It’s difficult to fully evaluate Michael Young and his place in Rangers lore, especially since his tenure with the team hasn’t yet expired. Before the season, and following the acquisition of third baseman Adrian Beltre, the Texas Rangers seemed poised to trade Young, the Rangers all-time leader in games played, at bats, and hits (to name just a few). Few would argue against the notion that Young is, for all the aforementioned reasons, the face of the Texas Rangers. He’s been a fixture with the team since his first full season (2001), through good and bad, thick and thin. Win or lose, Young was there, doing his part, no matter what part he was asked to play.
On one hand, Young gets credit for playing multiple positions during his 12 year career. For his career, Young has played 28 games at first base, 428 games at second base, 330 games at third base, 788 games at shortstop, and served as the designated hitter in 89 games. On the other hand, he has a reputation among the advanced metrics crowd for being a poor defender despite winning a Gold Glove at shortstop in 2008. Yet through all the changes and despite the criticisms, Young has always done two things very well—remain healthy and hit the baseball.
The Rangers have been beset by injuries all year. Along with his inability to hit in day games, Josh Hamilton’s fragility is among his most identifiable characteristics. Nelson Cruz too has developed quite the reputation for being an elite offensive contributor…when healthy (and he hasn’t been). Beltre, the player that pushed Young from third, and very nearly off the team altogether, has seen his production limited by a bad hamstring. Young, however, has played in 141 games (to date) and he’s done so while playing four different positions. No matter what manager Ron Washington asked of him, Young delivered. As in his career overall, Young’s 2011 season has been defined by versatility and hitting.
Known for his ability to amass hits and hit to a high average, Young’s current .333 batting average would be the highest off his career. In fact, he’s currently second in the American League behind only Adrian Gonzalez of the Red Sox. Should he manage to overtake Gonzalez, it would be the second batting title in Young’s career (2004 being the first). He’s topped 200 hits on five different occasions, and appears poised to do so again in 2011. As he’s done so many times in his career, Young again leads the Rangers in games played, hits, and batting average, as well as doubles, triples, and RBIs.
No matter how you slice it, the Rangers owe much of their success this year to their inability to trade Young before the season began. Often times, the best trades a team can make are the ones that never happen. That’s the case with Michael Young and the 2011 Rangers. He went from would-be cast away to the glue that holds a division leading team together. With one more superior season to his credit, Young has taken yet another step toward defining himself as Mr. Ranger. http://tinyurl.com/3t5455o
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