight from Japan, there was a connection in Paris. García stepped off the plane and instead boarded a different flight to the Dominican Republic. His wife was able to meet him in the D.R. Six months later, he established residency and became an international free agent.

“It was a difficult decision,” he said in 2020. “You have to leave a lot behind. Parents, family, a lot of loved ones. But it’s something I had to do if I was going to follow my dream, and you can’t give it a second thought other than to give it a shot.”

He was 24 then, old for an international signing. Yet he possessed such great physical tools that it was hard for teams to ignore. García signed with the Cardinals organization for $2.5 million. There he roomed with another Cuban player, Randy Arozarena. The two became fast friends. García is the godfather to Arozarena’s daughter. They reunited this year, both All-Stars and contestants in the Home Run Derby.

“It was a process,” Arozarena said. “It was a process for both of us to leave Cuba and come to play in the States.”

In the Cardinals organization, García showed hints of merciless power, including 32 home runs during the 2019 season at Triple-A Memphis. García’s game, though, remained raw and flawed. Breaking balls ate him alive. A free swinger, he struck out 159 times in 529 trips to the plate. He got a brief cameo in the major leagues but had only two hits in 17 at-bats.

St. Louis designated him for assignment. The Rangers, who had been interested when García was an international free agent, acquired him in a trade for cash. It was little more than a low-stakes gambit.

García spent 2020 at the Rangers’ alternate site. He worked with coaches to tighten up his swing, to make it resemble a boxer’s tight, devastating right cross. But Texas almost gave up on him, too.

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In the spring of spring 2021, Texas signed pitcher Mike Foltynewicz and designated García for assignment. Another gamble. The Rangers ran García through waivers just before the date when teams can shift players to the 60-day injured list, meaning there were fewer open roster spots around the league. No one claimed him. Much to the delight of some team officials who had pounded the table for keeping García, he remained in the Rangers’ system.

And look at him now. The baseball-card statistics speak for themselves. García is a two-time All-Star. He bashed 39 home runs this year.

“I’ve had a lot of failures in my career,” he said Tuesday night. “I’ve been there at the bottom. I think when you get to that point, the one that we’re at right now, you just know how to act and how to play accordingly. I’ve learned not to let the emotions get the best of me.”

Those in the Rangers’ clubhouse believe their teammate still does not get enough credit. His play on the field is only part of the package. Talk to anyone around the Rangers. García is perhaps the most beloved player in their clubhouse.

“El Bombi, man. El Bombi is special,” Rangers first baseman Nathaniel Lowe said. “For him to turn out and drive in 100-plus again and hit 30-plus homers again, it’s not really a surprise to anybody in-house. We get to see the show every day playing with him and seeing how hard he works and him perfecting his craft over and over. Through the ups and downs or the strikeouts or misses, we know there’s going to be barrels of excitement.”

He is nicknamed El Bombi not because his home runs resemble bombs but rather because, as a kid, friends thought his head was shaped like a lightbulb.

“He’s funny,” Lowe said. “I wish his Spanish translated a little better to English because when he rags on the guys, he’s really funny.”

García is a venerated older brother to younger Latin players in the organization, a symbol of what they hope to become. He is also a vibrant personality, the kind of man others are drawn to. He is the rare player who seems to transcend languages and cultures, who can connect with every end of the clubhouse.

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“I think that that’s just me as a person,” García said. “I’m someone who arrives every day with a smile on my face. I’m always there to help everyone out. If they have any questions, I’m there to help. It’s something — (my teammates) bring out the best in me.”

This season, García went on the injured list on Sept. 8, when he leaped at the wall, landed awkwardly and strained the patellar tendon in his right knee. His trip to the IL allowed the Rangers to call up rookie phenom Evan Carter. But the team could feel the absence of its unsung star. The Rangers won eight of their first 10 games after his return. García homered four times.

“We missed him,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “We missed his presence. He’s our cleanup hitter. So when we got him back, we were a different club.”

Another thing about García: He is one of a select few Rangers remaining from the 2021 squad that lost 102 games. Victory tastes sweeter when you understand defeat.

“I think that’s really why I’m enjoying it so much,” García said Tuesday, after all the champagne and Budweiser had been sprayed, after the Rangers advanced to the ALCS for the first time since 2011.

That 102-loss season was García’s rookie year in the majors, when he ascended and hit 31 home runs and tied for the league lead with 16 outfield assists. He still struck out a whopping 194 times and had only a .286 on-base percentage.

García, though, has continued to make small strides as a hitter. This season, he dropped his strikeout rate to 27.7 percent. More importantly, he raised his walk rate to 10.3 percent — an uncanny change in profile for a 30-year-old hitter. The Rangers staff maintained faith in García and worked with him to gain a deeper knowledge of pitchers’ game plans. His chase rate dropped by eight percentage points.

“If he gets his batting average up to the .280s or .300, we’re talking about a legitimate five-tool guy,” second baseman Marcus Semien said. “He’s just one of the most talented players a lot of us have ever seen.”

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Tuesday night, after García’s three-run homer served as the knockout blow in the Rangers’ dismantling of the Baltimore Orioles, García sat at a dais for a postgame interview. He had a sparkling chain around his neck and diamond studs in his ears. His personality was radiating just as brightly.

On a team with big names and big contracts, the Rangers’ heart and soul is a player who traveled across the world, who was twice designated for assignment, who took an elongated route to October stardom.

“Take baseball out of it,” outfielder Robbie Grossman said. “He’s an outstanding human being. One of my favorite players to root for. And he’s a heck of a baseball player, too.”

(Top photo: Carmen Mandato / Getty Images)