What could’ve been?

That’s the question that Texas Rangers fans were asking after a 93-69 2012 season that ended with a loss in the American League Wild Card Game. Texas lost 8 of its last 10 in dramatic fashion, ending a season that began with lofty expectations after back-to-back World Series appearances.

Now, there’s a chance to assess some of those unknowns. Using the popular baseball simulation Out of the Park Baseball, here’s a breakdown of how the simulation had the infamous squad faring.

Notable differences in the simulation: Regular season

• Colby Lewis got the ball for Texas on Opening Day against the Chicago White Sox. He got shelled in an 8-7 loss, giving up 8 runs and 10 hits in just 3.1 innings pitched.
• Derek Holland pitched a shutout in his first start of the season, the first Ranger win of the year. In the actual 2012 season, he was among the league leaders in that category.
•  Yu Darvish made his Major League debut on April 10, just like he did in the actual 2012 season. He took a 1-0 loss despite a brilliant 6 inning, 10-strikeout outing.
• Ian Kinsler started out his season on a torrid pace- slapping a league-leading 6 homers through Texas’ first 13 games. He put together a streak of scoring a run in 13 straight contests, too.
• Josh Hamilton took home AL Batter of the Month honors in April with a .326/.404/.674 line with 8 homers and 27 RBI, all despite a lackluster 11-12 first month of the season for the team.
• Hamilton had less success against Baltimore in his famous May 8 game at Camden Yards. Instead of the four homers he ripped against the O’s, he went 2-6 with two singles in three strikeouts in the simulation.
• Roy Oswalt made his Ranger debut against his former Houston Astros on June 17. He picked up the win.
• A 10-game winning streak in late June boosted the Rangers past the Angels for first place in the AL West.

• Yu Darvish picked up AL Pitcher and Rookie of the Month awards in June, going 5-0 with a minuscule 1.12 ERA.
• Darvish, Matt Harrison, Kinsler, Adrian Beltre and Hamilton all were named to the All-Star Game in Kansas City- three less than the eight that Texas actually sent in 2012.
• Kinsler won the AL Player of the Week award after a 13-27 week July 30.
• When acquired from Chicago at the deadline, Ryan Dempster replaced Colby Lewis in the rotation, not Oswalt. Furthermore, Washington moved Neftali Feliz to the bullpen early on- sparing him from the season-ending Tommy John surgery he needed in June.
• It wasn’t the Oakland A’s, but instead the Los Angeles Angels, that caught up to Texas’ big division lead. A four-game losing streak paired with nine straight for the Halos led to a division tie in mid-August. Through September 13, the Rangers were 88-55 and held a lead in the division. After that point, the team went 9-12, including 2-4 versus the division champion Angels.
• In the infamous last series of the season against Oakland, who finished just 77-85. In 2012, the team could’ve clinched a playoff spot with a single win. In the sim, the Rangers still lost the three-game set, but won the famous Josh-Hamilton-error game 7-0.
• Texas ended up with a 95-67 record, two games better than actuality. It still clinched the team the same result- a spot hosting the American League Wild Card game.
• Josh Hamilton nearly won the AL Triple Crown, pacing the league in homers with 55 and RBI with 147- 14 better than Toronto’s Edwin Encarnacion, who finished second with 133.

Playoffs:

• Texas hosted a strong Tampa Bay Rays team instead of an upstart Baltimore Orioles team that actually eliminated them in 2012. Yu Darvish still got the ball, and set up Ian Kinsler’s walk off single by pitching 6.1 shutout innings in a 2-1 win that sent the Rangers to a date with the New York Yankees in the ALDS.
• The Rangers pounced on eventual AL Cy Young Award winner C.C. Sabathia, a 21-game winner, in Game one. Ryan Dempster struggled in Game 2 in a 10-4 loss. A similar story for Derek Holland left the team with its back against the wall headed into Game 4 in Arlington. was a pitcher’s duel, as Darvish hurled seven strong, but New York still stayed close down 2-1.
• Game 5 was a pitcher’s duel. Ron Washington called upon Dempster out of the bullpen late in the game, despite pitching on just three days’ rest. Robinson Cano launched a 3-run homer in the top of the 9th, and despite a rally attempt, the Rangers still came up short and lost the series, 3 games to 1.

Around the league:

• The Atlanta Braves won the World Series, 4 games to 1 over the Los Angeles Angels.
• Yu Darvish won the American League Rookie of the Year award, winning 14 games along with a 2.56 ERA.
• Ryan Braun’s massive season with the Brewers earned him NL MVP honors.
• Hamilton won his second AL MVP award in three seasons with a massive offensive season.