Rangers Best Years Came Without First Baseman

The Texas Rangers have had some great first basemen in their history. Just to name a few, there's Rafael Palmeiro, Will Clark, Rafael Palmeiro again, Mark Teixeira and then guys like Adrian Gonzalez and Chris Davis who never did much here and became great later on.

Yet, the best years in franchise history have come with Mitch Moreland at first base, and he's a guy that could be on his way out depending on what the front office does this winter in trying to acquire a new first baseman after Moreland's struggles have reached almost point-of-no-return status.

While listening to KTCK The Ticket on Wednesday, they brought up the interesting point that everyone keeps harping on the Rangers to get someone at first base who can carry their weight at the plate. Yet, their best years have come with Moreland there — a career .253 hitter with 63 home runs and 186 RBIs in a little more than three seasons, including 2013 when he hit just .238.

When Moreland hit the scene in 2010, he showed a lot of promise over the final 50 or so games of the regular season, when he basically supplanted a struggling Davis, who of course later became a Triple Crown candidate for Baltimore.

That postseason, he really shined. In the World Series loss to the Giants, he was one of the few bats on the Rangers team that could figure out San Francisco pitching, hitting .462 with a homer in five games.

So, in other words, the Rangers should stick with Moreland and just forget about upgrading. Got it?

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