Congratulations Rangers fans!

Michael Young is apparently really ####### dreamy to sports writers.

He has a lifetime .308 batting average in the All-Star game, against the best pitchers in the world, so you know he's a gamer.

I don't have anything against Michael Young and he did have a huge Game 6. But really? What about Adrian Beltre or Mike Napoli? Those guys didn't have anything to do with the Rangers getting back to the Fall Classic?

Young had a pretty great offensive regular season, but who knows if the Rangers are in the World Series this year if Beltre and Napoli don't rake in the ALDS and Nelson Cruz acts like Reggie Jackson in the ALCS. I do know that Young wasn't helping the cause until Game 5 where he FINALLY drove in a run from the cleanup spot after nearly 30 at-bats this postseason.

edit: and congrats Rangers. I wanted them to win because I didn't think Detroit could beat either St. Louis or Milwaukee. It was still rough to see that scrappy Detroit squad just run out of gas.

Is this somehow the "Rangers win the pennant" topic? If so, congrats to the Rangers fans on this site. They're a likable bunch and a great team that somehow got overlooked most of the year. I would definitely prefer them to win the WS if it's against the Cardinals, but I think I'd probably be rooting for the Brewers if they manage to win the NL pennant.

I'm rooting for beast over squirrel in the NL. Nothing against the Cards, but I'd like to see a team get their first ever championship.

I'm rooting for beast over squirrel in the NL. Nothing against the Cards, but I'd like to see a team get their first ever championship.

I'm rooting for the first-ever all-expansion team World Series. Oh, and against TLR.

Congrats to Bob, Vance, Pat Rapp and any other Ranger rooters on site.

I'm rooting for beast over squirrel in the NL. Nothing against the Cards, but I'd like to see a team get their first ever championship

That is even if the Cards don't make it to the series, that I'm still going to be in a positive mood. I think it's always great when a team wins their first world series, and a Brewer/Rangers match up would guarantee that result. I'm still rooting for the Cardinals of course, but if they don't make it, I'm rooting for the Brewers(maybe they can use some of that post season revenue to keep Fielder)

The Cardinals are an expansion team.

Nothing against the Cards

What'S wrong with you?!

The Cardinals are an expansion team.

Don't be pedantic.

Thanks SoSH. I moved to Arlington in 1989 and spent many nights broiling in the bleachers at Arlington Stadium when I should have been studying (Too bad I never had BDC as a prof... probably could have gotten away with a lot more excused late assignments!). If the Red Sox can't be in the series, having the Rangers there is the next best thing for me.

[9] Actually even if you're going back to 19th century, the Cardinals (then known as the Browns or Brown Stockings) were one of the original 6 American Association teams.

didn’t Joe Buck call Michael Young “arguably the best hitter in franchise history”. So there’s that.

best... 9th, who's counting?

best... 9th, who's counting?

I have him as 18th best :)
Rangers career by batting runs

but yes, who's counting, he's not remotely at the same level offensively as Palmeiro was(or even Juan Gone, and Arod)

Edit:counting only Rangers no senators.

Calling Young the best hitter in franchise history is a bit odd, considering the team already has the reigning MVP in Hamilton currently still on the team.

The Rangers might underestimate or undervalue Michael Young's worth(at least on the field, he's getting pretty handsomely for a utility player), but it sure seem the reporters overvalue him by a great deal.

He'll pass Juan Gone in total bases early next year, but in 1500 more plate appearances.

I'm rooting for the first-ever all-expansion team World Series.

As a kid, the idea of a Pilots-Senators WS seemed laughable ... if for no other reason than they were both in the AL.

I'm not in Kansas anymore. OK, I wasn't in Kansas then either ... or ever except maybe on the train to Estes Park when I was like 6 ... but I digress.

Is Josh Hamilton the most underrated MVP of recent vintage? He doesn't seem to be perceived as the best hitter even on his own team by the writers and announcers. Him winning the MVP last year is evidence that, yes, he isn't totally overlooked. It just seems like we don't hear much about Hamilton unless it's someone recounting his storied past for the umpteenth time.

Is Josh Hamilton the most underrated MVP of recent vintage? He doesn't seem to be perceived as the best hitter even on his own team by the writers and announcers. Him winning the MVP last year is evidence that, yes, he isn't totally overlooked. It just seems like we don't hear much about Hamilton unless it's someone recounting his storied past for the umpteenth time.

I think it has more to do with him missing a lot of playing time. He misses 30 or so games a year and that reduces his perception to the masses. Right now there isn't much difference between his career and JD Drews age 26 to 30 seasons.

Don't be pedantic.

Your therapist must love you.

You still haven't explained the reasoning by which you categorize the Cardinals as an expansion team.

Really?

What's your point?

Is Josh Hamilton the most underrated MVP of recent vintage? He doesn't seem to be perceived as the best hitter even on his own team by the writers and announcers. Him winning the MVP last year is evidence that, yes, he isn't totally overlooked. It just seems like we don't hear much about Hamilton unless it's someone recounting his storied past for the umpteenth time.

Does Michael Young do commercials for Majestic batting practice jerseys?

Thanks for the congratulations, everyone. It has been a terrific couple of years in Arlington.

Michael Young is both overrated by the media and overpaid for his measurable contributions. But everything's relative. Young, batting in the middle of a very strong order this year, came up a lot with men on base. He also hit .377 with runners in scoring position. Neither RBI totals (Young had 106 despite only 11 HR), nor a season's worth of situational hitting, say much about a player's talent or projected value. But he really did do his part to help the Rangers get to the Series this year.

