The Mount Rushmore of the Texas Rangers

Josh Hamilton crushes a homer against the Orioles a few weeks ago / Joy R. Absalon-US PRESSWIRE

Let’s take a look at the Texas Rangers, including their years as the second version of the Washington Senators.

When the Senators came into the league in 1961, they were pretty bad. In their first four seasons, they lost at least 100 games every season. They didn’t finish higher than 6th until their 9th season in 1969, and that’s only because the leagues were split into divisions. From 1972 to 1993, the relocated Rangers finished 2nd six times and were in first when the season was aborted in 1994.

The Rangers finally made the playoffs for the first time in 1996 and had a nice run of 3 post-season appearances in 4 seasons, but won only 1 game over all the series. They didn’t make the playoffs again until 2010, when they made the World Series, a feat they duplicated last year. The franchise is at its peak right now.

Here are the Rangers’ franchise WAR leaders among batters:

Rk	Player	WAR/pos	From	To
1	Ivan Rodriguez	47.0	1991	2009
2	Rafael Palmeiro	41.4	1989	2003
3	Buddy Bell	34.7	1979	1989
4	Jim Sundberg	32.2	1974	1989
5	Toby Harrah	29.8	1969	1986
6	Juan Gonzalez	29.0	1989	2003
7	Ian Kinsler	26.0	2006	2012
8	Alex Rodriguez	24.8	2001	2003
9	Frank Howard	24.3	1965	1972
10	Michael Young	24.1	2000	2012
11	Josh Hamilton	21.1	2008	2012
12	Mark Teixeira	20.5	2003	2007
13	Rusty Greer	20.5	1994	2002
14	Ken McMullen	19.3	1965	1970
15	Julio Franco	19.1	1989	1993

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/5/2012.

So, I-Rod is pretty obviously a shoo-in. After that, it gets a little hazy.

Rafael Palmeiro was perhaps the first true superstar the Rangers ever had, but I’m not sure fans of the team would choose him as a representative. Buddy Bell and Jim Sundberg are both fan favorites but make it so high on the WAR list due mainly to longevity. Juan Gonzalez? Two MVPs and still probably hard to pick. A-Rod? Please.

Here are the pitchers:

Rk	Player	WAR	From	To
1	Charlie Hough	30.1	1980	1990
2	Kenny Rogers	29.0	1989	2005
3	Fergie Jenkins	20.2	1974	1981
4	Kevin Brown	16.1	1986	1994
5	Gaylord Perry	14.7	1975	1980
6	Nolan Ryan	14.2	1989	1993
7	Jose Guzman	12.7	1985	1992
8	Rick Helling	12.5	1994	2001
9	Jon Matlack	11.2	1978	1983
10	C.J. Wilson	10.6	2005	2011
11	Bert Blyleven	10.5	1976	1977
12	Jeff Russell	9.7	1985	1996
13	Dick Bosman	9.7	1966	1973
14	Danny Darwin	9.6	1978	1995
15	Roger Pavlik	9.6	1992	1998

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/5/2012.

Charlie Hough is clearly the pitcher most identified with this franchise, and yet I have trouble imagining him getting picked for this.

Only 5 players in the Hall of Fame have ever played for this franchise, and they’ve all been with the Rangers: Ryan, Perry, Jenkins, Blyleven, and Goose Gossage. No hitters.

As for managers, they’ve had a number of memorable ones, but neither of the guys who’ve managed them to the playoffs (Johnny Oates and Ron Washington) logged enough games with the team for me to put them on the ballot.

OK, let’s have a vote. Please pick 4.

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Adam Darowski

11 years ago

Man, this is the first one for a team I have an attachment to. This makes it much, much harder. WAR seems to be totally going out the window. You say “Charlie Hough is clearly the pitcher most identified with this franchise, and yet I have trouble imagining him getting picked for this.”. Nope. Nolan Ryan. He was only there for a few years, but in many ways it wasn’t a legit franchise until he showed up. He is the easy number one. It was the 1990s offense that brought the team their first playoff experiences. Ivan Rodriguez, Raffy Palmeiro,… Read more »

Hartvig

11 years ago

I went with representing different era’s of the franchise again

1) Hondo to represent their time in Washington instead of Harrah

2) Hough for the early days in Texas- you don’t think Rangers when you think Jenkins or Perry, Bell or Sundberg were possibilities but I wanted a pitcher up there

3) Pudge over Palmero or Gonzalez for the ‘Roids era

4) Michael Young for this century

Adam Darowski

11 years ago

Reply to Hartvig

Good call on Hondo. He should have been in my Bell/Young internal debate.

Hartvig

11 years ago

Reply to Adam Darowski

I didn’t consider Ryan because I had him up on the Angel’s wall but as a Rangers fan plus factoring his current role with the team you’ve got a good argument on your side.

If Hamilton resigns and continues to perform for at least another 2 or 3 years beyond this he would probably supplant Young- if not, Kinzler has a shot at doing so as well.

Lawrence Azrin

11 years ago

Reply to Hartvig

I’m a little disappointed that Hondo (Frank Howard) isn’t getting more love here; he’s the only player on the expansion 1961-71 Senators worth mentioning, even though there were other players who were good for a few years (Claude Osteen, Ken McMullen).

Looking at B-R, it’s interesting that he was never the top Senator by WAR, even in those monster 1968-70 years. WAR _really_ dislikes his defense as a Senator, especially those three years.

Steven

11 years ago

Frank Howard, Jeff Burroughs, Jim Sundberg, and the 1962 Senators team Rookie-of-the Year, Ken Retzer, a great guy from my part of the country, who spent most of a sixteen-year career in the minor leagues, and who loves to talk baseball with anybody.

e pluribus munu

11 years ago

Reply to Steven

Gee. Forgot about Burroughs. He looked so good for awhile . . . WAR is not kind to him. (Nice to have a personal touch to Rushmore; Retzer is not often in the conversation.)

e pluribus munu

11 years ago

I have trouble on this one for a reason opposite to Adam’s – I’ve never had any positive feelings for the Rangers, largely because the franchise abandoned Washington. I’m from the ‘Damn Yankees’ generation, and dreamt of a utopian age with Washington celebrating the pennant. I’m ambivalent about having equal voting rights with a Rangers fan. But there’s no fun in scruples, so I chose Howard to memorialize the old new Senators, and then Sundberg and Pudge as a brace of great catchers, with Sundberg being the first home-grown Ranger player I felt was truly exceptional. Then, just as I… Read more »

Max

11 years ago

Anyone who voted for Raphael Palmeiro over Michael Young should be ashamed of themselves, not because of steroids, but simply how could you ever vote for a smug hypocritical douchebag? To me that issue is 1000x worse than any PED issue.

Big Daddy V

11 years ago

Reply to Max

So I’m assuming you won’t be voting for Ty Cobb, then?

Max

11 years ago

Reply to Big Daddy V

short answer: nope.

Lawrence Azrin

11 years ago

Reply to Max

It’s hard enough making decisions on purely performance grounds, I see no reason to drag morality into this to complicate matters. I am not expecting everyone I vote for to be choirboys. I don’t know Rafael Palmeiro personally and you probably don’t either. I don’t recall hearing that he was a bad team mate, which _would_ be a negative for me. I do recall a bit of complaining from Michael Young when the Rangers moved him to a different position, but I wouldn’t hold that against him. OTOH, it’s your own personal Mt. Rushmore, so if that’s part of your… Read more »

Voomo Zanzibar

11 years ago

Reply to Lawrence Azrin

I dunno, having a moustache and a Viagra commercial… kind of have to respect the guy. How many baseball players just blatantly act like porn stars?

Jonas Gumby

11 years ago

Reply to Voomo Zanzibar

His moustache WOULD look divine chiseled into a mountain…

Max

11 years ago

Reply to Lawrence Azrin

Not a matter of morality, in fact, far from it. I remove any judgment for PEDs and such. But for someone like Palmeiro, or say, Albert Belle, it is a matter of personality not morality. I would vote for Steve Garvey, and lord knows he was pretty immoral. But he wasn’t a jerk. I guess I hate jerks to the point of being a jerk about it, which makes me a hypocrite, which means I wouldn’t vote for myself on one of these mounts. My logic can be dizzying sometimes.

Brent

11 years ago

I voted for Hough, because my Royals could never hit him. Willie Wilson, Frank White, etc, were never exactly patient hitters, Hough just carved them up. I also went with Ryan, both for what he did as a player and as an executive. I voted for IRod, of course. That left one spot. I would think it is reserved for Hamilton, but we will have to see whether he sticks around long enough. Therefore, I went with Young (barely over Buddy Bell and Sunny)

Tmckelv

11 years ago

Pudge, Jim Sundberg, Frank Howard, Josh Hamilton over Juan Gonzalez, Michael Young and Buddy Bell.

Other guys I liked on Tex didn’t last long enough – Blalock, Burroughs, Brown, and Greer come to mind.

Special nod to Ted Williams for his managerial stint.

Jason Z

11 years ago

I voted for Pudge, Nolan, Michael Young and Toby Harrah. I think that Pudge and Nolan are obvious. Pudge is easily the franchises best player and a top ten catcher of all time. Nolan played with the Rangers at the end of an historic career. Two no-hitters, combined with his current executive leadership which has transformed the franchise, secures his spot. The next two I found difficult. I chose Michael Young, due to longevity, leadership and performance. He is the player’s face of the teams transformation from a team that couldn’t win in the heat of Texas to what we… Read more »

Tubbs

11 years ago

I went with Howard to represent the franchise’s time in Washington, Ryan whose arrival brought true credibility to the franchise, Pudge, and Bell–although I would eventually replace Bell with Hamilton if he re-signs with the team. I wouldn’t say Bell’s high WAR for Texas is fully due to longevity, he really was only with the team for six and a half years (79-mid 85) plus a few games in 89. On a side note, Texas seemed to be a great fit for Bell, he had most of his best offensive & defensive seasons there & won the Gold Glove each… Read more »

