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Grouse Hunt: The Inside Story Of How Ian Kinsler Became A Ranger

Posted on June 7th, 2009 6:25am by Mike Hindman
Filed under Baseball, Front Office, Mighty MJH, Rangers prospects, Talkin' baseball, Texas Rangers
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33 Comments to “Grouse Hunt: The Inside Story Of How Ian Kinsler Became A Ranger”
  • Patrick A @ June 7th, 2009 at 6:53 am

    Great read. Thanks MJH.

  • hightowersmith @ June 7th, 2009 at 6:59 am

    I remember coming home to read Ian’s box scores in Clinton after nights out that one summer. He just kept homering…

    Great read, MJH!

  • Doug @ June 7th, 2009 at 8:16 am

    Unbelievable story, Mike.

  • texaslifter @ June 7th, 2009 at 8:37 am

    This story should be picked up and printed by a national sports mag….. Thanks for investigating and sharing the backstory on a player we have followed and cheered for since 2004.

  • Dan R @ June 7th, 2009 at 9:11 am

    Another great Ranger story for D Mag. I’m loving it. Please keep the insights coming.

  • Jeff Miller @ June 7th, 2009 at 9:13 am

    Great tale, Mike. (And a great shot of Kinsler apparently after visiting Floyd’s Barber Shop.)

  • Rodney @ June 7th, 2009 at 10:13 am

    Outstanding work, MJH. What a wonderful, goose bump-inspiring read.

  • NateMac @ June 7th, 2009 at 12:03 pm

    Terrific read. Absolutely agree with everything above. Please keep it coming.

  • Greg @ June 7th, 2009 at 12:04 pm

    Good story, thanks.

  • Mose21 @ June 7th, 2009 at 12:26 pm

    I just want to jump on the great story band wagon. These are the best kind, the story behind the scenes.

  • Stu @ June 7th, 2009 at 5:52 pm

    Great Story, But he still zones out. Not saying he not a great player, just mind boggling when he does.

  • Mike Hindman @ June 7th, 2009 at 6:33 pm

    Stu: Drew Meyer. Vincent Sinisi. Jonathan Johnson. Junior Mayberry. Just mind boggling.

  • David in Cleburne @ June 7th, 2009 at 6:55 pm

    Excellent writing and a great story. One of the best pieces I have read in quite a while. Gooc job, Mike.

  • becca @ June 7th, 2009 at 7:25 pm

    incredible read. thank you for making us all smarter. i hope they are paying you well at inside corner. you certainly deserve it.

  • Lukman Ramsey @ June 7th, 2009 at 7:39 pm

    Did anyone else hear Josh mention this article on the air during the game? He said it was a must read, and stated the name of the site and the author as well. Nice going Mike – this work is worthy of a televised shout out.

  • tomckil @ June 7th, 2009 at 8:01 pm

    What a treat, especially for us heartland folks. Thanks, Mike.

  • An inside look at the scouting and drafting of Ian Kinsler @ June 7th, 2009 at 8:20 pm

    [...] An inside look at the scouting and drafting of Ian Kinsler [...]

  • dude in Afghanistan @ June 7th, 2009 at 8:36 pm

    I remember the summer when Ian was coming up through Clinton and Tulsa, hitting the cover off the ball, and all the blogs were saying, “Where the heck did this guy come from?” He hit about .420 at Clinton for a month or so, then exploded for a few weeks after his promotion to the Drillers, hitting close to .500 for a good stretch, ultimately flirting down the stretch with .400 for the season, if I remember correctly. He ended up at .396, right? Everybody kept saying, “He can’t really be this good.”

    Ian is STILL improving, which is amazing to me. His defense is much better than last yr, even with today’s gaff. His average is down a little, but he’ll keep working hard, and I bet he ends up hitting above .300 for his career, with 400 steals and possibly 350-400 HRs.

    What a great find for the Rangers, and a great signing by JD to get him locked up so cheaply long-term.

    Thanks for the great story, MJH!

  • rooster @ June 7th, 2009 at 9:48 pm

    Great article.

    I’d love to hear Kinsler’s tale of what he did to develop his game during that incredible minor league year.

  • leftyheffley @ June 7th, 2009 at 9:49 pm

    It never hurts to re-state the obvious… thanks so much for an outstanding article, MJH.
    I wish everyone wrote stories like this. Maybe you need to ease up on the lawyering and do this for a living.

  • Reagan @ June 7th, 2009 at 10:01 pm

    That really is fantastic work Mike. Thank you so much for this story. Would it be possible to do something like this for one of the Latin kids? That type of recruiting is completely different but probably no less compelling.

  • John Driver @ June 7th, 2009 at 10:27 pm

    Great article by the great Michael Hindman. Thanks a million.

  • Sriram @ June 7th, 2009 at 11:24 pm

    Mr. Hindman, you’ve truly outdone yourself this time. This is one outstanding piece of writing. Keep up the good work.

  • News & Notes: Nelson Cruz cleaning up for Texas, true believers @ June 8th, 2009 at 10:27 am

    [...] • The behind-the-scenes story of how Ian Kinsler became a Ranger. [D Magazine] [...]

  • Mizzou Fan @ June 8th, 2009 at 12:48 pm

    Mr. Hindman, thanks for a really great piece of writing on the scouting of Ian Kinsler. As a life long Missouri fan I was unaware of almost all of the information in your article. Thank you. Keep up the outstanding work.

  • selke99 @ June 9th, 2009 at 9:14 am

    I can’t believe DMN let you go Mike. You are truly missed on their blog. Probably the best blogger I’ve ever read when you were over there. I only come here for your posts. Keep up the awesome work!

  • Mike Hindman @ June 9th, 2009 at 9:25 am

    selke99: Keep coming back. And if I were you, I’d certainly make more of a point to stop down and read what Evan, Jeff and Bob are writing.

  • georjia motta @ June 9th, 2009 at 9:25 am

    Hey Ian, love you from aunt Georjia. Your a great ball player because of where you came from, your parents and sister and WHO YOU are

  • dfwsports @ June 9th, 2009 at 9:36 am

    Easily one of the most interesting Ranger stories of the year. Great job, MJH.

  • ChopperJim @ June 9th, 2009 at 9:38 am

    This is some of your best stuff! Love it!

    CJ

  • M Markwardt @ June 9th, 2009 at 11:01 am

    I wish you had the Hindman’s Hits Report so I could read stuff from you every day.

  • p1 jeff @ June 9th, 2009 at 12:12 pm

    I remember seeing Ian play in Frisco several seasons ago (seems like 10 years ago now)…he was somebody that definately stood out….great kid, even better player….

  • Da Blade @ June 9th, 2009 at 1:59 pm

    This is award-winning stuff. You have outdone yourself, Hindman.