Michael Young has been great for the Rangers this season. There's no way around it.
When the Texas lineup was slumping, Young was still hitting, and he far and away leads the team with a .340 batting average this season without many days off.
On Monday night, in the Rangers' 11-5 win over Tampa Bay, Young was playing his original MLB position at second base while Ian Kinsler had a night off, but on one unfortunate grounder up the middle, he was playing like his second MLB position, a shortstop.
It was in the sixth inning when a sharp grounder was sent up the middle and Young and shortstop Elvis Andrus set themselves on a crash course. With each other.
The two converged and met right at second base, with Young's spikes nicking Andrus on the left ankle, causing both to limp a little but both remained in the game. Following the game, Andrus' ankle was still swollen and he said he wasn't sure he'd be able to play on Tuesday.
"We'll see how I wake up [Tuesday]," Andrus told the Star-Telegram. "I'm not going to say yes or no."
It's not anything serious, but it could've been. Young was out of position as groundballs up the middle are usually the responsibility of a shortstop, especially a youthful, rangy shortstop like Andrus. Young surely knows that but just had a lapse in judgment.
