The four-seam fastball gave Rangers hitters fits the last few seasons. Last year it became even more apparent, as the offense struggled and the team limped to an under-.500 record, failing to make the playoffs.

They traded away Nathanial Lowe, one of the main culprits. They brought in Jake Burger and Joc Pederson, in doing so, beefing up their arsenal on fast-ball hitters.

You know who didn’t care? Baseball. According to Evan Grant in the Dallas Morning News, the Rangers are doing just fine now, thank you, against the fastball. It’s every other pitch they cannot hit.

The Mendoza line was named after a weak-hitting shortstop Mario Mendoza, who struggled to hit .200 throughout his career.  

The Rangers have three key hitters for whom the Mendoza line would be a welcome oasis: Marcus Semien, Jake Burger, and Joc Pederson. For Pederson, batting .077, the Mendoza line is so far away, it might as well be in the other hemisphere. 

Funny thing happens when a team beefs up on fastball hitters. Opponents throw fewer fastballs. Against the fastball, the Rangers are, Grant says, “middle of the pack” in offense, which is much better than where they were last year. Against anything but a fastball, the Rangers are hitting .199, second-to-last in baseball.

Baseball figures you out and exploits your weaknesses. Burger and Pederson were brought in to hit the fastball. Burger seems to be doing okay in that category, but teams are throwing him much fewer fastballs. Pederson, at .077, isn’t concentrating on hitting fastballs. He needs to hit the Mendoza line first. That would require him to triple his offensive output. 

It’s easy to say, the bats will come around. That was said every day last year, and it never happened.  

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