All-time Texas Rangers All-Star team

July 14, 10:38 AMTexas Rangers ExaminerRand Huguely

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With Mark Teixeira and Coco Cordero, Michael Young is one of three all-time Rangers in tonight's All-Star game. AP Photo/Matt Slocum

In honor of tonight’s MLB All-Star game in St. Louis, my crack research staff has selected an all-time All-Star team of Texas Rangers.

It’s an expanded 32-man roster, just like the real All-Stars, and I considered only each player’s time with the Rangers, not what they may have done with other teams. The stats listed for each player are per 162 game averages during their Ranger tenure.

So here they are, the best of the best in Ranger history:

Catcher

Starter: Pudge Rodriguez, 1991-2002 (24-91, .305/.342/.489)

Reserve: Jim Sundberg, 1974-83, 88-89 (6-51, .252/.330/.345)

Pudge is a no-brainer choice to start, and Sundberg is equally obvious as the backup. Sunny won six gold gloves from ’76 to ’81; between them, these two won 16 gold gloves in Ranger uniforms.

First Base

Starter: Rafael Palmeiro, 1989-93, 1999-2003 (33-107, .290/.378/.519)

Reserves: Mark Teixeira, 2003-07 (36-117, .283/.368/.533), Will Clark, 1994-98 (20-106, .308/.395/.485)

Palmeiro is the Ranger leader in runs and walks, and ranks second in HRs, RBIs, hits and total bases. Teixeira was a pure hitter and gold glove fielder during his too-short Ranger career. Clark brought intensity, leadership and a winning attitude to the Ballpark.

Second Base

Starter: Michael Young, 2000-09 (16-86, .301/.347/.445)

Reserves: Julio Franco, 1989-93 (14-85, 25 SB, .307/.382/.440), Bump Wills 1977-81 (7-61, 37 SB, .265/.333/.357)

Most of Young’s career has been at shortstop, but he deserves to be a starter and is the best of a deep group of Rangers who have played the pivot. Young has five 200-hit seasons, and ranks in the team’s top 5 all time in hits, runs, doubles, triples and RBI. Franco won the batting title in 1991 (.341), and was a three-time all-star. Wills, the son of Maury Wills, is the Rangers’ all-time stolen base leader (161).

Shortstop

Starter: Alex Rodriguez, 2001-03 (52-132, 127 runs, .305/.395/.615)

Reserve: Toby Harrah, 1972-78, 1985-86 (15-68, 18 SB, .257/.357/.389)

He was only here three years, he alienated fans and teammates, was accused of tipping pitches, and cost Tom Hicks a fortune. Still, as a Ranger A-Rod had the best offensive run by any shortstop in baseball history. Harrah played short and third, and matured into an outstanding offensive player, with seasonal highs of 27 HRs, 31 SBs, 93 RBI and 113 walks.

Third Base

Starter: Buddy Bell, 1979-85 (15-84, 33 2B, .293/.351/.431)

Reserves: Dean Palmer, 1989-97 (32-94, .247/.320/.470), Hank Blalock, 2002-09 (28-97, .273/.334/.472)

By far the closest call for picking a starter, Bell gets the nod thanks to his superior defense, as he won the gold glove in all six of his full seasons in Texas. Palmer had outstanding power, ranking seventh on the Ranger career home run list. Even though Blalock missed most of the last two seasons, he still ranks in the Ranger top 10 in HR, RBI, runs and doubles, and he’s 11th in base hits.

Outfield

Starters: Juan Gonzalez, 1989-99, 2002-03 (43-137, .293/.342./.565), Ruben Sierra, 1986-92, 2000-01, 2003 (24-101, 12 SB, .280/.323/.473), Rusty Greer, 1994-2002 (19-97, 41 2B, .305/.387/.478)

Reserves: Al Oliver, 1978-81 (15-102, .319/.358/.466), Larry Parrish, 1982-88 (28-97, .264/.323/.454), Jeff Burroughs, 1972-76 (25-95, .255/.341/.428)

Gonzalez, the Rangers’ home run (372) and RBI (1180) king, is an easy selection, as is Sierra. Greer gets the final starting spot in a tight race, for his nine years of production and no holds barred style. Oliver averaged 202 hits a season in four years with the Rangers, and is the team’s all-time batting leader at .319. Parrish drove in 90 or more runs 4 times in 7 seasons. Burroughs won the AL MVP with 25 HRs and 118 RBI in 1974.

