Is Hank Still a Hammer?

Throughout the years, Hank Blalock has always been a bit of a mystery, an inscrutable tough guy who thrives on the upper cut swing. This has nothing to do with blalock's persona. his attitude remains terrific. He's a trying player, always making an attempt to do better. But Blalock, who comes from a complete baseball family (many of you recall his younger brother Jake, who played in the Ranger Farm System a few years back) was once considered to be a superstar, a George Brett-like force who could hit for power, run, field, and bring his A game to the park on a consistent basis. Well, as most Ranger fans are aware, Blalock's career hasn't exactly gone as planned. The question still waits to be answered though: Is Blalock really that good of a ball player, or was he simply overrated? Barring an injury or setback, I think this season will be Blalock's test. He'll get to prove how good he really can be.

In 2003, Blalock broke lose from his chain and became an all star. He was only 22 years old then. With 29 homeruns, 90 RBI, and a 300 AVG, it was easy to see why he was being compared to Brett. Hank was a potential super star, and a leader for the Rangers. Of course we all remember the 2004 season, when he found his power stroke and whacked 23 homers out of the park before the all star break. He made the All Star team (as well as the Homerun Derby) again that year and was considered to be one of the premiere young stars in the game. Yes, he hit two homeruns the night that his kid was born, but that was one of the few highlights Hank laid claim to during the second half of 04, a dismal two months in which his power and consistency decreased greatly. We were all sort of shocked, as we discovered our new star had a weakness: he couldn't hit in the second half of the season. This flaw in Blalock's game was one that we all thought would improve. With proper strength and conditioning, he would be able to conquer his Achilles' Heel. But 2005 proved to be just like 04, only Blalock's numbers decreased as a whole, as he failed to reach 100 RBI or 30 homeruns. Blalock's career continued to spiral out of control in 2006, when he smacked a dismal 16 homers, and hit just 266. And then we all know what happened after that. Blalock was at a cross roads in his career, and he was set on returning to his former state. He wanted to be an all star caliber player again. Then of course the injuries began to pile up, and for the next two seasons Blalock was limited to just 123 games.

I've heard a lot of people say that Hank Blalock was simply overvalued. He gave us a show at the beginning because he was excited, and now he's settled into his roll: an average player who likes to hit homeruns and gets injured a lot. Maybe this is true. Perhaps Blalock will never be that star he was brought up to be. But to me, there is no way you can take Blalock's numbers from 03 and 04 and say that this guy can't be a star again. Blalock's story is a sad one, because injuries prevented him from proving to the world what he was capable of doing. Now in 2009, which could be his final season with Texas, he gets one decisive chance to prove what he's worth. In my mind, Blalock is still a potential star, but that's only if he can stay healthy. But with his health problems, will Blalock ever be able to prove his true value? That's why this is such a great mystery. Not often do we get a top of the line player who has one major weakness, and then is unable to fight that weakness because of injuries. We may never know how good Blalock could have been. But He's only 28, and he still has plenty of baseball left in him, so there is still time for this mystery to be solved.