Maybe more significant was a return to some of the mental focus he had lost along the way.

”Every pitch Benny Snell Jr. Jersey , each pitch, is the last pitch of my baseball career … I think that way,” Choo said.

After a slow start to this season, Choo realized he had gotten away from what he refers to as the ”sniper focus” he wants to have every time he goes to the plate for the Texas Rangers.

Choo now has a 38-game on-base streak. It is the longest of his 14-year big league career, and the second-longest this season behind a 40-gamer by Philadelphia’s Odubel Herrera.

”The physical side of it is a byproduct of him making a conscious effort to get back to who he is, what his foundation has been as a hitter, an on-base guy first,” Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. ”When he’s doing that and he’s seeing pitches, he’s focused in more on driving the ball, that he gets to hit his pitch. He’s really good at it.”

With three singles on Monday night, including the tiebreaking RBI hit in a 7-4 win over San Diego, Choo has the longest on-base streak for Texas since Otis Nixon’s 44 games in a row in 1995. Julio Franco’s 46-gamer in 1993 is the franchise record.

Choo was hitting .239 after going 0 for 4 with three strikeouts May 12 at Houston, along with a .316 on-base percentage.

Since then, the outfielder and designated hitter has 48 hits and 37 walks in 38 games – reaching base an average of 2.2 times each game during his streak. That has raised his batting average to .285 and increased his on-base percentage 79 points.

”He sticks to his approach more than anything. He doesn’t really care who is on the mound,” said Delino DeShields Zach Gentry Jersey , the young center fielder whose locker is next to Choo’s. ”He knows himself, he’s done it for a long time. He knows when he’s getting away from that and it’s an easy adjustment for him to make.”

DeShields said Choo keeps things ”really simple” and sticks to his routine.

For Choo, that includes almost always being the first player in the clubhouse – whether before sunrise at spring training or around lunchtime before night games during the season.

Banister remembers showing up at the team’s complex around 5 a.m. one day early during the manager’s first spring with the team in 2015. Choo was already there.

”Next few days we got there at the same time and then one day I got up earlier for some reason and beat him to the ballpark,” Banister said. ”I didn’t beat him to the ballpark the next day.”

Choo, in his fifth season with Texas after playing for Seattle, Cleveland and Cincinnati, is also tidy. The two stalls he occupies in the home clubhouse are organized, including the array of batting gloves stacked neatly and organized by color. He knows where everything is because it all has a specific spot – and says it’s the same at his house.

”He’s real particular,” DeShields said. ”He packs his own bag. … He always looks nice. It’s just how he is. He’s a professional. Whatever you define a professional to be, that’s him.”

Choo will turn 36 on July 13, four days before the All-Star Game. He has never been an All-Star before but is a strong candidate to represent the Rangers as a first-timer.

Banister said Choo certainly has played to a level to be considered for the American League squad in Washington next month.

”This is a great teammate. He really is. This is a guy who cares about every player in that locker room. He cares about the game. A lot,” Banister said. ”The respect for the game of baseball, how it’s played, the look of it, the players Nick Bosa Jersey , the style of play, the way you should play the game.”

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CINCINNATI (AP) — No quarterback. No linebacker, either. Instead, the Bengals revisited their years-long effort to fix their offensive line with their first pick in the draft.The Bengals took Alabama tackle Jonah Williams 11th overall Thursday night, right after their biggest rival swooped in and got a linebacker they valued. The Steelers traded with the Broncos to get Michigan’s Devin Bush at No. 10.“We suspected that’s what they were going to do,” first-year head coach Zac Taylor said. “When it’s done a spot ahead of you, whether it’s a division rival or not, there’s a guy we were targeting there at 11.”Bush would have replaced Vontaze Burfict and filled the biggest hole on what was the league’s worst defense last season. Instead, the Bengals took an offensive tackle for the second time in four years. Williams was the first offensive tackle taken in the draft.“Picking at 11, it could have sorted out in a lot of different ways,” Taylor said.The biggest intrigue with Cincinnati was whether the Bengals would go after a quarterback in the first round for Taylor to develop in his system. But Andy Dalton has two years left on his deal, and owner Mike Brown speaks glowingly of the 31-year-old quarterback.The Bengals passed on a quarterback — for now — to upgrade a line that’s been a work in progress.They thought they were set when they got tackles Cedric Ogbuehi and Jake Fisher with their first two picks in 2015, but they didn’t pan out and the Bengals parted ways with them after last season.Cincinnati went a different route, getting left tackle Cordy Glenn from Buffalo last year and signing right tackle Bobby Hart, who got an extension after last season. The Bengals also drafted center Billy Price from Ohio State with their first pick last year.Williams gives them some options for next season. They could move Glenn to guard or use Williams at a spot other than left tackle at the outset.“That’s fine L.J. Collier Jersey ,” Williams said on a conference call. “Hey, they picked me.”Williams has never been to Cincinnati, but he’s aware of the team’s transition on offense. The Bengals are working under their fourth offensive coordinator in five years. Taylor, who was the Rams‘ quarterbacks coach, plans to call the plays.“With coach Taylor being an offensive-minded guy and all the success he’s had with teams, I’m impressed with that,” Williams said. “I want to be part of that, the new-look Bengals.”The Bengals finished 26th on offense last season, a year after finishing last in the league. Dalton missed the last five games with a torn ligament in his right thumb, and receiver A.J. Green missed seven games with an injured toe. Both have fully recovered.Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins was available when the Bengals picked at No. 11. Washington took him with the 15th overall pick.Cincinnati still desperately needs a linebacker after releasing Burfict last month, a turning point for the franchise. Burfict had a subpar season that included another suspension and various injuries. He had no interceptions or sacks in seven games, prompting the Bengals to finally part ways.The defense was so atrocious that head coach Marvin Lewis fired coordinator Teryl Austin midway through the season and assumed the duties himself. A 6-10 finish — Cincinnati’s third straight without a winning record — led to Lewis’ ouster after 16 seasons in Cincinnati.