On Sunday, some were recuperating from Beyoncé’s absolute dominance of the internet or watching to see if [SPOILER] actually [SPOILER]’d at the end of last season, but Rangers’ rookie outfielder Nomar Mazara continued to show his proficiency at a big-league-level.
The Texas Rangers officially called up Nomar Mazara to replace Shin-Soo Choo just recently on April 10. After a fantastic spring, many Rangers fans hoped he would make the team outright, but the team decided to give the 20-year-old another year to mature with the game. But in the end he became a major leaguer anyways, and has earned the title.
In only 12 games, Mazara (affectionately called “Maz,” by a fanbase which has a history of loving nicknames) has wildly impressed the Rangers. The expectations of Mazara were a strong offensive set, but disappointing defensive output. He proved the offensive expectations dead-on, with a pair of homers and a slash of .356/.404/.533. Here is video of yesterday’s massive 418 foot bomb, which came off of the bat at 110 MPH according to Evan Grant of the DMN:
The most impressive aspect of Mazara’s game up to this point has been the unexpectedly high level of defense he has played. With quite a few great plays and little to no errors, Mazara simply plays smart baseball (something which cannot always be said about starting center fielder Delino DeShields). And when the Rangers faced a tough situation against the White Sox in the bottom of the ninth inning, Maz was not prepared to lose:
Jared Sandler, reporter for 105.3 The Fan, claims that if Mazara continues to play at this rate, he will stay even when Choo and/or Hamilton return from injury.
In only two weeks of play, Nomar Mazara has caused a great stir among Rangers fans not just about the present but the future. With great hope not just for this year but the ones to come, Texas will look to Mazara as a key component
All stats from espn.com. Featured Image Credit: Twitter/@Rangers
For more Rangers info and opinions (and possibly Game of Thrones spoilers and the odd Beyoncé tweet), follow the author on twitter @justjustin42.
Justin Don Jones 