Starting Pitcher:

Nolan Ryan, 1989-93 (13-10, 3.43, 233K, 88BB)

Pitchers

Charlie Hough, 1980-90 (14-13, 3.68, 148K, 99BB)
Ferguson Jenkins, 1974-75, 1978-81 (16-12, 3.56, 151K, 53BB)
Gaylord Perry, 1975-77, 1980 (14-12, 3.26, 164K, 54BB)
Bobby Witt, 1986-92, 1995-98 (12-12, 4.85, 167K, 119BB)
Kevin Brown, 1986-94 (13-11, 3.81, 128K, 74BB)
Kenny Rogers, 1989-95, 2000-02, 2004-05, (11-8, 4.16, 2 SV, 100K, 57 BB)
Jose Guzman, 1985-92 (14-13, 3.90, 151K, 83BB)
Rick Helling, 1994-2001 (14-10, 4.86, 138K, 77BB)
Bert Blyleven, 1976-77 (14-14, 2.74, 193K, 68BB, 7 shutouts)
John Wetteland, 1997-2000 (5-3, 2.95, 38 SV, 62K, 20BB)
Jeff Russell, 1985-92, 1995-96 (4-4, 3.73, 13 SV, 47K, 29BB)
Francisco Cordero, 2000-06 (3-3, 3.45, 17 SV, 56K, 26BB)

There was never any doubt the starting pitcher would be Ryan, whose impact went well beyond statistics. Hough is the all-time Ranger leader in wins (139), strikeouts (1452), starts (313), innings (2308) and complete games (98). Fergie Jenkins was dazzling in two short stints as a Ranger. His 1974 season (25 wins, 2.82 ERA, 225 K’s) is the best single year by any Ranger starter ever. Perry is the Rangers’ career leader in ERA with a 3.26 mark. Ryan’s fastball, Hough’s knucker, Fergie’s slider and Perry’s spitball would make for an impossible four-day stretch for opposing hitters.

Ranger fans had a love-hate relationship with Witt, but he finished his career second all-time in starts (269) and strikeouts (1405). Witt is one of only three pitchers (along with Hough and Rogers) to win over 100 games (104) in a Ranger uniform. Brown went on to greater fame and fortune elsewhere, but he led the AL in wins (21) with the Rangers in ’92, and still ranks fifth on the all-time Ranger win list (78). Rogers, who is second in career Ranger wins (133), is the only left-hander to make the team.

Guzman won 66 games despite missing all of ’89 and ’90 with arm problems. Helling wasn’t flashy, but he is the only other Ranger besides Jenkins and Brown to be a 20-game winner (1998). Blyleven was only here for a year and a half, 52 total starts, but he was dominant, registering 11 shutouts in that time. Wetteland (150), Russell (134) and Cordero (117) top the all-time Ranger saves list.

Snubs

Mike Hargrove, Alfonso Soriano, Ian Kinsler, Mark McLemore, Mickey Rivers, Aaron Sele, Jon Matlack, Jim Kern, Danny Darwin.

Hargrove had a comparable Ranger career to Clark, but Clark played on better teams and in bigger games. Besides, "Thrill" is an infinitely better nickname than "The Human Rain Delay." Soriano hit with awesome power for a second baseman, but was only here for two seasons and could have helped the team more by moving to another position. Sele won 37 games in two seasons, but more due to awesome run support than his own pitching. In 1979, Kern had the best season ever by a Ranger reliever, but his other two years in Texas were mediocre. It just wouldn’t seem right if Kinsler didn’t get snubbed one more time this year. By next season he’ll knock Wills off the roster.

Disagree with my choices? Click here to access Rangers' history, and click these links for a list of all-time Ranger batting and pitching leaders, and then you can make your own picks.