Texas Rangers

Josh Hamilton is an amazing baseball player. He had an amazing year. His story is amazing.

But his winning the MVP is a joke, an absolute joke. It spits in the face of MVP precedent.

He only won the award because of his popularity and his rehabilitation story. He missed a month of baseball. Josh Hamilton was not the most valuable player in the American League in 2010.

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Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton was named the American League MVP Tuesday, receiving 22 first-place votes.

He beat out Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera, New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano and Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista for the award.

Hamilton, 29, batted .359/.411/.633 in 571 plate appearances in 2010, belting 32 home runs along the way. His 1.044 OPS led the American League.

Josh Hamilton's story has been told and retold numerous times over the last few years.

The Texas Rangers star outfielder has endured countless peaks and valleys in his well-chronicled rise and fall as a one-time uber-prospect turned casualty of drug abuse and addiction.

His subsequent recovery and return to baseball's highest level represents one of sports' greatest tales of redemption.

However, this time that's not what the story is about.

Texas Ranger outfielder Nelson Cruz has not stopped his torrid hitting, and with not much hoopla, he set a new postseason record in Game 3 Saturday night against the San Francisco Giants.

Cruz's double in the second inning was his 12th extra-base hit of this postseason.

The Dominican Republic-born outfielder broke the mark of 11 extra-base hits, accomplished seven times, most recently the last one was by the New York Yankees Alex Rodriguez in 2009.

This truly is the Year of the Pitcher. Some of the best in baseball have tossed no-hitters and perfect games, but so have relative unknowns. Texas Rangers starter Colby Lewis didn’t throw either on this night, but his start—as so many outings have this postseason—exemplified how dominant those gracing the mound have been.

Riding the pitching arm of Colby Lewis and a three-run homer from the bat of their No. 9 hitter, the Texas Rangers defeated the San Francisco Giants 4-2 to cut their series deficit to two games to one.

To many, starting pitcher Lewis and rookie first baseman Mitch Moreland (their nine-hole hitter) may not sound like World Series heroes, but tonight their stars shined the brightest before a jubilant crowd at Ranger Ballpark in Arlington.

Well, now it's a series. Returning home to Arlington served to be precisely the remedy to cure the Texas Rangers' woes on the road through the first two games of the World Series.

With a well-played 4-2 victory at home over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday night, Texas showed their mettle and fought their way back into the series, and now only trail two games to one.

In Game 1, the Rangers scored seven runs, but couldn't pitch, and in Game 2, C.J. Wilson pitched a fantastic game but the Rangers couldn't hit Matt Cain.

Colby Lewis was exactly what the doctor ordered for the Texas Rangers.

After the San Francisco Giants jumped out to a commanding 2-0 lead in the 2010 World Series, Lewis held the Giants to two runs in seven-plus innings of work as the Rangers drew within one game by defeating the Giants on Saturday, 4-2.

In doing so, Lewis became the winning pitcher in all three home playoff victories in the history of the Texas Rangers franchise.

Game three of the World Series is in the books and the Texas Rangers are finally on the board.

A Mitch Moreland three-run home run, a solo shot from ALCS MVP Josh Hamilton, and solid pitching from starter Colby Lewis helped the Rangers put a 4-2 win in the books in Arlington on Saturday night.

After two demoralizing losses in San Francisco, fans here in Texas wondered if the Rangers were capable of coming back and tying the series.

The home cooking was especially tasty for the Texas Rangers on Saturday night, as they finally got on the board to make this a series heading into Game 4 with a 4-2 victory over the Giants in Arlington.

San Francisco had taken the first two games at home, slugging around Cliff Lee in Game 1 and dominating Texas 9-0 in Game 2.

Saturday continued the trend of home-field advantage, as the Rangers used two home runs to win and cut the Giants' series lead to 2-1.