Ian Kinsler: Difference between revisions

Ian Kinsler
Texas Rangers – No. 5
Second baseman
Bats: Right Throws: Right
debut
April 3, 2006, for the Texas Rangers
Career statistics (through April 25, 2009)
Batting average	.295
Home runs	59
Runs batted in	207
Runs	277
Stolen bases	67
Teams
Texas Rangers (2006-present)
Career highlights and awards
All-Star selection (2008) 2x AL Player of the Week: April 2007 & April 2009

Ian Michael Kinsler (born June 22, 1982, in Tucson, Arizona) is a Major League Baseball All-Star second baseman for the Texas Rangers.

Kinsler is known for his good speed, good agility, and as a 5-tool player.[7]

Kinsler is Jewish^[1][2][3] and likes the attention that that generates from the Jewish community.[8]. His father was a warden at the state prison on Tucson's Southeast Side.^[4]

Kinsler graduated from Canyon del Oro High School in the Tucson suburb of Oro Valley, Arizona. He helped lead the baseball team to state titles in 1997 and 2000. He hit .380 as a junior, to earn 2nd-team all-league honors, and .504 with 5 home runs and 26 stolen bases during his senior year, in which he was named 1st-team all-state and 1st-team all-league.^[5] Outfielder Brian Anderson of the Chicago White Sox was his best friend and teammate in high school.^[6]

Kinsler was featured in the 2008 Hank Greenberg 75th Anniversary edition of Jewish Major Leaguers Baseball Cards, published in affiliation with Fleer Trading Cards and the American Jewish Historical Society, commemorating the Jewish Major Leaguers from 1871 through 2008.^[7] He joins, among other Jewish major leaguers, Brad Ausmus, Kevin Youkilis, Ryan Braun, Brian Horwitz, Gabe Kapler, Jason Marquis, Jason Hirsh, John Grabow, Craig Breslow, and Scott Schoeneweis. Kinsler was one of three Jewish players in the 2008 All-Star Game, joining Youkilis and Braun.^[8] Kinsler says that "Youkilis will always say something to me on the bases [referring to the fact that they are both Jewish]. 'Happy Passover,' he'll throw something at me."^[9] Through April 15, 2009, his .295 batting average placed him 7th on the all-time list (directly ahead of Ron Blomberg) for batting average by Jewish major leaguers.^[10]

He was drafted by his home state Arizona Diamondbacks in 2000 (29th round) and 2001 (26th round), but declined to sign.

He opted instead to take a college tour, attending Central Arizona College, where he was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, (hitting .405 with 17 doubles, 37 RBIs, and 24 stolen bases; named 2nd-team All-ACCAC), Arizona State (where he played alongside fellow middle infielder Dustin Pedroia), and the University of Missouri (.335/.416/.536, with 16 steals in 17 attempts).

The Texas Rangers selected Kinsler in the 17th round in the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft as a shortstop.

He had a breakout year in 2004, splitting the season between the Low-A Clinton Lumberkings (.401/.465/.687 in 224 at bats) and the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders (.300/.400/.480 in 277 at bats). Overall, in 501 at-bats, Kinsler had 51 doubles, 174 hits (9th in the minor leagues), 20 home runs, 103 runs, 99 RBIs, 18 HBP, and 23 steals. He tied for 1st in the minor leagues in doubles (51), and was 7th in batting average (.345) and 9th in hits (174).[9]

Kinsler was named to the Midwest League all-star team at shortstop. Baseball America rated him the 11th-best prospect in the minors, the # 8 prospect in the Midwest League, and the # 9 prospect in the Texas League. Kinsler was also named the Rangers' Minor League Player of the Year.

Kinsler spent 2005 at Triple-A with the Oklahoma RedHawks, transitioning from shortstop to second base. He hit .274 with 23 home runs, 102 runs (tied for 10th in the minor leagues),[10] 94 RBIs, and 12 steals in 14 attempts, in 530 at bats. Kinsler cracked the Baseball America Top 100 Prospects list, ranking 98th in 2005.^[11] His solid season contributed to the Rangers' decision to trade Alfonso Soriano during the 2005-2006 offseason.

