When we emerge into whatever world we build in the wake of this pandemic, it will be interesting to see what norms we leave behind. Culture changes all the time even in the most “normal” of times. Athleisure wear was already a few years into its takeover of fashion; could we all collectively decide to wear whatever we want when we go to work? Will we all take Asia’s lead and regularly don masks when we go into public? Will I start drinking Pepsi, just because I haven’t had it in months?
I can already feel some of the norms slipping away. For instance, objectivity is part of covering a team. And yet, I just sat at a spreadsheet for ten whole minutes, trying to figure out how I could shoehorn Steve Buechele’s 1988 season into this top-10 list just because he’s partially responsible for my love of baseball in the first place. In the end, it obviously couldn’t be done, but under normal circumstances, I’d have shrugged it off and moved on. Today, I sighed deeply, looked out the window, considered the squirrels, named one of them “Steve Bushy-ell” and got back to work.
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If Buechele had been a shortstop, he would have cracked the top 10, no problem. But the Rangers have actually been pretty consistently good at third base over the years. Lenny Randle finished 21st in MVP voting in 1974 and Michael Young made the All-Star squad and finished 16th in MVP voting in 2009, and neither one even made the honorable mentions here. That’s stiff competition. Check out the accolades of these honorable mention seasons.
Honorable mention: Buddy Bell – 1982 (30th MVP, All-Star, Gold Glove, 5.7bWAR), 1983 (Gold Glove, 4.7bWAR), Hank Blalock – 2004 (18th MVP, All-Star 4.6 bWAR), Adrián Beltré – 2011 (15th MVP, All-Star, Gold Glove, Platinum Glove, Silver Slugger 5.6 bWAR), 2015 (7th MVP, 4.4 bWAR)
WOW. So let’s see what did crack the top ten…
10. Adrián Beltre, 2013 — .315/.371/.509 (.880), 138 OPS+, 30 HR, 199 hits, 5.7 bWAR (MVP-7)
Adrián Beltré is, unsurprisingly, going to show up a lot in this list. In 2013, a 34-year-old Beltré was in his third year with the Rangers, and just when he should have been going into decline, he was beginning to solidify his Hall of Fame credentials.
9. Toby Harrah, 1977 — .263/.393/.479 (872), 136 OPS+, 27 HR, 109 walks, 27 stolen bases, 5.7 bWAR
Viewed through the lens of 1977, this season becomes even more impressive. 27 home runs put Harrah just one out of a tie for 10th in the AL, and 109 walks led the Junior Circuit. Remarkably, while Harrah finished sixth in the American League in on-base percentage, he didn’t even lead the Rangers in the category: Teammate Mike Hargrove got on base at a .420 clip.
Additionally, by making this list, Harrah becomes the first player to make appearances at three different positions: second base, shortstop and now third base. He’s also the only third baseman to crack the top 10 whose last name doesn’t start with B; I could have put Buechele here and made it a clean sweep!
8. Buddy Bell, 1981 — .294/.364/.428 (.792), 142 OPS+, 10 HR, 6.2 bWAR (All-Star, MVP-17, Gold Glove) It’s fitting that Harrah’s time in this exercise comes to a close by giving way to Buddy Bell; the Rangers traded Harrah to Cleveland in December of 1978 straight-up for Bell.
Usually, playing just 97 games would be enough to disqualify someone from making this list, but to amass 6.2 wins above replacement, finish in the top 20 in MVP voting and win a Gold Glove with just an abbreviated number of games is actually pretty remarkable.
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7. Buddy Bell, 1984 — .315/.382/.458 (.840), 129 OPS+, 11 HR, 6.1 bWAR (All-Star, MVP-22, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger)
1984 was the year that Bell won his lone Silver Slugger award, and it was also his last full season as a Ranger before Texas shipped him back to Ohio — this time to the Reds in exchange for Duane Walker and a PTBNL that eventually became Rangers-Hall-of-Fame closer Jeff Russell.
(Side note: If you want to chase that rabbit hole a bit further, Russell was later shipped off with Ruben Sierra and Bobby Witt in the trade for José Canseco, who was eventually traded to the Red Sox for Otis Nixon and Luis Ortiz, who is now the Rangers’ hitting coach.)
6. Adrián Beltre, 2014 — .324/.388/.492 (.879), 144 OPS+, 19 HR, 6.2 bWAR (All-Star, MVP-15, Silver Slugger)
It’s very strange to think of 2014 as anything but a torrid and all-consuming fire that engulfed any Texas Ranger foolish enough to report to the ballpark, but Beltré actually played 148 games that year. In a season in which the Rangers used approximately 95 first basemen and a roster that rivaled the population of a medium-sized village, it was the 35-year-old third baseman who showed up, defied fate and made his final All-Star squad. Given these circumstances, we can all be forgiven for getting our hopes up that maybe he was immortal after all.
