Texas Rangers All-Time Lineup

I thought I would do something fun to try and get a little reader interaction.  I have thought about this long and hard, and have finally came up with this:

    My Texas Rangers All-Time Roster

Manager-

Love him or love him more, Ron Washington has been the capitan of this ship the last 5 seasons.  Sometimes criticized for being too loyal to his veterans, Ron has turned this team around from being a joke, to a model of how quickly a franchise can turn around.

 

 

P- 

1. Nolan Ryan- One of the All-Time greatest pitchers and MLB's Strikeout King. 

 

2. Charlie Hough- After seeing 100MPH Fastball from Nolan, what could be worse to try and hit than a 65MPH knuckleball from good old Chain-Smoking Charlie who is also the clubs all time wins leader!

 

3. Ferguson Jenkin- 25 wins in 1974 and ranks top 5 in most team pitching categories

 

4. Kenny Rogers- Maybe the biggest jerk on and off the field the Rangers have ever had(Besides Vicente Padilla) but no denying Kenny Rogers was the only good thing for a long time in this rotation

 

5. Colby Lewis- It's crazy to think, but Colby has the most postseason success in club history.  Can't leave him off this list. Even though I wanted to put Bobby Witt in his spot

 

SU- Jeff Russell- Has to be the setup because Wetland is the closer.  But Jeff Russell was lights out for the Rangers with almost 150 saves

 

CL- John Wetteland- No question he would have closed out GAme 6!

C- Ivan Rodriguez- No brainer (Sorry Jim Sundberg) GREATEST CATCHER OF ALL TIME!

 

1B- Rafael Palmerio- Sweetest swing I have ever seen. #2 on Rangers HR list #3 in hits #2 in runs #2 in Games played.  Rafael had he not been caught cheating, would be on the Rangers Mt. Rushmore

 

2B- Michael Young- Mr. Dependable, most underrated player in team history.  The ONLY good thing for many years. The most consistent player in team history and one of the greatest guys the Metroplex has ever known.  Will definitely be in the Rangers HOF soon!

 

3B- Adrian Beltre- Not much work to go by, but talent wise there has not been a better 3B in this town.  Beltre has power, glove, and just an all around smart baseball player

 

SS- Alex Rodriguez- Well I may have spoken too early calling Kenny Rogers the biggest jerk in team history, but there is no denying Alex Rodriguez was a beast during his stint here in Arlington. 156 homeruns in 3 seasons... That is un-real steroids or not

 

LF- Rusty Greer- Mr. Hustle, career cut short but well on his way to being one of the greats. Some say 3000 hits, I don't think he would have reached that, but there is no question he would have been up there with Michael and Pudge

 

CF- Josh Hamilton- Had Nelson Cruz caught that ball in Game 6 Josh Hamilton would still be a Texas Ranger.  Josh Hamilton WON the World Series for us in 2011 until David Freese Un-Won it.  Josh could have done whatever he wanted for the rest of his career here had they won that game and nobody would have said a word.  But.... Well they didn't and he quit on us the next season. But there is no taking away the fact that Josh Hamilton revived baseball in Arlington and brought this franchise to heights it had never seen. All while battling; Drug addiction, alcohol addiction, infidelity, Blue eyes, and tobacco use. 

 

RF- Juan Gonzalez-  Wow there are a lot of Jerks on this list.  I questioned leaving Juan Gonzalez off this list because, well... He wants nothing to do with this franchise now. But I can't.  My life as a kid revolved around Texas Rangers Baseball and Juan is one of the reasons I love this game so much.  370HR's 1200RBI 1400Games and I think I saw every single one of them.  (well 80%) 

DH- Ruben Sierra- Another guy who would have been AMAZING had injuries not got the best of him.  Ruben would have been a MLB Hall of Famer.  He was truly a 5 tool player, Hit for Power, Hit for Average, Speed, Defense, and an arm. Ruben could do it all, and even at 50% still had enough talent to play until he was 42 years old

 

Lineup

1.)Michael Young

2.)Ivan Rodriguez

3.)Josh Hamilton

4.)Juan Gonzalez

5.)Rafael Palmerio

6.)Alex Rodriguez

7.)Adrian Beltre

8.)Ruben Sierra

9.)Rusty Greer

 

 

Honorable Mentions

Dean Palmer

Buddy Bell

Bobby Witt

Johnny Oats

Ian Kinsler

Jim Sundberg

Julio Franco

Toby Harrah

Tom Grieve