FanPost

Rangers WAR Lords: Second Basemen

I got a little lax about this as stuff got busy lately, but I decided to put second base together because it's an easy position for Texas and because someone brought the series up in the post game thread tonight.

This is a list of the best Rangers ever by position using the WAR database at Baseball Projection. Because the Rangers have existed entirely in the Retro Sheet era, it's pretty easy to do. Players seasons are only counted at a position if the 1) were the primary player at that position for the Rangers that year or 2) it was their primary position that season, and only a player's seasons at the position in question for the Rangers are considered (so some players may show up twice). Also, only Texas years are considered, no Senators days (though I may look at the Senators in the end).

Because the Rangers have never really had a long-time Designated Hitter, DH seasons are considered with a player's primary position.

 

Previous Positions: C|1B

 

1. Julio Franco (445 Games Started @ 2B)
           Career: 20.3
           Best Season: 6.6
           Worst Season: -0.4
           Per 600 PA: 4.5
           Best Three Seasons: 5.9
           Five Year Peak: 4.1

Second base is a really sad position for the Rangers. Franco was good, but his career total doesn't even approach the career totals of the leaders at first and catcher. Furthermore, a couple of those years are DH seasons. He did still have one of the best seasons in Texas history and two that were up there, a season that sucked just because of injury, and a season that was shortened by a strike. His career was obviously so long, the Rangers are a tiny blip on his radar of spots in size, but a giant blip in quality. His tremendous three-year run from 89-91 is probably enough to make him the best Rangers second baseman ever. For now. . .

 

2. Bump Wills (681 Games Started @ 2B)
           Career: 14.7
           Best Season: 4.7
           Worst Season: 1.2
           Per 600 PA: 3.0
           Best Three Seasons: 3.8
           Five Year Peak: 2.7

Second base suffers not only from a lot of poor players, but a severe lack of continuity. Wills's 697 games at second are the fewest by any leader at any position but centerfield, and it's not particularly close to #3. Willis is also the only Ranger to spend five seasons as the Rangers' primary second baseman. Wills is actually an interesting figure to me. I knew a bit about his Rangers career, but what happened after that? Why only one more year in the Majors? It's not like he sucked.

 

3. Ian Kinsler (366 Games Started @ 2B)
           Career: 11.5
           Best Season: 5.7
           Worst Season: 1.8
           Per 600 PA: 4.3
           Best Three Seasons: 3.8
           Three Year Peak: 3.8

(Note: these numbers are prior to 2009.) Ian Kinsler seems like a mortal lock to be the greatest second baseman in Texas history. You might be able to argue he already is, and eventually it will be by a mile. Tonight he tied and broke the record for home runs by a Rangers' second baseman. Within the next two weeks he should move in to fourth all-time in games played at second (he's currently 6th), and should be third by the end of the season, with first not far away. Two more years and he'll be the longest tenured Rangers' second baseman by season. Last year he had one of the better seasons in team history even with missing significant injury time, and this year -- even after a cool down -- he's still on a pace to have probably the greatest season in the history of the franchise to an inarguable degree. Being the greatest Rangers' second baseman will be pretty easy for him, his sights instead should be set on seeing how close he can get to Ivan Rodriguez at the top of the Texas mountain.

 

4. Mark McLemore (546 Games Started @ 2B)
           Career: 8.6
           Best Season: 4.0
           Worst Season: 0.5
           Per 600 PA: 2.3
           Best Three Seasons: 2.7
           Four Year Peak: 2.2

McLemore was one of my favorite players when I was younger, just seemed so solid and underrated and able to do just about everything at every position. I was pretty certain he was going to go somewhere else and make us regretting letting him go, and low-and-behold he went to a division rival and did just that. He was actually probably a little better as a Ranger than he was a Mariner, and was an important part of all three Rangers playoff teams, especially the memorable 1996 squad, where he was one of the best players on the roster. He really broke out in Texas, though only had one other season (in Seattle) approaching that awesome '96 year. Should be little surprise who constitutes the top four of this list.

 

5. Toby Harrah (221 Games Started @ 2B)
           Career: 3.5
           Best Season: 3.7
           Worst Season: -0.2
           Per 600 PA: 2.4
           Best Two Seasons: 1.8
           Two Year Peak: 1.8

Toby Harrah, I believe, is one of the more underrated Rangers players ever. He put up a pretty good career, mostly in Texas, and I think if I made an All-Time Rangers Team, he might be my starting shortstop. And you'd best believe he'll be high on that position, but he also manages to be in the top five at second base thanks almost entirely to coming back to Texas at age 36, playing a different position, and putting up a year that was pretty close to All-Star-caliber. It was a good year, but it also shows you just how week the position has been in Texas.

 

Now for the last few noteworthy second basemen in Texas history. Slash stats represent, in order, best 3 (or less) year average, career average and career total at the position in Texas. (A.K.A the only people left over replacement level who also happen to coincide with a nice number to stop at.)

The Rest
6. Luis Alicea (1.0/1.0/2.9)
7. Michael Young (1.0/1.0/2.8)
8. Alfonso Soriano (1.3/1.3/2.6)
9. Doug Strange (1.3/1.3/2.6)
10. Jeff Frye (0.8/0.8/2.4)
11. Dave Nelson (0.7/0.7/2)
12. Jerry Browne (0.4/0.4/1.3)
13. Curtis Wilkerson (0.7/0.7/1.3)
14. Len Randle (0.5/0.2/0.8)
15. Al Newman (0.3/0.3/0.3)

Alicea stands out to me a lot, as my young mind decided he'd make up well for McLemore. MY really wasn't too good as a second baseman. And this is why I hate Alfonso Soriano. He not only represented losing A-Rod to me, but he was dramatically worse in Texas (that was apparent even before I really knew how to look in to these things), and never seemed like he was even trying. And, of course, he leaves and goes back to being awesome. Since his first full season, Texas is  the only place where he didn't even approach an All-Star level, and he wasn't even average in those two years. Yes, I'm bitter. I wish the worst for him every time I watch a Cubs game.