The Texas Rangers have bought the big-ticket item before, and his name was Alex Rodriguez. In three years with Texas, Rodriguez hit 156 homers, drove in 395 runs and posted an OPS around 1.000 each season. He finished sixth, second and first in the AL MVP voting in 2001, 2002 and 2003 respectively.
But after those three seasons, the Rangers wound up dumping Rodriguez's contract because it was too onerous for their payroll. He absorbed so much of their available money that Texas couldn't buy other things it needed to win, like pitching.
The Rangers are in a different place now, as a developing power. They are viewed as the team most likely to have a dynasty in the next decade by some rival executives -- a dynasty that may have already started if Nelson Cruz had caught David Freese's line drive in the ninth inning of Game 6 -- and they are working with the benefit of deep-pocketed ownership, a massive new television contract, a stronger presence in the Texas sports market. Most importantly, they are rich in talent, from the big leagues to the minors.
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Buster Olney
ESPN Insider- Senior writer ESPN Magazine/ESPN.com
- Reporter for ESPN Sunday Night Baseball
- Author of "The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty"
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Buster Olney
Buster Olney is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine. He began covering baseball in 1989, as the Nashville Banner's beat reporter assigned to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds. Later, he covered the San Diego Padres (1993-94), the Baltimore Orioles ('95-96), the New York Mets ('97) and the Yankees ('98-2001). Olney joined ESPN The Magazine in 2003, after six years at The New York Times, and he's the author of two books. "The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty," is a Times best-seller, and "How Lucky You Can Be", about basketball coaching legend Don Meyer, was released in 2011.
He grew up in central Vermont collecting baseball cards and listening to Red Sox, Expos, Phillies and Pirates radio broadcasts, and was a rabid fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He graduated from Vanderbilt University the same year as hoops legend Will Perdue, and ranks among the all-time leading scorers in pickup basketball at Memorial Gym. He claims to have witnessed the Commodores' winning football season in 1982 (although anthropologists have not yet confirmed this).
Olney also contributes to ESPN.com, ESPN Radio, ESPNEWS, "SportsCenter" and "Baseball Tonight."
Follow Buster on Twitter: @Buster_ESPN
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