Tag / Nomar Mazara

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Rangers All Time Leaders – Through 2025

rangersTo paraphrase from a famous movie, the one constant through all the years has been baseball.  As we head into 2026, we continue our look at the all-time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. Today, we take a deeper dive into the Texas Rangers.

The Rangers began life in 1961, joining the American League as the second incarnation of the Washington Senators after the original franchise moved to Minnesota to become the Twins.  Following the 1971 season, the team moved to Arlington, Texas and became the Rangers.  I’ve seen 255 players wearing a Rangers uniform in the 40 of their games that I’ve attended live across two states and four different stadiums.

Home Runs

Name Total
Hank Blalock 3
Ian Kinsler 3
6 tied with 2

Hits

Name Total
Michael Young 19
Elvis Andrus 17
Ian Kinsler 12
Mark Teixeira 12

Runs

Name Total
Michael Young 12
Elvis Andrus 8
Hank Blalock 6
Gary Matthews Jr. 6

RBI

Name Total
Mark Teixeira 13
Michael Young 11
Hank Blalock 8
Ian Kinsler 8
Elvis Andrus 8

Doubles

Name Total
Michael Young 7
Elvis Andrus 4
4 tied with 3

Triples Continue reading →

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Moving On

After an atrocious 2013 season on both sides of town, the White Sox and the Cubs drafted back to back, at #3 and 4 respectively, in the 2014 draft.  The Sox took hard throwing left hander Carlos Rodon out of NC State and the Cubs followed with slugging catcher Kyle Schwarber out of Indiana.  Both quickly moved through the minor leagues, making their major league debuts the following year.  After starting in the bullpen, Rodon quickly moved into the rotation and was thought to be a building block of the rebuild.  Schwarber was moved to the outfield and, after a knee injury wiped out his 2016 season, was a key contributor in the World Series as the Cubs ended their 108 year championship drought.  Yesterday, both saw their time in Chicago come to an end as they were not tendered contracts for the 2021 season, making them free agents.

The two were not alone.  In addition to Rodon, the White Sox non-tendered right fielder Nomar Mazara, who had a disappointing season after being acquired last winter.  The Cubs non-tender list, along with Schwarber, included outfielder Albert Almora Jr., infielder Jose Martinez, and pitcher Ryan Tepera.  Almora, the 6th overall pick in the 2012 draft, never quite became the hitter the Cubs thought he would.  Martinez, acquired during the season from the Rays, went 0 for 21 with the Cubs, setting a record for most at bats without a hit.

Ironically, both Rodon and Schwarber might make sense in the short term for the team on the opposite side of town.  The Cubs could use some starting pitcher depth and might want to take a flier on Rodon, hoping he can stay healthy for a season.  The White Sox could use a left handed bat to balance out their lineup and have an open spot at DH for 2021.

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Rangers All Time Leaders – Through 2019

rangersWith baseball shut down because of the corona virus, I thought it would be an interesting time to look at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams.  We continue today with the Texas Rangers.

The Rangers began life in 1961, joining the American League as the second incarnation of the Washington Senators after the original franchise moved to Minnesota to become the Twins.  Following the 1971 season, the team moved to Arlington, Texas and became the Rangers.  I’ve seen them play 37 times, across 2 states and 4 different stadiums.

Home Runs

Name Total
Hank Blalock 3
Ian Kinsler 3
6 tied with 2

Hits

Name Total
Michael Young 19
Elvis Andrus 17
Ian Kinsler 12
Mark Teixeira 12

Runs

Name Total
Michael Young 12
Elvis Andrus 8
Hank Blalock 6
Gary Matthews Jr. 6

RBI

Name Total
Mark Teixeira 13
Michael Young 11
Hank Blalock 8
Ian Kinsler 8
Elvis Andrus 8

Doubles

Name Total
Michael Young 7
Elvis Andrus 4
4 tied with 3

Triples Continue reading →

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Keeping The Core Together

The White Sox announced today that they had signed Yoan Moncada to a 5 year, $70 million extension, with a team option that could keep him on the south side through 2025.  “I wanted to be with this team,” Moncada said through an interpreter.  “With all this happening, I can say I’m going to play alongside (left fielder) Eloy (Jimenez) and (center fielder) Luis Robert for a very long time, and that’s going to be a key for the success of this team.”

Moncada will receive a $4 million signing bonus, $1 million in 2020, $6 million in 2021, $13 million in 2022, $17 million in 2023 and $24 million in 2024. The Sox hold an option for $25 million in 2025, with a $5 million buyout.  If the option gets executed, it will make this the largest contract in White Sox history.

With Moncada locked up, the White Sox have most of the core of their rebuild under team control through the early part of this decade.  Newly acquired right fielder Nomar Mazara and oft-injured pitcher Carlos Rodon are under control through the 2021 season.  First baseman Jose Abreu is signed through 2022.  Yasmani Grandal and pitchers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez should be here through 2023.  Tim Anderson and Michael Kopech are locked up through 2024.  Moncada and Dylan Cease are under team control through 2025.  Eloy Jimenez and Aaron Bummer are signed through 2026, and Luis Robert is on board through 2027.  This doesn’t even include Nick Madrigal and Andrew Vaughn, the team’s last two top draft picks, who have yet to make their debut and start their clocks.

After quite a few years of bad baseball, the future looks very bright on the south side of Chicago.  Rick Hahn has put the pieces in place to turn the team into contenders.  It’s time to see if the plan comes together and winning baseball can return to Guaranteed Rate Field.

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Winter Meetings Roundup

After a lot of build-up leading into the Winter Meetings, things were pretty quiet for the White Sox, with their only move being a trade with the Rangers, acquiring outfielder Nomar Mazara for minor leaguer Steele Walker.  Mazara, who will begin the 2020 season at age 24, has spent 4 years in the big leagues, putting up consistent, if unspectacular, numbers.  While the White Sox hope they can finally unlock the potential that led to Mazara signing what was, at the time, the largest international amateur bonus of all time, the unspectacular numbers he’s put up in Texas would still be a mass improvement over the production the team received in 2019.

Walker, the second round pick of the White Sox in 2018, is only one year younger than Mazara and has yet to progress past high A ball.  He was ranked as the #6 prospect in the Sox’s system by MLB Pipeline, but is probably years away from breaking through to the big leagues, if he ever does.

In other news, the June draft is moving from the MLB Network studios in New Jersey to Omaha, site of the College World Series.  The move allows for more potential draftees to be in attendance, putting on caps and making the television rounds like their counterparts in the NFL and NBA.