Texas Rangers Dream Team

 

Every sport evolves with each passing generation -- from the

size and athleticism of players to game strategy. 

Baseball’s evolution, however, is both historic and unique given

the pre-integration and dead ball eras. For the former, full

segregation took place from 1887-1947. Full integration,

which was a gradual process, came in 1959. The Deadball Era

was a period in the early 20th century when baseball was

characterized by low scoring and emphasis on pitching. 

There was the Steroid Era, which has no definite start time though

it is generally assumed that the era ran from the late 1980s until

the late 2000s. This era was defined by shattered home run

records leading to exorbitant salaries. 

The Texas Rangers came into Major League Baseball in 1961 as

an expansion team as the Washington Senators. They moved to

Arlington, TX in 1972 and were rebranded as the Texas Rangers. 

The franchise has reached the postseason eight times, seven as

an American League West Division champion and one as a wild

card. The Rangers won back-to-back American League pennants

in 2010 and 2011, losing in the World Series to the San Francisco

Giants (4-1) and St. Louis Cardinals (4-3) respectively. 

Today, I formed a Rangers Dream Team in a 26-man roster format.

For openers, to make this roster, four years as a Ranger are

required. No exceptions. Sorry, Alex Rodriguez. You only played

there three years. With the free agency era, I’m not going to

cheapen this roster with 1-3 year rentals. 

I’m forming a 12 man pitching staff, five starters and seven relievers.

For the latter, I want at least one lefthander in the bullpen. For

position players, I am taking what I believe is the best of the best

regardless of era. For the bench players, it’s the best of the rest with

versatility being heavily considered. Merit achievements such as

Hall of Fame, All-Star appearances and Gold Gloves are

considered but not guaranteed. General impactfulness on the

franchise is also considered.

Generational reminders

If you played on a playoff team, there is no guarantee of landing on

this roster. If you played during a bad season, that does not deter

you from being on this roster. Off-the-field baggage is not a deterrent

to landing on this team, nor is any Steroid Era affiliation. This is

baseball, not the Boys Scouts. We don’t do morality clauses. 

Starting pitchers

Nolan Ryan, Charlie Hough, Ferguson Jenkins, Kevin Brown,

CJ Wilson

Ryan is one of Major League Baseball's biggest icons regardless

of position. He is also an icon in the state of Texas. On the way to

a Hall of Fame career, Ryan became one of the 29 players in

Major League history to have appeared in at least one game in

four different decades. Ryan's 5,000th strikeout and 300th career

victories both came in a Rangers uniform. Ryan is the Major

Leagues’ all-time leader in strikeouts and no-hitters with seven.

The knuckleballer Hough is the franchise’s all-time leader in wins,

games pitched, games started, strikeouts, complete games and

many others. Hough recorded 139 of his 216 career victories in

a Rangers uniform. Jenkins is best known for his time as a

Chicago Cub and though he did not make an All-Star appearance

as a Ranger, he shined. Jenkins is one of three pitchers in Major

League history to record at least 3,000 career strikeouts and

walked fewer than 1,000 career batters. Jenkins recorded a mark

of 93-72 with a 3.56 ERA as a Ranger.

Brown pitched seven seasons with the Rangers but became

known as a mercenary after he departed as a free agent. Though

Brown's better known for that time, he established more of a body

of work with the Rangers. Brown's best season in Arlington was

1992 when he made the All-Star team. In his seven seasons, he

recorded a mark of 78-64 with a 3.81 ERA. Wilson played a very

significant role on back-to-back pennant-winning teams. Though

he is known for his postseason shortcomings, Wilson was a

consistent performer on those teams. 

Bullpen

Closer -- Neftali Feliz

John Wetteland, Jeff Russell, Francisco Cordero, Kenny Rogers,

Danny Darwin, Dave Schmidt

Feliz was an integral part of back-to-back American League

pennant-winning teams. He was the American League Rookie of

the Year in 2010 and recorded 72 saves in a Rangers’ uniform.

Wetteland only pitched for the Rangers for four seasons but is the

franchise’s all-time leader in saves with 150. Wetteland played a

key role in the Rangers winning the American League West in

1997. After Mitch Williams was traded to the Chicago Cubs, Russell

became the Rangers closer and was a two-time All-Star in a Texas

uniform and led the American League in saves in 1989. Cordeiro's

best season was in 2004 when he recorded 49 saves, the most by

a Rangers relief pitcher in a single season.

Rogers, a left-hander, and Darwin, a right-hander, each defined the

term versatility. Both were equally capable in a starting role or in a

relief role. Schmidt pitched for the Rangers for five seasons and

was a solid setup man who compiled an ERA of 3.14 during his

time with the franchise. 

