Finals: Grading the Rangers outfield

As a unit, the Rangers outfield was beset by slumps (David Murphy early, Nelson Cruz late) and injuries (Josh Hamilton, all year long). It would be easy to write it off as a subpar year for the club, but there were still some pretty solid contributions, like Marlon Byrd's career year, Cruz's 33 homers and late-season addition Julio Borbon's electrifying speed. As a whole, the Rangers outfield had a .793 OPS (on-base-plus-slugging percentage), third in the AL. They ranked int he lower half in both batting average (.269) and on-base percentage (.330). One problem that was common to almost all the outfielders: A propensity to swing at the first pitch. Overall, Ranger outfielders swung at the first pitch 31.1 percent of the time, by far the worst in the AL. It was a below average unit for the Rangers, but perhaps that's because for so many years they have been above average performers. Overall grade: C For individual grades, you just have to turn the page. And for our p...