Really?

The St. Louis franchise was a founding member of the American Association in 1882, then in 1892 made the switch to the National League. By the definition you're using the Astros are about the become an expansion team (again).

Not to say you're wrong about that. But you're using a definition that includes so many teams (every American League team as well) and goes so far beyond the generally held notion of "expansion teams" as to be the definition of pedantic.

Geezus F'in Christ. It was a joke. It wasn't the world's greatest joke but geezus this is pathetic. And I got called pedantic?

Geezus F'in Christ. It was a joke. It wasn't the world's greatest joke but geezus this is pathetic. And I got called pedantic?

That is what I thought, I wasn't sure why people kept calling attention to it, when it seemed like just a throwaway comment/joke.

Has it struck anyone else that the Michael Young:Texas Rangers::Derek Jeter:New York Yankees analogy could hardly be more perfect? Every difference between them is of degree and not kind - Young is Jeter in a minor key.

Rangers have earned a World Series title this year. So have the Brewers, and both are playing for franchise flag #1 - it would be a tremendous series. If the Cardinals walk away with a title, this postseason is a bust. The fact that they are still playing a division rival they finished 6 games behind for the right to represent the NL is shameful enough.

If the Cardinals walk away with a title, this postseason is a bust.

I'm hoping for a busted post season then. Of course any game the Cardinals won in the post season I considered to be a minor victory, any series win is/was a bonus.

I'm hoping for a busted post season then. Of course any game the Cardinals won in the post season I considered to be a minor victory, any series win is/was a bonus.

Rooting interests are always excused, and of course, encouraged. It's just that the last thing I want to see as a baseball fan is the Cardinals taking the backdoor route to another title. Were I a Cards fan, I would unapologetically embrace the vagaries of post-season baseball.

zachtoma Posted: October 16, 2011 at 08:41 PM (#3965473)

Has it struck anyone else that the Michael Young:Texas Rangers::Derek Jeter:New York Yankees analogy could hardly be more perfect? Every difference between them is of degree and not kind - Young is Jeter in a minor key.

- concur

theres just SOMEthing about michael young that makes sportswritesr moan and drool - imagine how theyd be if any team francoeur is on got in the postseason

It just seems like we don't hear much about Hamilton unless it's someone recounting his storied past for the umpteenth time.

Wait... what? Josh Hamilton seems like one of the most over-talked-about players in baseball to me. The dude has started four straight All-Star Games and won an MVP. He's been on magazine covers and national TV commercials. There is plenty of love out there for Josh Hamilton, a guy who has never hit more than 32 HR and has only once had an OBP over .371.

He's a really good player when he's healthy, but (i) he's rarely healthy and (ii) relative to the rest of his lineup, he doesn't really stand out. He has only clearly been the best hitter on his own team once, in 2010.

The 2011 Rangers have a bunch of hitters roughly at Hamilton's level*, but he and Michael Young are the only ones who ever got much national press before this October. He's not exactly one of baseball's quietly overlooked stars.

* Beltre, Napoli, Cruz, Kinsler, Young

He's a really good player when he's healthy, but (i) he's rarely healthy and (ii) relative to the rest of his lineup, he doesn't really stand out. He has only clearly been the best hitter on his own team once, in 2010.

I mentioned it earlier, but Hamilton is JD Drew part deux.

JD Drew from ages 26-30 598 ga, 2374pa, 371 r, 99hr, 327rbi, 25sb, .284/.395/.507/.902/134 20.3war

Josh Hamilton career 589 ga, 2515pa, 368 runs, 118hr, 425rbi, 36sb, .308/.366/.543/.909/134 20.3war.

some differences to be sure, but really close. Hamilton has better clutch number apparently.

imagine how theyd be if any team francoeur is on got in the postseason

Well, there was last year's Rangers team.....

Has it struck anyone else that the Michael Young:Texas Rangers::Derek Jeter:New York Yankees analogy could hardly be more perfect?

Well, Jeter could have moved off of shortstop when his team acquired someone better suited to play the position. But apart from that, sure.

#26 He also kept backup middle infielders off the field by and large.

He may not have been happy with a supersub role but he did a great job in that role.

Young is similar to Jeter, but Jeter has been a lot better. This is especially apparent when you bring ballpark effects into consideration.

Michael Young is apparently really ####### dreamy to sports writers.

He is white, after all.

He is white, after all.

Well, that makes him scrappy, not dreamy.

He is white, after all.

I think he's Mexican.

Been a Rangers fan since the mid 70s. I think that Young gets so much attention because he has been the Face of the Franchise since the early part of the Century. Arod was a better player while he was here, but Young has been a Ranger for over a decade. And Young has 3,000 hits as a Ranger.

Everyone who pointed out that Young is NOT the best Ranger hitter is right. He hits for average, but does it in a hitter-friendly park. He has never walked much or hit for much power. He has almost no range left at all in the infield.

I understand that he gets some of this love because he played 2b and SS for much of that time. In Rangers history, only Arod hit like a 1b and played a good SS at the same time.

I have thought that Young has been overpaid from the moment he signed the current contract. But all that said, he came up big vs Tampa in 2010 and came up big in the clincher this year.

I hope that Buck knows that Young is one of MANY talented hitters on the Rangers team this year. If he truly believes that he is the best in franchise history, then he is wrong. I would argue that Hamilton is the best hitter the Rangers have at the moment. I think Juan Gonzalez or Raffy Palmeiro are the most productive Ranger hitters of all time.

ESTEBAN F***ING LOAIZA!