Two weeks shy of the 2010 MLB All-Star break, who would have thought the Texas Rangers would have been tied with the New York Yankees for the best record in baseball? Say what you want and blame an easy schedule, but they only play the schedule they are given, and credit still needs to be given to the Rangers for taking advantage of it, when many others might have played down to the lowly competition provided by the likes of Houston, Florida, Pittsburgh and Milwaukee.

There are a few reasons for the Texas Rangers’ resurgence. One is that, through June, this team has the third-best run differential (+82) in all of baseball; second is the play of left-fielder Josh Hamilton once again has him being talked about when the MVP discussions are taking place; third may very well be that outside of Hamilton, Ranger DH Vladimir Guerrero is having his own career year at the plate. Hamilton not only leads Texas with 103 hits, 18 homers (5th in AL), and .343 batting average (4th in AL), but he is second in runs-batted-in with 58 (3rd in AL). Right up there with Hamilton, Guerrero is second on the team with 96 hits (6th in AL) and .339 batting average (5th in AL), but first with 68 RBIs (1st in AL) and tied with Josh in the homerun column. Not a bad one-two punch to have!

While the second half of the schedule may not provide the same NL patsies as the first one did, this is a team which is very well rounded and able to support its two heavy-slugging stars. If the defense remains solid, the pitching and hitting consistent, and Hamilton and Guerrero continue to hit the cover off the ball, there is no reason to believe half number two will not be a continuation of number one. What that means is that there are plenty of reasons to come see this great team at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington this summer, so why not get some Texas Rangers tickets now and do just that?