31-year old lefty swinging outfielder Josh Hamilton finished in 5th place in the A.L. MVP voting last year. He played in 148 games for the Rangers last year and he was 160 of 562 (.285 avg, .930 OPS) with 103 runs scored, 43 homers, 128 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Hamilton has now played in 647 games in his five years with the Rangers and he is 771 of 2,527 (.305 avg, .912 OPS) with 419 runs scored, 142 homers, 506 RBIs and 40 stolen bases. The Rangers better try to re-sign Hamilton this winter, because he will be virtually impossible to replace.

33-year old righty swinging 3B Adrian Beltre finished in 3rd place in the A.L. MVP voting in 2012. He played in 156 games for the Rangers last year and he was 194 of 604 (.321 avg, .921 OPS) with 95 runs scored, 36 homers, 102 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Beltre has now played in 280 games in his first two years with the Rangers and he is 338 of 1,091 (.310 avg, .908 OPS) with 177 runs scored, 68 homers, 207 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Signing Beltre two years ago is looking like an outstanding move, as he has ripped the ball for the Rangers while playing solid D at 3B.

27-year old lefty starting pitcher Matt Harrison finished in 8th place in the A.L. Cy Young Award voting in 2012. He pitched in 32 games (all starts) for the Rangers last year and he was 18-11 with a 3.29 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. He gave up 210 hits and 59 walks while whiffing 133 batters in 213 1/3 innings for the Rangers in 2012. Harrison has now pitched in 126 games (94 starts) in his first five years with the Rangers and he is 48-30 with 2 saves, a 4.08 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. Harrison just seems to get better every year and that bodes really well for the Rangers in the future.

60-year old manager Ron Washington tied for 6th in the A.L. Manager of the Year voting with Jim Leyland of the Tigers. The Rangers were 93-69 (57.4%) during the regular season but they were 0-1 in the playoffs in 2012. The Rangers are now 520-452 (53.5%) in his first six regular seasons in charge. They are also 18-16 (52.9%) in the playoffs with Washington in charge. Next year is going to be challenging for Washington as the Rangers’ roster is likely to look quite a bit different in 2013.

26-year old righty starting pitcher Yu Darvish finished in 3rd place in the A.L. Rookie of the Year vote and he also finished #9 in the Cy Young vote. Darvish also made the All-Star team in 2012. Darvish pitched in 29 games (all starts) for the Rangers last year and he was 16-9 with a 3.90 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. Darvish gave up only 156 hits and he whiffed 221 batters in only 191 1/3 innings last year, but he also walked 89 batters and that is way too many. Darvish can make a serious Cy Young run in the near future if he just starts throwing more strikes.

35-year old righty swinging DH/1B/3B Michael Young finished 8th in the voting for the A.L. MVP Award. Young played in 159 games for the Rangers last year and he was 213 of 631 (.338 avg, .854 OPS) with 88 runs scored, 11 homers, 106 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. He has now played in 1,667 games in his first 12 years with the Rangers and he is 2,061 of 6,788 (.304 avg, .801 OPS) with 1,006 runs scored, 169 homers, 917 RBIs and 87 stolen bases. Young is showing no signs of slowing down for the Rangers and he was a HUGE reason for them getting back to the World Series in 2011.

29-year old righty swinging 2B Ian Kinsler finished 11th in the voting for the A.L. MVP Award. Kinsler played in 155 games for the Rangers in 2011 and he was 158 for 620 (.255 avg, .832 OPS) with 121 runs scored, 32 homers, 77 RBIs and 30 stolen bases. 2011 was Kinsler’s second season in which he has been a 30/30 man, showing what he can do when he can stay healthy. Kinsler has now played in 773 games in his first six years with the Rangers and he is 826 of 3,001 (.275 avg, .824 OPS) with 558 runs scored, 124 homers, 395 RBIs and 136 stolen bases.

32-year old righty swinging 3B Adrian Beltre finished 15th in the voting for the A.L. MVP Award. Beltre played in 124 games for the Rangers last year and he was 144 of 487 (.296 avg, .892 OPS) with 82 runs scored, 32 homers, 105 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 1,959 games in his first 14 years in the majors and he is 2,033 of 7,361 (.276 avg, .797 OPS) with 994 runs scored, 310 homers, 1,113 RBIs and 114 stolen bases.

30-year old lefty swinging CF/LF Josh Hamilton finished tied for 22nd in the A.L. MVP Voting with righty reliever David Robertson of the Yankees. Hamilton played in 121 games for the Rangers in 2011 and he was 145 of 487 (.298 avg, .882 OPS) with 80 runs scored, 25 homers, 94 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Hamilton has now played in 589 games in his first five years in the majors and he is 698 of 2,263 (.308 avg, .909 OPS) with 368 runs scored, 118 homers, 425 RBIs and 36 stolen bases. If Hamilton can stay injury free in 2012, he could make a serious run at winning another MVP Award.

59-year old Ron Washington finished in 3rd place in the voting for the 2011 A.L. Manager of the Year Award. He led the Rangers to playoffs as they won the A.L. West with a 96-66 (59.3%) record. The Rangers are now 427-383 (52.7%) in his first five years with the Rangers. Washington has repaid the Rangers’ confidence after he failed a drug test during the 2010 season. Washington does now how to get the best out of his players, so look for the Rangers’ success to continue.