Who are your all-time favorite Texas Rangers?

You know the question, “Who would be on your Texas Rangers Mount Rushmore?”.  In fact, not only have you heard it before, I’m sure that if you’re reading NolanWritin.com, you probably have some strong opinions as to who should be on it.

Well, I hadn’t really thought about this recently until someone tweeted me that very question.  And then, The Dallas Morning News’ Sports Day Facebook page posted this from Mikey Mo’s number retirement ceremony at the AAC this weekend:

It doesn’t get better than this, does it?

And this picture of course got me thinking of who else is missing from this picture.  (The other two ‘triplets’ anyone?)  Then, to top it all off, Nolan Writin’s very own Ben Dieter ran down his personal ten favorite Rangers memories of all time today.  So in the name of nostalgia, this post obviously needed to be written.

I hereby present the candidates for stone replication…

First…the obvious guys to consider.

The Player:  Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez
The Case:
– Rangers Career Span – 13 years
– Rangers Career Stats:
– Batting Average – .304
– HRs – 217
– RBI – 842

Awards/Accolades:

1. 1999 AL MVP
2. 10X All-Star
3. 10X Gold Glove Award winner (led the league 7X in Caught Stealing %…I know you remember that arm!)
4. 4X Silver Slugger Award winner

If anyone deserves a plaque…it’s THIS guy.

Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports

The Player:  Nolan Ryan
The Case:
– Rangers Career Span – 5 years
– Rangers Career Stats:
– ERA – 3.43
– SOs – 939 (not a typo)
– W-L% – .567

Awards/Accolades:

1. 2 No-Hitters
2. Led the league in strike-outs twice (’89 and ’90)
3. 1989 All-Star

Oh…and I forgot a little something called the Hall of Freaking Fame.  Also…he kicked Robin Ventura’s butt.

I think he’s still got it!

Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Some Other Guys to Consider:

The Player:  Juan Gonzalez
The Case:
– Rangers Career Span – 13 years
– Rangers Career Stats:
– Batting Average – .293
– HRs – 372
– RBI – 1,180

Awards/Accolades:

1. 2X AL MVP
2. 2X All-Star
3. 6X Silver Slugger Award winner

The Player:  Rafael Palmeiro
The Case:
– Rangers Career Span – 10 years
– Rangers Career Stats –
– Batting Average – .290
– HRs – 321
– RBI – 1,039

Awards/Accolades –

1. 2X All-Star
2. 1999 Gold Glove Award winner
3. 1999 Silver Slugger Award winner

The Player:  Ruben Sierra
The Case:
– Rangers Career Span – 10 years
– Rangers Career Stats:
– Batting Average – .280
– HRs – 180,
– RBI – 742,

Awards/Accolades –

1. 3X All-Star
2. 1989 Silver Slugger Award
3. Led outfielders in assists 2X

The Player:  Michael Young
The Case:
– Rangers Career Span – 13 years
– Rangers Career Stats:
– Batting Average – .301
– HRs – 177
– RBI – 984

Awards/Accolades –

1. 2005 AL Batting Champion (.331)
2. 2008 Gold Glove Award winner (SS)
3. 2,230 hits
4. Led the AL in hits 2X (2005 and 2011)
5. 7X All-Star

And because I’m feeling sentimental:

The Player:  Rusty Greer
The Case:
– Rangers Career Span -9 years
– Rangers Career Stats:
– Batting Average – .305
– HRs – 119
– RBI – 614

Awards/Accolades – GRIT for days. (COME ON!  I wasn’t the only one that loved Rusty, right?)

The Player:  Benji Gil
The Case:  KIDDING!  I was kidding!

I don’t think I left out any legitimate contenders.  For me, this is pretty simple.

My Texas Rangers Mount Rushmore looks like this:

Nolan Ryan • Pudge Rodriguez • Michael Young • Juan Gonzalez

Who do you have?