Texas Rangers first half report card
Outfield
Historically, the Texas Rangers have boasted tremendous outfield talent. Just six years ago, guys like David Murphy, Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz hit, slugged, finessed and sped their way to postseason success for the team. And even during the lean years, outfielders generally still produced a majority of the Texas offense.
This season, Delino DeShields, Nomar Mazara, Shin-Soo Choo and Carlos Gomez have handled most of the outfield work load.
All things considered, they’ve fared pretty well. They’re not combining for copious amounts of home runs like the Hamilton/Cruz lineups did, but they’re getting hits and getting on base with frequency. Plus, Gomez and Mazara have combined for 21 first half home runs and 80 runs batted in. That’s a pretty solid half season of work for an outfield duo.
Meanwhile, DeShields quietly flew under the radar and posted a .281 batting average through the first half. His 37 runs and 18 stolen bases have provided some added depth to the Texas lineup that needs help getting around the bases on a regular basis.
In all, they’ve gotten the job done. They haven’t put up the incredibly sexy numbers that past Rangers outfields have, but they have put the ball in play, gotten on base, scored runs and driven in runs. All the while, they’ve done it with consistent defensive play, too.