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.
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