ARLINGTON, Texas — Texas Rangers outfielder Travis Jankowski is having a career season at the plate, and in Friday’s 11-5 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers he added to that season with a sacrifice fly RBI in the fourth inning.
How is an RBI sacrifice fly part of a career season? Well, when you’ve never had one before and you’ve played nearly 10 years of professional baseball, that kind of sticks out.
Jankowski’s RBI sacrifice fly came in his 1,390th career plate appearance, dating back to his Major League debut with the San Diego Padres in 2015.
He finished 0-for-2 with an RBI.
But here’s the incredible part. After Jankowski’s sacrifice fly, Rangers analyst C.J. Nitkowski dove into some data and found that even with Jankowski’s first career sacrifice fly, he still leads MLB with the most plate appearances with one or fewer sacrifice flies.
Among those on the list below Jankowski? Cy Young-winning pitcher and Baseball Hall of Famer John Smoltz.
It’s just another milestone for Jankowski, who has bounced around for nine seasons but found a home with the Rangers, a team that admittedly nearly cut him before the season opener before Leody Taveras was deemed not ready for Opening Day.
“I hate to say he’s a surprise, because he’s had a nice career,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “But guys like him can come in and be a major part of your season. He’s been that for us.”
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