5. Hank Blalock, 2003 — .300/.350/.522 (.872), 117 OPS+, 29 HR, 90 RBI, 6.4 bWAR, (All-Star)
Would you ever want to know when you were having the best year of your life? I don’t think I would, especially if it happened when I was 22 years old. Blalock was supposed to be the next George Brett in 2003, pinch-hitting the game-winning home run in the All-Star game off Eric Gagne in the 8th inning.
2004 was a great year as well — you could make the case for it being on this list, and I’d have a hard time arguing against it — but in retrospect, all the hope for the future was for naught. By the time the Rangers made their first World Series, Blalock was in Tampa Bay, playing out the last year of his career.
Enjoy the good days when they come.
4. Buddy Bell, 1980 — .329/.379/.498 (.877), 143 OPS+, 17 HR, 6.5 bWAR (All-Star, MVP-18, Gold Glove)
In 534 plate appearances in 1980, Bell only walked 40 times, which isn’t particularly impressive. But what is impressive: That’s one more time than he struck out that season. Can you imagine someone striking out just 39 times in an entire season? To do so while also winning a Gold Glove is a phenomenal achievement.
3. Buddy Bell, 1979 — .299/.327/.451 (.778), 110 OPS+, 18HR, 101 RBI, 200 hits (MVP-10, Gold Glove)
Bell broke onto the scene in Texas with one of his best seasons in the big leagues, winning the first of six consecutive Gold Glove awards. I know defense is hard to quantify — especially in the pre-Statcast era, but this leads me to something that must be said:
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We need to talk about Buddy Bell’s Hall of Fame credentials.
Using Jay Jaffe’s JAWS model, Bell ranks 15th among third basemen. His career 66.3 bWAR is 2.1 below average for HOF third basemen, but he outpaces six Hall of Famers, while only three of the thirteen HOF-eligible third basemen higher than him are on the outside looking in.
Meanwhile, look at who Baseball-Reference has as his closest comparisons by age:
2. Adrián Beltré, 2016 — .300/.358/.521 (.879), 128 OPS+, 32 HR, 104 RBI, 6.7 bWAR (MVP-7, Gold Glove)
If you were paying attention above, you might have noticed that I said Bell ranks 15th among third basemen but that there are only 13 HOF-eligible third basemen ahead of him. That’s because Adrián Beltré — fourth overall among third basemen over the entire history of the game — hasn’t been retired for five years yet. 2016 was probably Adrián Beltré’s last great year. It was the last time he passed the 30-homer and 100-RBI threshold, and (perhaps not coincidentally) it was also the last time the Rangers made the playoffs before entering into a rebuilding phase that has lasted for the past three seasons.
Should I have included 2017, in which his slash line numbers were better, even though he only played 94 games? Maybe, especially since we included Bell’s 1981 season. Hat tip to 2017, I guess. But none of them — and no other season ever played by a Rangers third baseman — tops…
1. Adrián Beltré, 2012 — .321/.359/.561 (.921), 36 HR, 102 RBI, 194 hits, 339 total bases, 139 OPS+, 7.2 bWAR (All-Star, MVP-3, Gold Glove, Platinum Glove)
The 2010-11 seasons resulted in World Series appearances, but an overlooked source of heartache for Rangers fans is that the 2012 squad might have been the most talented of them all. Beltré — like many of the Rangers — tasted blood in the water after his first career appearance in the Fall Classic, and he ravaged the American League, making what was shockingly only his third All-Star squad. His .921 OPS was the second-highest of his career (1.017 in 2004, the year he hit 48 home runs with the Dodgers), and he won his second Platinum Glove (the award given to the best defensive player in baseball).
Alas, the team went into a late-season slide, finding themselves in — and in short order, out — of the AL Wild Card game.
Sorry to end this on a bummer. I’m going to go feed some walnuts to Steve Bushy-ell and have a think.
By the time it’s done, we will have pored over 48 years of Rangers baseball, a teeming mass of numbers that include over 1,100 players — nearly 600 pitchers — and presented you with the best 120 seasons in franchise history. Here’s the schedule for the other positions:
- Catcher (March 23)
- First base (March 31)
- Second base (April 7)
- Shortstop (April 15)
- Third base (week of April 20)
- Left field (week of April 27)
- Center field (week of May 4)
- Right field (week of May 11)
- Starting pitchers (week of May 18)
- Relief pitchers (week of May 25)
- Utility infielders/bench players (week of June 1)
Top photo of Adrian Beltre: Rob Carr/Getty Images
Source: https://t-tees.com
Category: HOW
