2009 Season: The Rangers' outfield rotation, not to mention Hank Blalock, meant that a gaggle of players hit in the DH spot last season. The Rangers had 97 RBIs from that spot, tied for fourth in the AL. But they hit just .242, which was 11th in the AL.
Blalock (195) and Andruw Jones (194) got the most at-bats as the DH. But despite combining for 28 home runs and 60 RBIs in that spot, neither hit for high average -- Blalock .226; Jones .216.
In an effort to get his outfielders more at-bats, manager Ron Washington rotated them into the DH spot at times. Julio Borbon got 83 at-bats there, David Murphy had 42 and Josh Hamilton 29. Four other players played at least three games as DH.
Washington also moved that spot around the batting order. Borbon even hit leadoff as the DH a handful of times.
Don't mistake DH for an easy position. Just because there aren't defensive responsibilities doesn't mean it's void of challenges. Players will tell you that being in the game helps get them in a good mental state at the plate. As the DH, you have long breaks between at-bats. You have to stay ready, figure out a routine that works. That's not easy.
2010 Outlook: Blalock and Jones likely won't be with the Rangers next season, so the spot could be filled by an extra outfielder.
The Rangers could mirror what they did this season and shuffle players into the DH role. Hamilton will need some days off his feet and can hit there. So could Murphy. The Rangers want Borbon to show he can play the outfield and use his speed to track down balls. But he, too, could see time there.
Who would you put in the spot fulltime or would you rotate it? How should Washington handle it next season?
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Richard Durrett
Richard Durrett joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009. He writes about colleges, the Dallas Stars and the Texas Rangers. Richard spent nine years at The Dallas Morning News covering the Rangers, Stars, colleges, motorsports and high schools.
Ben Rogers
Ben Rogers joined ESPNDallas.com in November 2009. He is one half of the "GameNight with Ben & Skin" show, heard weekdays from 6p-9p on 103.3 FM ESPN.
