The way the 2015 Rangers season ended will forever be tied to Elvis Andrus.
The two errors and another misplay that might as well have been one. The disastrous seventh inning and blown lead. The bat flip. Everything. It all goes back to Andrus, who suffered what has to be one of the worst meltdowns in big-game history for a single player, right up there with the Bill Buckners of the world, except it happened multiple times.
No one, including Andrus himself possibly, knew exactly how he'd recover heading into his age 27 season and coming off the great season that ended in such bitter disappointment in 2015.
Turns out, Andrus hasn't only responded and prevented the fateful game stick in his head, he's actually turning in what might be the best season of his career.
Andrus picked up a hit, scored a run and flashed some nice glove work on Tuesday as the Rangers won a series and their fourth straight game. His batting average now sits at .292, which is good for third on the team among regulars behind Nomar Mazara and Ian Desmond.
If that figure holds — yes, we realize we're just a third of the way through the season — it'd be the highest average of his career (.286 in an all-star 2012 season). He has just six errors and has been great at shortstop this year.
To sum it all up, he's put the brakes on the "get rid of Andrus" train out there. The Rangers could obviously still pull the trigger and find a suitor, but he's made them think twice about it.
Sports Connection
Connecting you to your favorite North Texas sports teams as well as sports news around the globe.
And considering what the pulse was on Andrus and his status with the Rangers was just eight months ago, it's pretty remarkable to see.
