I’m about to head to lunch with Jamie and my three daughters on our day off. I heard about a place that serves Puerto Rican food that we want to try out. This afternoon we’ll unpack the last of the boxes that just arrived from San Francisco. We already feel settled and at home here. In fact, we’re loving it. The place we rented is so close to the ballpark and to restaurants and stores. And everyone has been so nice. The fans are unbelievable. All the players told me that the Rangers have great fans, and they’re right. It’s amazing how often the players here talk about how much they appreciate the fans. They’re so supportive and are always right there with us, no matter what’s happening.

Now that I’ve gotten to know the players on the Rangers I’m even more impressed than I was at the beginning. The feeling here inside the clubhouse is not what people might think. Just because we have a 71/2-game lead nobody’s taking anything for granted. These guys play their hearts out to win every single game. That’s what I love about this team. All they want every day is to win. That’s how you make it to the end. That’s how you make it to the World Series. They’re determined to do everything in their power to win. And of course, that’s what I live for — figuring out how to win against that opponent on that particular day.

When we get beat, as we did Wednesday, it’s, “OK, let’s get out there tomorrow and work even harder.”

 A big part of what makes this team special is Ron Washington. He’s all about business and about winning. He’s about working hard in practice and about taking care of his players. He knows the summer heat can take its toll, so he’s careful about giving guys days off so everybody will be fresh to keep playing into the post-season.

As for me, yes, I wish I was hitting better. I don’t feel like I’m having horrible at-bats but nothing’s falling in. My coaches and teammates make sure I know that even with my struggles AT the plate, I help the team BEHIND the plate. I always believe that my most important job is calling a good game and helping the pitchers get the most out of their abilities. Hitting is second.

BUT . . . it sure was fun to go for the cycle. I didn’t write about that in my first post so I’ll do it now.

My first at-bat I was just trying to get in my rhythm. I hit a change-up the middle for a single.

The second at-bat, I figured he wasn’t going to throw me any more change-ups, so I sat on a fastball and hit it over the right-fielder’s head for a double.

My third at-bat, there were two outs with the bases loaded and the score tied at 3. I wanted just to get a hit. But after I saw a couple of pitches – and fell behind in the count 1-2 – I had a better idea of how he was going to work me. The more pitches you see, the more comfortable you get. I knew he was going to throw me a slider. I told myself to stay back, get my timing. And sure enough, he threw a slider and I hit it into the first row of the center field bleachers.

So in the dugout, I’m not thinking about getting a triple but everyone’s telling me that if I hit it into the gap in my next at-bat to just keep running no matter what. I had hit only five triples my entire career. I wasn’t hopeful. But in my fourth at-bat I hit the ball to dead center. I saw the fielder jump and I thought he was going to catch it. The ball hit his glove and bounced off into the perfect spot. I said to myself, “I ain’t stoppin’ for nothin’! This might be your only chance at this!”

NOBODY thought I’d get that triple. I think Jamie, who was watching the game back in the Bay Area, is the only one who thought I could do it. And she told me later she had to leave the room when I came to the plate. She says that every time she really wants something for me it doesn’t happen if she’s watching. Our phones went crazy. I had about 55 text messages waiting for me after the game, some from my old teammates in San Francisco.

I will never forget that moment for the rest of my life.

I know before the season is over, there will be more amazing moments. That’s how this team is.

Thanks for the kind words and comments. Feel free to ask questions and I’ll try to answer them in my next post.

See you at the park!