Are Kinsler's gaudy stats another creation of Rangers Ballpark?

Ian Kinsler has emerged as one of the premier second basemen in baseball. Andy Altenburger/Icon SMI Jonah Freedman's Mailbag Submit a comment or question for Jonah. Name: Email: Hometown: Question: SEND Follow Jonah Freedman on Twitter

You've got to feel a little badly for the Texas Rangers. Over the past four seasons, they've developed one exciting young hitter after another, and yet they can't catch a break from two clichés that follow them around like the common cold: "hitter's park" and, of course, "A-Fraud."

To a degree, both are out of their control. They have no power over the onrush of gloomy new revelations from Alex Rodriguez's three seasons in Arlington. And no matter how well they hit, critics point to the fact that their home stadium offers mouthwatering dimensions and steamy summer heat that turn mere base hits into something more.

"It'd be one thing if we didn't have a roster full of good hitters," said third baseman Michael Young, who believes the Rangers Ballpark advantage is overplayed. "But all of us can hit."

Last season, the potent Rangers lineup led the majors in most offensive categories, including batting average (.283), hits (1,619), RBIs (867), slugging percentage (.462), total bases (2,647) and runs per game (5.56). The best inspirational story, of course, was that of center fielder Josh Hamilton, who bashed his way to 30 home runs and an American League-leading 130 RBIs in his first full season in the majors after drugs almost derailed his promising career. A little further under the radar was perhaps an even better story: the emergence of five-tool second baseman Ian Kinsler.

In just his third year in the majors, Kinsler was in the midst of a career-defining season, hitting .319 with 18 homers, 71 RBIs, a .375 on-base percentage and 26 stolen bases from the leadoff spot. But then a mid-August sports-hernia surgery shut him down for the season. Up until that point, he had been mentioned as an MVP candidate in the same breath as eventual winner Dustin Pedroia and was named to his first All-Star team.

Kinsler, 26, may be the best player in the majors you still don't know about. But the secret is starting to get out, especially after his epic 6-for-6 explosion while hitting for the cycle last month against Baltimore. He became only the second player ever to achieve both feats (it was last done 109 years ago). In his second season batting leadoff, Kinsler again is putting up gaudy numbers, at or near the top of most offensive categories in the American League.

But if you take a closer look, you start to realize why the hitter's park cliché keeps rearing its ugly head. Kinsler's numbers at home are plain sick: His .467 batting average through 14 home games is second in the majors among eligible hitters. On the road, the difference is jarring: He's hitting only .192 through Sunday, a ridiculous swing of 275 points. So what's the deal, Kins?

"I have no idea," he said, almost shocked at learning there's that much of a discrepancy. "It's a weird sport where everything is overanalyzed. I probably have more homers on the road. It just seems like I have fewer base hits."

That first guess? Not quite true. Of Kinsler's nine dingers, four have come on the road. And "fewer base hits" is an understatement: His 14 hits on the road are half his total (28) at home. Ignorance is bliss, perhaps, for a leadoff man with power and speed who has been given the green light to hack away. "I'm a free-swinger," he said. "I'm a guy who can take walks if they give them to me, steal some bases."