There was some question as to how A.J. Pierzynski would fit into the Texas Rangers' clubhouse after developing the reputation as a guy that everyone in baseball pretty much despises, including some of his own teammates.
Turns out, so far anyway, Pierzynski has fit in just fine in his first season with the Rangers after several seasons with the Chicago White Sox, where like everyone else, most of the current Rangers probably weren't big fans of the veteran catcher.
Pierzynski has had a great start in his first nine games with Texas, hitting .367 with a .394 on-base percentage, two home runs and four RBIs as he's notched four multi-hit games along with calling some great games behind the plate.
On Thursday, Pierzynski flashed both spectrums of his game against the Seattle Mariners and Felix Hernandez as Pierzynski hit a second-inning, first-pitch home run off King Felix to tie the game after the Mariners hit a leadoff homer in the first.
Behind the plate, Pierzynski was a part of the biggest defensive play of the game as Robbie Ross scooped up an eight-inning suicide squeeze attempt from Brendan Ryan and pitched the ball to Pierzynski, who was blocking the plate flawlessly and tagged out Endy Chavez to preserve the Rangers' 4-3 lead.
Pierzynski is a classic example of one of those guys that you hate, unless he's on your team. Pretty sure the Rangers are loving him right now.
