​PHILADELPHIA – The symbolism was obvious, if not entirely accurate. Sitting under a table umbrella in Ashburn Alley at Citizen’s Bank Park on Monday, another day when it was hot as hell in Philadelphia, to quote a musical, was Rangers All-Star Jacob Latz.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHe was right back where this magical season started, when on the spur of the moment, after being denied a spot in the starting rotation, he pinch-hit (or rather pinch-pitched) for Jacob DeGrom and threw four no-hit innings against the Phillies. From there, he sprung into being one of the most dominant and versatile closers in the game this season. It makes for a nice, full-circle moment. “It was cool to be back here,” Latz said when asked about Philly flashbacks. “But when you walk in with every good player in the league, it hits kind of different.”Make no mistake. Latz is now one of them. For the metric crowd, his Fangraphs WAR of 1.7 is the second-best among AL relievers. For the traditionalists, his ERA of 1.61 is third and his 90% save conversion rate is tied for third. He’s converted more multi-inning saves than anyone in baseball.And in the clubhouse, he heard all of this from his temporary teammates, who introduced themselves to him Monday and congratulated him on making the team. They may not have quoted the stats, but they recognized the body of work, letting Latz know he belonged.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“When I shook some hands here and they were congratulating me on the year that I’ve had, and giving me kudos for that, it’s cool to get acknowledgement or at least know that other people have noticed what I’ve been doing this year. That recognition sticks out to me more than like thinking back to being back here. All of that meant a lot.” At least someone noticed. Most of the time Latz was available during the 40-minute media availability Monday, he sat by his lonesome under the sun shade, wedged between AL Pitcher of the Moment Cam Schlittler and Home Run Derby favorite Junior Caminero. Most of those who stopped by wanted to know what he’d be doing if he wasn’t a baseball player (he’d maybe open a restaurant), what ingredient ruins a sandwich (he’s not a mustard guy), whether the Cowboys are still America’s team (do you really think Latz was gonna fall into that trap) and if he knew any Japanese (not really). A quick video byte, a congrats and they were gone.Had they been interested, though, Latz could have told them that this season did not, in fact, start in Philadelphia in March, but rather in Poway, Calif., last October when a bit of serendipity led him to pitching instructor Dominick Johnson. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementLatz left last season with two goals: To win a job as a starter and to fulfill a long-held desire to spend an offseason in California. The first was obvious to anybody who has ever talked to Latz. The second was a promise he made to himself after choosing Kent State, in