Today’s the day.


The best the Rangers could do in the second round.

There’s an old saying, “Today is the first day of the rest of your life.” Today, for the Rangers, is more important than that. It’s the first day of the rest of their credibility.

Today is draft day. Today is the day the Texas Rangers get the second overall pick in the draft. This day has not been kind to the Rangers in the past. Draft day has been a clown car of failure for a franchise that has has very little success. Draft day has been Jon Daniels’s D-Day.

Never mind the well-chronicled first round failures the Rangers are known for. The Rangers are actually worse when it comes to picking in the second round.

In The Dallas Morning News, Evan Grant looked into the Rangers second-round failures. As Grant states, “Nobody has failed to generate talent from the second round quite like the Rangers.”

In fact, he points out, the Rangers franchise ranks number 30 out of 30 in talent drafted in the second round, in the history of the draft. He has statistics to back it it, too. And numbers. And facts.

Just so you know, it doesn’t get worse than finishing 30 out of 30 teams. That’s dead last. That’s a pity.

When you combine the Rangers second-round failures with the Rangers first-round failures, you get a pretty good idea why this team is where it is.  

As Grant points out, in the 55-year history of this franchise, the only two players of any consequence to come out of the second round are Roger Pavlik, chosen in 1986, and Robbie Ross, chosen in 2008.

It’s been a black hole. 

Grant noted that, in the past decade alone, Eric Jenkins, Ti’Quan Forbes, Akeem Bostick and Jamie Jarmon were all second-round picks who never made it any further than Class A. “Together, they represent more than $3.3 million in wasted signing bonuses.” It’s a who’s who of “who?”

Failure that monumental usually has consequences. Not with the Rangers. Accountability doesn’t seem to be in ownership’s vocabulary.

So, today, the Rangers pick second. Then, with their second pick and accounting for supplemental picks and compensation picks, will probably pick again around thirty-fourth overall. That’s two players in the top thirty-five.

Thankfully, there’s a new voice influencing the draft. This will be Chris Young’s first draft as Rangers GM. Here’s hoping he is able bring a new direction to the Rangers draft success. But, when you think about it, there’s only one direction to go.

Here’s hoping, then, that the voices of their past failures do not drown him out.

This is an important day in the Rangers franchise. They have a chance to add impact talent. They have a 55-year losing streak to overcome.

Good luck.

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TODAY’S GAME: