Giving thanks.


Every year on this day, we take a moment to reflect on everything we are thankful for. As a Rangers fan, it might seem like a short list, but that’s only if you look at it pessimistically.

There is lots to be thankful for.

There’s the…uh…that one thing…uh…you know, the…

I can’t think of anything to be thankful for as a Rangers fan but I am sure there is plenty.

While thankfully the Rangers didn’t have the worst record in baseball in 2021, they did have the worst team by virtue of not having a single player worth building around or keeping.

But there’s always the opportunity to improve. Like the blockbuster trade they just made with the Dodgers, picking up Billy McKinney and Zach Reks, two outfielders. And for them they only had to give up cash.

This is a team that really needed outfielders on its major league roster, having only Willie Calhoun, Adolis Garcia, DJ Peters, Eli White, and Leody Taveras.

It seems the Rangers found their perfect outfield companions.

McKinney is from the area, having graduated from Plano West High School. A former first round pick by Oakland in the 2013 draft, the left-handed hitting 27-year-old McKinney batted .667 with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2020 with an OPS of 1.333.

In his only big league season so far, the 28-year-old right-hander Reks struck out just seven times in 2021.

So, Rangers fans have this trade to be thankful for. Never mind McKinney’s .667 was the result of getting only three at-bats in 2020, and that he batted .215 in 2019 and .192 in 2021. And never mind that while Reks struck out only seven times in 2021, he went to the plate only ten times. But that means there were three whole times he didn’t strike out. Unfortunately, he failed to get a hit in those three plate appearances. But that just means his .000 career batting average has nowhere to go but up.

So, as we reflect on the day to give thanks, let’s be thankful the Rangers are in qualified hands and the rebuild has started out strong with the addition of McKinney and Reks. Now the Rangers have an embarrassment of outfielders. With embarrassment being the key word.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in Rangers nation and all the loyal posters and readers of RR3. With this trade, Rangers fans have so much to be thankful for.

Again, I am not sure what that is. But I am sure there has to be something.