Phil Gaskill

11 years ago

I don’t understand all the talk about Harrah as representing the franchise’s early years. Here’s his career in Washington: 1969, 8 games, no hits 1971, 127 games, 2 homers, .230 BA, 74 OPS+ 1972, oops, his career in Dallas/Fort Worth begins Less than one full season does not make a good representative of a franchise’s first eleven years, even if he’d been any good at the time. Sure, he became a fairly good player after that, beginning in, say, ’74 or ’75. This is not only not in D.C., I’d venture to say it’s not exactly in the early years… Read more »

Tubbs

11 years ago

Reply to Phil Gaskill

If I’m not mistaken I believe Harrah was the last of the Rangers who had been a Senator. I went with Bell over Harrah for my last spot, I always think of those players together since they were traded for each other & actually shared the same infield for half a season in 1985. Bell was the much better fielder & a higher batting avg guy while Harrah had speed, more power, & better OBP.

Mark T.

11 years ago

Looking at all these guys who played for the Rangers, I was struck by how many of them had 2 different stints as a Ranger. For the hitters, Pudge, Raffy, Buddy Bell, Jim Sundberg, Toby Harrah, and Juan Gonzalez all played for the Rangers twice. For the pitchers, Fergie Jenkins and Gaylord Perry played for them twice, and Kenny Rogers had 3 stints as a Ranger. What is it with the Rangers and getting players they’ve already had?

Dale J.

11 years ago

Reply to Mark T.

Beggars can’t be choosers!

Hey, we know you left us for more $$ and a better chance at the playoffs. But we still luv ya! C’mon back and play in Arlington!

Paul E

11 years ago

Not for anything, and not for another sore story, but do this team have more ‘roids suspects than most:

Juan Gone, Raffy, Pudge, Kevin Brown….they sure were entertaining, though. Remember Gonzalez going off on the Yankees in the playoffs before they realized, “Hey, we better walk this guy”…

Maybe steroids should be approved for MLB use. You know, just make the ballparks 360′ down the lines, 400′ in the alleys, and 430’ to center. Mandatory minimums on fence distances

Lawrence Azrin

11 years ago

Reply to Paul E

The A’s in the 90s could’ve given the Rangers a run for their money as far as ‘roiding goes.

Paul E

11 years ago

Reply to Lawrence Azrin

Everywhere Canseco went, Canseco went, Canseco went, the ‘roids were sure to go – sung to the tune of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”…..and based on his books, he seemed relatively proud of it.

Luis Gomez

11 years ago

Ruben Sierra, Juan Gonzalez, Ivan Rodriguez and Rafael Palmeiro. Just to have an All-Latino Mt. Rushmore.

Voomo Zanzibar

11 years ago

Mike Superjew Epstein. Best nickname ever, and he was born on my birthday in the Bronx. Okay, those aren’t good enough reasons. How about a 176 ops+ in 1969? Okay, cool, but not enough to have his face carved 200 feet tall on the side of a mountain formerly sacred to the natives of that area. @9 – I’d also like give a nod to Ted Williams for that ’69 season….. can’t quite vote him in the top 4, though. Amazing how few players from those early years stand out. So, gotta vote for Frank Howard. Beastly, he was. Nolan… Read more »

Darien

11 years ago

Pudge Rodriguez, Nolan Ryan, Josh Hamilton, and Michael Young for me.

Phil

11 years ago

I-Rod, Palmeiro, Gonzalez, Hamilton. For whatever reason, this has been the least interesting one for me so far.

Timmy Pea

11 years ago

Oddibe “Young Again” McDowell

Erick

11 years ago

Pudge and Nolan are the obvious shoo-ins, Michael Young is the current face of the franchise, and after that it gets really complicated. Josh Hamilton may be the best player to ever wear a Rangers uniform, but I just can’t quite pull the trigger on him yet. If you want a true Rangers lifer, it’s gotta be Tom Grieve-drafted by the Senators, played the overwhelming majority of his playing career in Arlington, was the GM who signed Pudge and Nolan, and has been the tv color guy for what seems like forever, but is not on this list because he… Read more »

11 years ago

Alex Rodriguez is the greatest player the Rangers have ever had, and I cannot fathom putting Michael Young, Palmiero or others ahead of him. As teriffic as Josh Hamilton has been this year, he isn’t going to hit 52 home runs, drive in 130+ runs and play gold glove-aliber shortstop, is he?

Fred

11 years ago

Well, Pudge Rodriguez and Nolan Ryan are obvious. From there it is a little hazy. Personally I went with Michael Young for being a career long player there, and Juan Gonzalez for being a 2 time MVP that most of the fanbase probably doesn’t hate.

Editor

John Autin

11 years ago

Glad to see Buddy Bell in so many comments. And I’ll quibble with Andy’s claim that Bell rates so high in club WAR by virtue of longevity. From 1979-84, his 6 full years there, Bell amassed 34.6 WAR, an average of 5.8 per year and 4th among all position players in that span — trailing Schmidt, Carter and Yount, ahead of Dawson, Hernandez, Brett, Rickey and Murray.

It wasn’t just defense; he hit .301 in a pitcher’s park, with a 123 OPS+ in that period.

Carol

10 years ago

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