Kinsler won the Rangers' starting second base job in spring training, 2006. He made his major league debut in a game against the Boston Red Sox on April 3, 2006. He also got his first major league hit in the same game, off Curt Schilling. He was hitting .476 before he dislocated his left thumb sliding into second base on April 11, 2006. On May 25, 2006, Kinsler came back after being on the 15-day disabled list. He went 3-4 with a single and 2 home runs, to lead the Rangers to an 8-7 victory over the Oakland Athletics.

Kinsler finished 2006 with a .286 batting average, 14 home runs, 11 stolen bases, and 55 RBIs in 423 at bats. He batted .300 with runners in scoring position, and .333 when the game was late and close.^[12] Defensively, Kinsler led all AL second basemen in both range factor (5.58) and errors (18).

After a successful rookie season, Kinsler seemed to have the starting second base job locked up, as the Rangers elected to let fellow second baseman Mark DeRosa walk in free agency.

In spring training in 2007, he hit .429 and was 4th in the major leagues in RBIs (19), and 6th in hits (27).^[13]

Kinsler was named the American League Player of the Week for the period ending April 15. He batted .476 (10-for-21) with four home runs, eight RBIs, and seven runs scored. His nine home runs in April tied a team record for that month.^[14]

In 2007, Kinsler had 20 home runs (leading all AL second basemen),[11] and was 23-2 in stolen base attempts. He was one of only 6 batters in the AL to have at least 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases, along with Alex Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield, Grady Sizemore, B.J. Upton, and Curtis Granderson. It was the seventh time in franchise history a player reached the 20-20 plateau.^[15] He did this despite a stress fracture in his left foot, which kept him under 500 at-bats.^[16]

Kinsler finished the year 7th in the American League in power/speed number (21.4), 9th in sacrifice hits (8), and tied for 10th in bunt hits (5). On defense, Kinsler led all major league second basemen in range factor (5.69), leading the league for the second straight year.

In February 2008, Kinsler signed a five-year deal worth $22 million guaranteed, which will jump to $32 million if the Rangers exercise an option for 2013. It could buy him out of two years of free agency. He will receive a raise to $500,000 in 2008, and a $1 million signing bonus. The contract will go to $3 million in 2009, $4 million in 2010, $6 million in 2011, and $7 million in 2012. If the Rangers choose not to exercise the $10 million option, Kinsler will receive a $500,000 buyout. If he is traded, both the buyout and option year would increase by $500,000. With the option, the commitment would be the largest the Rangers have made to a player who they drafted and developed. "Ian represents the past, present, and future of this organization," said assistant general manager Thad Levine.^[17] "It's a lot of money," Kinsler said. "I've never imagined being in this position in my life."^[18]

"I'm going to play the same regardless of whether I'm making $5 or $1 trillion," he said. "It really doesn't make a difference to me. I'm going to go out there and play hard and money doesn't bring respect. The way you play the game brings respect. When I finish playing the game, it's not how much money I made that is going to be legacy. It's how I played the game and what I did on the field."^[18]

While initially reluctant, Rangers manager Ron Washington committed to Kinsler being the team's leadoff hitter in 2008. "I didn't think he was the prototype leadoff hitter, but the guy proved me wrong," Washington said. "He'll take a walk or get one run for us with one swing of the bat. He can bunt, he can run and he can hit the ball to the other side."^[19]

Kinsler was a 2008 AL All Star.

