After Elvis Andrus dipped to being a .243 hitter as the calendar hit July this season, it left many wondering if the Texas Rangers had make a mistake when they extended Andrus for the future and gave him a big contract on the eve of the Rangers' first win of the season.
Then came the all-star break, and then came the Andrus we've all grown to know since he burst on to the scene in 2010 as the Rangers won their first postseason series and went to their first World Series.
Before the all-star break, Andrus hit .242 with a .300 on-base percentage and a .280 slugging percentage. He was moved all over the lineup, from leadoff to his customary 2-hole, to sixth, seventh, eighth and even ninth.
But since the break, Andrus is hitting .324/.381/.418 and has also been a pest on the bases for opposing pitchers, and as of late with the slump of Adrian Beltre, Andrus has been one of the few guys hitting the ball and has arguably been carrying the Rangers' offense. He's even hit a couple of home runs recently and is now sporting a .931 OPS (on-base + slugging) for September, besting his August OPS, which was better than his July number.
Andrus is a leader for this team along with Beltre and Ian Kinsler, and for the Rangers to make a run here with 17 games remaining and hit the postseason on a high note, he'll have to continue this recent run of success.
