PHOENIX -- Travis Jankowski is a long-haired, kinda-Spicolli-looking font of wisdom, the sort of guy who understands the soul of a baseball team because he spends more time observing than participating. When he signed a one-year, $1.25 million contract this spring with the Rangers, he expected to do what he'd spent most of his nine-year career doing: bringing some speed, some plate discipline and some good vibes. He did not expect to help save their season.
The first time it happened was April 12, when the Rangers' all-everything shortstop, Corey Seager, hit the injured list with a strained hamstring.