30 Teams in 30 Posts: #16

I may have made a real mistake here with this series. By the time I finish things out, it may very well be more than a year since I officially ranked this list. I know that, for example, I don't dislike the Houston Astros even half as much as I once did. They're much too hapless to feel anything for.

The Rangers are another team that I don't feel much for, aside from the Nolan Ryan late career fever that swept through baseball around my high school collecting days. As a side effect, I still have something like 200 Nolan Ryan cards, some of which are featured in this post. I usually try to shake things up a bit more, but this is one of those teams whose cards seem to automatically get sorted into a pile to send to a fellow blogger.

Favorite current Rangers player: Arthur Rhodes. As much as I'm tempted to vote for @str8edgeracer, Arthur Lee Rhodes is a tough old dude who was born in the '60s. Yes, those '60s!

Least favorite current Rangers player: Josh Hamilton. This was a tough choice, because I really don't care about Hamilton one way or another. Michael Young used to annoy me (most likely because he cost the NL an All-Star Game or two) but it's easy to be on his side now that we see the sacrifices he's made for his team. Elvis Andrus has a stupid name, but that's probably not his fault. I'm going with Hamilton because I'm tired of hearing about his story.

Favorite Rangers player of all-time: Nolan Ryan. I can't really reconcile this choice with present-day Nolan Ryan, who seems to almost constantly be in the spotlight when it comes to the Rangers. What he did in his playing career was astounding, however, especially while in his 40s. And there's always the whole Robin Ventura incident.

Least favorite Rangers player of all-time: Alex Rodriguez. To me, the A-Rod cash grab that made him a Ranger was the best example of a talented young player chasing the big bucks and leaving a franchise that could have made him one of the most beloved players in baseball. I dislike A-Rod the Ranger a lot more than A-Rod the Yankee. By his Yankees years, we all knew him as an overpaid superstar who would likely be sold to the highest dollar. Seeing him wearing Texas gear is a reminder of the era of the bloated contract.

The Texas Rangers are here and clear at #16 in my reverse-ranking of favorite teams as of the moment I picked them on October 4th, 2010. All of these cards are very much up for trade, so please contact me if you're interested.