I read somewhere that they have placed Adrian Beltre as the Greatest Ranger, then before him was Michael Young, then we had Nolan Ryan, and then Buddy Bell, and the list can go on and on!
So lets start with current Rangers.
When Adrian hits his 3000th hit, and becomes part of that club, and puts his reservation in Cooperstown, would that make him the Greatest Ranger?
Rafael Palmiro hit over 500 home runs in a career, and yet, because of a cloud over his head, he might not ever get into the hallowed halls of Cooperstown. Yet, the watermark for a great players is, 3000 hits, 500 homeruns, 300 wins, and multiple awards like Cy Young and MVP.
Lets keep going, there was Michael Young, a constant teammate, and player, by showing up and being placed wherever the Manager needed him most, be it at short stop, or moved to second base, or over to third. Play first some, and hit as a Designated Hitter.... Young did it all, and was considered to be a leader in the club house! Stat wise, he wasn't over the top-- he had 2,375 hits, hit .300 lifetime, 185 home runs and batted in 1,030 runs in his years as a Ranger and a Phillie and Dodger.
So does that qualify him as the greatest Ranger of all times? Maybe not.
Then there's Nolan Ryan! Ok his career started with the New York Mets, and he was on that Miracle Met team of 1969, then traded to the Angels, where he threw a few no-hitters, then moved to the Houston Astros, where he was close to home, of Alvin, Texas. With the Astros he threw three no-hitters, but when he came to the Texas Rangers as a free agent, that was amazing, he throws two more no-hitters and strikes out his 5000th hitter, wins his 300th game, and basically keeps old man time away from him when he finishes at 44 years of age. 27 years in the Majors, and of course is in Cooperstown wearing a Texas Rangers hat. So does that make HIM the greatest Ranger of All Times?
Growing up, and watching the Rangers since they threw the first pitch and Frank "Hondo" Howard went deep into center field his first at bat on that April night in 1972, I was hooked. I watched players like Toby Harrah, Al Oliver, Gene Washington, Pete Broberg, Dick Bosman, Lenny Randle, and a young catcher in '74 by the name of Jim Sundberg.
These were the guys in red, white, and blue that I watched. We got Buddy Bell from Cleveland and he was another one that was great, what about Pete O' Brian, or Dave Hostetller. I can name a few others, but when it comes to the Greatest of All Times, there are so many great Rangers that come to mind.
I know that Alex Rodriguez is not one, though he played here, and most likely will make it to Cooperstown, but how many of you remember that before he was a Ranger and waaaaay before he was a Yankee, he was a Seattle Mariner.
Before he put on a Ranger uniform, A-Rod was written up in the Sporting News, in 1999, and in that article, it was stated that he might be the first MLB player to command 20 million a year.
Tom Hicks opened up his pocket book and indeed made A-Rod a 20 million a year player, but paid him three quarters of a billion (YES THAT IS WITH A "B") dollars at 250 million over 10 years!
He didn't quite last 10 in Texas, he was traded to New York and made a Yankee, but didn't play short stop because the Captain was there, number 2, Derek Jeter.
Something similar happened when he did play here in Arlington, Michael Young was the short stop, and once Alex Rodriguez came to settle in town, they moved Young to Second Base and Rodriguez to Short. The rest, they say is History with that move.
What about Ivan Rodriguez? Pudge is going into the Hall of Fame in July, and the Rangers are retiring his number 7, to be hung on the left field facade.
Only Nolan Ryan, and Johnny Oates have had their Rangers Numbers retired prior to Pudge.
So does that make HIM the greatest player of all time?
One of the best catchers in the business, with 10, count em, TEN, glove gloves. THAT is amazing in of itself.
A World Series Ring while he played with the Florida Marlins, and then bounced around, including stops in Detroit and then the Houston Astros, then returned to Texas where he could retire a Ranger.
So the question is open to you.. WHO would YOU say is the Greatest Ranger of All Times?
I doubt you can pick just one! But the Debate is Great!
Just a thought!
No comments:
Post a Comment