#1-5 All-Time Rangers List

Please vote for the Broadcaster of the Year Award this week. I only got 15 votes last week, so please vote to make the award meaningful.

Mark McGwire came out this week and admitted his use of steroids. But he’s crazy if he really thinks that he still would have hit the same number of home runs without steroids. I’ve got three reasons:
1) He said that he used it to stay healthy, and that’s all. Well, even if it didn’t help him hit home runs, which it did, he still used it to keep off the DL. And, last time I checked, if you’re on the DL, you can’t hit home runs, unless the rules have changed since he retired.
2) Steroids do help you hit home runs, just look at his stats in the ‘90s. That’s all the proof you need.
3) If they really didn’t help him hit home runs, then why did he call to apologize to the Maris family? If it didn’t help him, then there would be no reason for him to have to apologize to them.

Another note, the Rangers signed Colby Lewis. I don’t think he will make the majors, but I guess there’s no loss in the situation.

This week I will conclude my Top 50 All-Time Rangers List, with numbers 1-5.

5. Nolan Ryan: Rangers Hall of Fame, MLB Hall of Fame, 51 W, 939 K, 3.43 ERA, .567 W%, All-Star (‘89), K-Leader (‘89, ‘90)
Nolan Ryan is a baseball Hall of Famer, as well as a Ranger Hall of Famer. He had 51 wins as a Ranger, along with a 3.43 ERA and 939 strikeouts. He broke the 3000 strikeout mark as a Ranger, broke the 300 win mark as a Ranger, threw two no-hitters with the Rangers, and was an All-Star in 1989, as well as the strikeout leader in 1989 and 1990, all as a Ranger. He is one of only two Rangers with their numbers retired, and the only Rangers player to get his number retired in franchise history (at least for now, until Pudge retires). He definitely deserves to be in the top five all-time Rangers, and he is the only pitcher to crack the top 5.

4. Michael Young: 5 straight 200-hit seasons (‘03-‘07), 1662 H (3rd), 720 RBI, 137 HR, 1351 G, 5501 AB, .302 AVG, 819 R, 311 2B, 2470 TB, 43 3B (2nd), All-Star MVP (‘06), Gold Glove (‘08), All-Star (‘04-‘09), Batting Title (‘05)
Michael, by the end of his Rangers career, will probably be number one, but as of now, his stats just don’t quite match up with Raffy (steroids), Juan (steroids), or Pudge. But Michael is all the way up to number four. He had five straight 200-hit seasons from 2003-2007, and would have had 200 hits last year if he hadn’t gotten injured. He is third all-time on the Rangers All-Time hit list, and will almost surely be first on that list after the 2010 season, unless he gets injured early, as he needs just 85 hits be pass Pudge for first. He has 137 home runs and 720 RBI’s in his 5501 at-bats as a Ranger in 1351 games. He has a .302 career batting average, and is second all-time for the Rangers in triples with 43. He was the All-Star MVP in 2006, and has been in the All-Star game in each of the past six years. He won a Gold Glove in 2008, and won the American League batting title in 2005. He is just incredible, and hopefully, he will be a lifetime Ranger.

3. Rafael Palmeiro: 5830 AB, .290 AVG, 321 HR, 1039 RBI, 1,573 G (most all-time Rangers), 958 runs (most), 805 BB (most), .519 SLG (3rd, min. 3000 plate appearances), 1692 H (2nd), .378 OBP (3rd, min. 3000 PA), 321 2B (2nd), 3026 TB (2nd), Silver Slugger (‘99), Gold Glove (‘99), All-Star (‘91, ‘99), 200 Hits (‘91), Hit Leader (‘90)
As I said last week with A-ROD, this list does not take steroids into account. Raffy is third on the All-Time Rangers List, in my opinion. He is second in franchise history in hits with 1,692, is third in both slugging percentage and on-base percentage. He had a .290 batting average along with 321 home runs and 1039 RBI’s as a Ranger, and hit his 500th home run as a Ranger. He has the most runs all-time as a Ranger, as well as the most walks. He was a Silver Slugger in 1999, as well as a Gold Glove in that same year. He was an All-Star in 1991 and 1999, had 200 hits in 1991, and was the American League hit leader in 1990. Despite disappearing from the face of the planet after lying about taking steroids, he still made an appearance on this list.

2. Juan Gonzalez: 5435 AB, .293 AVG, 372 HR, 1,180 RBI, 878 R (2nd), .565 SLG% (highest (min. 3000 plate appearances)), 1595 H (4th), 320 2B (3rd), 3073 TB (most), MVP (‘96, ‘98), Silver Slugger (‘92, ‘93, ‘96, ‘97, ‘98), All-Star (‘93, ‘98), HR King (‘92, ‘93), RBI Leader (‘98)
Juan was the MVP in 1996 and 1998 as a Ranger, was a Silver Slugger in 1992, ’93, ’96, ’97, and ’98, as well as an All-Star in 1993 and ’98, the Home Run King in ’92 and ’93 and the RBI Leader in ’98. He also set the record for the biggest head in franchise history in 1999 when he decided not to be in the All-Star game because he wasn’t starting in the game. He does have the 4th most hits in Rangers history with 1595 and had a .293 average with the Rangers, along with 372 home runs, 1180 RBI’s, and the highest slugging percentage in team history.

1. Ivan Rodriguez: 5754 AB, .305 AVG, 217 HR, 842 RBI, 1,747 career Rangers hits (Ranger record), 866 R (3rd), .489 SLG, 352 2B (most), 2806 TB (3rd), 28 3B (3rd), MVP (‘99), Silver Slugger (‘94-‘99), Gold Glove (‘92-‘01), All-Star (‘92-‘01)
Pudge, in my opinion, is the best Ranger of All Time. He has a .305 Rangers career batting average, the most hits in franchise history, the most doubles in Rangers history, along with 217 home runs, 842 home runs and 866 runs. He was the American League MVP in 1999, a Silver Slugger in 1994 through 1999, a Gold Glove winner from ’92-’01, tying Johnny Bench for the most consecutive Gold Gloves won at the catcher position, and if you tie Johnny Bench at anything, you’re doing pretty good. He was also an All-Star from ’92-’01. He is so deserving of this spot, and should make it into the MLB Hall of Fame as a Ranger soon.

Come back next week for a comparison of the Rangers’ roster to the Angels.