The inside story of the Texas Rangers’ can’t-miss prospect who did

Being a first base coach is one of the least stressful jobs in baseball.

Bucky Dent was a substitute first base coach for the Rangers on June 2, 2000. Ruben Mateo broke his femur trying to beat out a grounder to second. Matee was the heir to Juan Gonzalez. The 20th anniversary of the injury approaches. He did not play again. The Rangers were not the same team after that. They are now a different franchise.

Ruben Mateo was signed by the Texas Rangers for $4,000 in 1994. He was considered a top prospect, but he didn't pan out. His story drifts across six MLB organizations and four countries. It includes three years of complete disillusionment and a weight gain of 260 pounds. He played for LSU and the Olympic team. The former Rangers assistant general manager Omar Minaya says Matei's throwing was the best he'd ever seen. Warren Morris played with Mateos for a half-dozen seasons in the majors. They were both part of LSU's 1996 World Series team and won a college championship.

Mateo had a history of nagging injuries. He was leading AL rookies in batting average entering play on June 2, 2000. His right leg landed on the bag and broke a femur. The Rangers had invested in Alex Rodriguez and a bad pitching staff. They tried to rescue the season by tapping into any residual value Mateo might have had. Jim Bowden gambled on low-risk free agent contract for Ron Gant coming off a broken leg. He also pitched Melvin on including Edwin Encarnacion. By the time Encaracion started a 15-year big league career, Bowgen was in Washington and Melvin in Milwaukee.

Mateo played in South Korea, the Atlantic League and Mexico. He was warned he was in danger of doing irreparable damage to his back. Mateo went to Ciudad del Carmen to take a look at the operation and lost all the weight. Now in his mid-30s, he hit at least 20 homers and .300 in each of the next three years playing solely as a designated hitter. His teammate Josh Fields was trying to come back from elbow issues. He is now an insurance agent in Oklahoma.

Ruben Mateo is a highly-rated prospect for the Texas Rangers. He lives in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic, with his 16-year-old son Ruben Jr., who is an outfielder. Rubens Jr. was born in Cincinnati and is now a U.S. citizen. Next year, Rubeny Jr will come to the U.,S., to play high school baseball.