Kinsler had a majors'-best 25-game hitting streak.[12][13] The team hitting streak, belonging to Gabe Kapler, is 28.^[20]

Through July 28th, Kinsler had been leading the AL in batting average (.331), runs (90), hits (145), total bases (232), extra base hits (55), at bats (438), and plate appearances (499). He was also second in doubles (37) and power/speed number (17.9), third in sacrifices (7), fourth in singles (90), sixth in sacrifice flies (6), seventh in stolen bases (25), triples (4), and on base percentage (.392), and eighth in OPS (.922). However, after last playing on August 17, in early September it was announced that Kinsler would have season-ending surgery to repair a sports hernia. "I really didn't have a decision," Kinsler said. "If I want to fix this injury, then I have to have surgery."^[21]

In 2008, despite missing the last 6 weeks of the season, Kinsler was 4th in the American League in batting average (.319) and power/speed number (21.3), 8th in runs (102) and OPS (.892), 9th in sacrifice hits (8), and 10th in stolen bases (26). He hit .413 with runners in scoring position.^[22] He was one of only 3 batters in the AL to have at least 18 home runs and 18 stolen bases in both 2007 and 2008, along with Alex Rodriguez and Grady Sizemore. In the field, he led all major league second basemen with a 5.77 range factor and 123 double plays, but also in errors with 18.^[23]

Kinsler was mentioned as an MVP candidate before his injury by writers at ESPN, the Dallas News, Los Angeles Times, and Washington Post.^{[24][25][26][27][20]} Kinsler could have conceivably rivaled Dustin Pedroia for MVP if not for the sports hernia that cut his 2008 campaign short by a month and a half.^[28] In the end, he received a single 10-place vote from Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.^[29][30]

Kinsler, speaking in mid-January of his recovery from surgery, said: "I'm 100% ready to go in the spring."[14] He recovered in time to participate in spring training.^[31]

On April 15, 2009, in a game against the Baltimore Orioles, Kinsler hit for the cycle,[16] becoming only the fourth Ranger to do so (and the only right-handed Ranger). In the same game, Kinsler became only the second player in Ranger history to get 6 hits in a single game (the first being Alfonso Soriano on May 8, 2004), and the first to do so in a 9-inning game. His five runs and four extra base hits in the game matched two other team records. "It was a thing of beauty," teammate Marlon Byrd said. "I loved it."[17] Kinsler's dual feat was the first in the modern baseball era; the last major league player to have six hits in a game while hitting for the cycle was William Farmer Weaver, for the Louisville Colonels on August 12, 1890. [18][19] Kinsler was also one base shy of Jose Canseco’s team record for total bases. Kinsler had 13; Canseco had 14 against Seattle on June 13, 1994.[20] Only three other players in the prior 55 years have had six hits, five runs, and four extra-base hits in a game, the most recent being Shawn Green of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2002.[21]

Kinsler was named American League co-Player of the Week on April 20, 2009. For the week, in 30 plate appearances[22] he led the major leagues in batting average (.556), hits (15), extra base hits (7), and runs (9), and tied for the lead in doubles (4).[23] He also had a .600 on base percentage and 1.000 slugging percentage, with a triple, two home runs, and six stolen bases. "He's incredible," teammate Hank Blalock said.[24]

Through May 1, Kinsler was 2nd in the AL in total bases (58) and extra base hits (15), 3rd in triples (1), 4th in home runs (7), 5th in RBIs (20) and stolen bases (7), 6th in slugging percentage (.656), 7th in at bats per home runs (12.29), 9th in hits (28), doubles (7), and OPS (1.039), and 10th in runs (18).[25][26]

On May 3, Kinsler opened the first inning with his eighth career leadoff homer, tying a club record shared by Mike Hargrove, Oddibe McDowell, and Michael Young.[27]

Kinsler married his high school sweetheart Tess Brady on November 18, 2007.^[32][33] Their first child, Rian Brooklynn Kinsler was born December 5, 2008.[28]

Kinsler's five strangest autograph requests were a diaper, neck brace, yarmulke, kids' arms, and giant baseball.^[34]

Roll over stat abbreviations for definitions. Stats through August 17, 2008.^[36]

14. Ian Kinsler and Rangers help Toys for Tots Campaign December 2008 http://www.myfoxdfw.com/myfox/pages/ContentDetail?contentId=8052390

15. Ian Kinsler’s leadership saves the day for the Texas Rangers http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/story/1176350.html

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs
• Hardball Times stats
• Baseball America bio
• "Warming up for the Jewish Boys of Summer," 3/5/08

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