Infield

Catcher -- Ivan Rodriguez; First base -- Rafael Palmeiro; Second

base -- Ian Kinsler; Third base -- Adrian Beltre; Shortstop --

Michael Young.

Rodriguez is in elite company and is one of the best catchers in

Major League history. On the way to a Hall of Fame career,

Rodriguez was an All-Star in 10 of his 11 seasons in a Rangers

uniform and was the 1999 American League MVP. He also won

10 Gold Glove Awards. People have their misgivings about

Palmeiro because of his association with PED use but the fact

remains that he is a member of the 500 homerun and 3,000

career hit club, which is rarefied air in Major League history.

Palmeiro was a four-time All-Star in his 10 seasons with the

Rangers. Kinsler played eight seasons with the Rangers, three

of which were All Star campaigns. He ranks in the Top 10 in

numerous categories in franchise history. Kinsler was also a key

part of back-to-back pennant-winning teams. 

Beltre spent eight seasons with the Rangers, including the

pennant-winning team of 2011. Beltre is one of the most

underrated third baseman in Major League history who has drawn

Hall of Fame consideration. Three of his four career All-Star

appearances came in a Rangers uniform as did three of his five

Gold Gloves and three of his  four Silver Slugger Awards. Young

spent 13 of his 14 seasons with the Rangers. He was an

excellent defensive player and also versatile. Young was a seven-

time All-Star American League batting champion in 2005 and a

Gold Glove Award winner in 2008. 

Outfield

Leftfield -- Rusty Greer; Centerfield -- Josh Hamilton; Rightfield

-- Juan Gonzalez

Greer remains a fan-favorite to this day and is fifth in franchise

history with a .305 batting average and fourth with a .387 slugging

percentage. Greer was an excellent line-drive hitter and defensively

played with reckless abandon. Though Hamilton is known for his

demons with drug and alcohol addiction, there's no denying the

role that he played in the Rangers’ success. He made five

consecutive All-Star appearances and was a central figure in

back-to-back pennant-winning teams. He was also the AL MVP

and ALCS MVP in 2010. That season he was also the American

League batting champion. He was the American League RBI

leader in 2008 and a three-time Silver Slugger Award winner.

Gonzalez spent a total of 13 Seasons with the Rangers and is

the franchise’s all-time leader with 372 home runs in 1,180 RBIs.

Gonzalez was one of the premier run producers of his generation.

He was a three-time All-Star and two-time American League MVP

Award winner. He was the American League home run leader in

1992 and 1993 and also led the American League in RBIs in

1998.

Bench

Jim Sundberg, Will Clark, Julio Franco, Buddy Bell, Frank Howard,

Ruben Sierra

In his 10 seasons with the Rangers, Sundberg was a six-time Gold

Glove Award winner, becoming the first catcher to accomplish

such a feat. He was also a two-time All-Star. Clark is best known

for his time as a San Francisco Giant but he helped change the

culture for the Rangers organization by helping them to two division

titles in five years. Clark was an All-Star in the 1994 season. Clark

compiled a .303 batting average in five seasons in Texas. Franco

spent five of his 23 seasons with the Rangers and was a three-

time All-Star along with the American League batting champion in

1991. 

Knee injuries kept Bell from having a longer career with the Rangers

but four All-Star appearances and six Gold Gloves or enough to

earn him a spot on this team.  Howard was an intimidating

presence at 67270. His time with the franchise overlaps the

Washington Senators and Texas Rangers are out. He spent

eight seasons with the franchise with all four of his All-Star

appearances coming as a Senator/Ranger. While playing for the

franchise, he was a two-time American League home run leader

and led the American League in RBIs in 1970. Sierra spent a total

of and season with the Rangers with three of his four All-Star

appearances coming while in Texas. In 1989, he led the American

League in RBIs and was a Silver Slugger Award winner. 

Manager

Ron Washington

Only two managers in franchise history, Johnny Oates and

Washington, have led the Rangers to the postseason. Washington,

however, gets the nod for delivering back-to-back American

League pennants and nearly delivering a World Series title in

2011. No manager has led the Rangers to more victories than

Washington with 664 during his career, passing both Oates and

Bobby Valentine for wins in franchise history. Washington believed

in aggressive base-running along with being fundamentally strong

on defense. 

Team

2011

This Rangers team won back-to-back American League pennants.

Though it was largely the same group that lost the World Series the

previous year to the San Francisco Giants, there were some new

faces most notably the free-agent edition of Beltre. This team had

five All-Stars, young, Hamilton, Wilson, Alexi Ogando, and Beltre.

The Rangers had a run differential of plus-178 over opponents.

This team gets the nod over 2010 in large part because that team

never stood a chance to beat the Giants in the World Series on

the way to losing in five games. This team however, was one strike

away from defeating the Cardinals and from their perspective, it

was their World Series to win.