April Review — Blog by MP

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So a month of baseball has passed and I decided this season, I'll do a Ranger post each month. Even though it's hard to make any definite predictions based on April stats, a lot can be said about it. Like the Rangers are in first place in the AL West, which is always worth mentioning no matter where we are in the season. ;)1. Ian DesmondFirst things first, I would like to formally apology to Ian Desmond. (And probably JD.)He sure made me eat my words. After pretty much tearing into him and how stupid the idea of him playing left field was in this post. He has pretty much proved me completely wrong.While he had a very slow and frustrating start offensively, his average has slowly been climbing. And he doesn't look half bad playing left. He actually looks comfortable out there, and he has a good arm.In that post I linked above, I mentioned that maybe the Rangers should've put more thought into Austin Jackson or David Murphy.Well David Murphy is now retired and I'd take Desmond over Jackson if we just looked at April stats (April stats + May 1st because all the stats have been updated as of after Sunday's games.)Desmond is batting .241, has scored 21 runs (tied for 2nd in the majors), 11 RBI, and 5 stolen bases. His on base percentage is .327.Jackson is batting .229, scored 8 runs, 8 RBI, and 1 stolen base. His on base percentage is .273.So Ian Desmond, I get it, you're an athlete, sorry for doubting you. See you in May.2. Elvis AndrusOn the topic of apologizing, I should also say sorry to Elvis. Purely because I don't give him enough credit. I, like many Ranger fans, find myself quickly yelling at Elvis through my TV (because obviously he can hear me) when he gets an error. However, this season has been his best start yet and that should be acknowledged. He's batting .325 (highest average of any Ranger starters) and has 13 RBI, which is more than he had in any one month last year.He has the second highest on base percentage at .356.And if that doesn't make you want to cheer for Elvis, read this. (Warning: a lot of game 5 talk and a video of the bat flip.)3.Random chitchatI figured I could talk about some points I made in my Spring Training postsince a majority of them were covered in April.First, let's all laugh at the April fools prank I played on myself in that post. When I thought the season started April 1st... I was severely disappointed when that rolled around. :/ However, Cole Hamels did get the start on Opening day, that did not take place on April 1st. That first game was a doozy. But a one-hit win is still a win I'll take!Another topic on that list, What will Choo do? Apparently go on DL. Anytime a player goes on the disabled list, I suddenly flashback to 2014 and the flood of plays we had on there. Luckily, this kid Mazara is seems good. ;)Number 7 on my Spring Training post was Jeff Banister doing Jeff Banister things. And it didn't take long for that. In fact it took only a game and a half before we saw the, now famous, Banister point.Saving the best for last, Beltre. Like I said in that post, not much I really have to say about him. It is worth mentioning that I'm pumped about that contract extension. It's hard to fully express how much I love Adrian Beltre, not only for how good he is on the field, but also just in general because there is just no way you can't like this guy. I refuse to believe there is any person in the world that wouldn't like him. So I shall leave you with my favorite Beltre moments of April. Enjoy! 😂Also this.(all gifs are from mlb.com/cutfour if that's a necessary thing that needs to be said.)