Biggest Texas Rangers Villains of All-Time
The Texas Rangers have faced a lot of foes over the years, but here we will take a look at a roster of who some of the biggest villains they faced are.
For this article, we will look more towards some of the players that have been thorns in the side of Rangers fans more recently, as well as mixing in some of their old enemies as well.
Yadier Molina
Going with one of the biggest pests the Rangers have ever faced behind the plate, Molina reigned in the Rangers speedsters during the 2011 World Series, and did a great job slowing down their offense throughout the series. Although he only has a .115 average against the Rangers in the regular season, he hit .333 in the World Series.
Albert Pujols
The Machine will go down as one of the most prolific hitters in baseball history, when he finally retires. Although he hasn’t been the same hitter since he joined the Angels back in 2012, he has still always had a knack for being up on the Rangers, including hitting 3 home runs against us in the 2011 World Series.
Jose Altuve
Although Altuve has one of his lowest batting averages against the Rangers (.289), it just seems like whenever he gets a hit against them, it is a timely hit that changes the game in a big way. The Rangers have also given up more home runs to him than any other team, except for the Angels.
David Freese
Perhaps the easiest member of this list, Freese was the 2011 World Series MVP, and seemingly single-handedly willed the St. Louis Cardinals to their infamous game six victory. Freese hit .348 in the series, and has a .270 career average against the Rangers. He is one of the few players that will be booed whenever he takes an at-bat in Arlington, regardless of what team he is on.
Kyle Seager
He is not technically a shortstop, but he has a few games of experience there, and it would be hard to make this list without including him on it. Seager is the definition of a Rangers killer. He is a career .296 hitter against the Rangers, and the only other AL team that he has a higher batting average against is the Cleveland Indians.
George Springer
Although Springer only has a .255 average against the Rangers, it seems like everything he hits is a home run. The Rangers have allowed 21 Springer-Dingers, which is more than anyone else in baseball.
Mike Trout
He is the best player in baseball, and we should all enjoy watching him play, because he may be one of the best players ever. But he destroys the Rangers. Earlier this season, when the Rangers played four games in Anaheim, Trout single-handedly led the Halos to wins in two of the games, and only drove in as many runs as the Rangers had in their third win.
In his career, Trout is a .335 hitter against the Rangers (tied for highest average against AL teams), and 30 home runs, which is second only to the Seattle Mariners.
Vladimir Guerrero, Sr.
Vladdy was terrific while he was here, and became a fan favorite, but before all of that, he owned the Rangers, perhaps more than anyone else on this list. In 108 career games against the Rangers, he owned a .395 batting average. The only team that he had similar numbers against that he played against more than 90 times were the Phillies, who he hit to a tune of .371 against. It was very nice to get him out of Anaheim, and in a Rangers uniform back in 2010.
Khris Davis
Current Rangers-killer, Khris Davis, has a career .291 batting average against the Rangers, and every time the Rangers face the A’s, it seems like he has a say in the way the game goes, with a game changing home run or RBI. He also has 29 home runs against the Rangers, which is eight more than the next closest team, the Seattle Mariners.
C.J. Wilson
Wilson was one of the most frustrating players to watch near the end of his Rangers career, as he became the only player in MLB history at that time to lose the All-Star Game, an ALDS game, an ALCS game, and a World Series game (all in 2011). Then to make matters worse, he spurned the Rangers in that off-season to join their division rivals in Anaheim. After his second season with the Angels, he was hit with the injury bug, and his career started to spiral downhill from there, retiring two years later. Much to the satisfaction of annoyed Rangers fans, he had a 6.33 ERA across ten starts against his old ball club.
Roberto Osuna
Osuna has owned the Rangers since his arrival in the majors, and in 12.1 IP against them, he has only allowed one run, and has 12 strikeouts to go with 9 saves.
Mariano Rivera
ENTER SANDMAN. Rivera is probably the greatest closer in MLB history, so it is only fitting to have him close it out. He had a 2.23 career ERA against the Rangers across 72 games with a 6-4 record and 40 saves.
Here is what a lineup with this team would probably look like with C.J. Wilson on the mound…
LF-George Springer
2B-Jose Altuve
CF-Mike Trout
RF-Vladimir Guerrero, Sr.
DH-Khris Davis
1B-Albert Pujols
SS-Kyle Seager
3B-David Freese
C-Yadier Molina