Kinsler owes much to his father

Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler said he learned plenty of valuable lessons from his father.

"Mostly discipline and how to lecture your child," Kinsler said.

He was joking. Kinsler, now in his sixth season with the Rangers, owes much to his father, Howard Kinsler.

"I think honestly, what he really taught me is that whatever you do, you do it to the best of your ability," Kinsler said in a Father's Day reflection on growing up as the son of a prison warden in Tucson, Ariz.

"I don't think I really brought that with me into school, but in everything else I did, I did just that," Kinsler said.

Kinsler's father was an athlete, but also studied psychology in college. Both came in handy in working with his son as both his father and Little League coach. But Kinsler's favorite memory is of his father working with him one day in Tucson's Dennis Weaver Park. It was just the two of them in a typical father-son outing.

"He was hitting ground balls to me when I was about 10 years old," Kinsler said. "He was hitting them hard, smashing them at me. There was this old man walking his dog that came by. He stopped and watched and asked my dad how old I was.

"My dad said I was 10. The guy was blown away. I can clearly remember the pride in my dad's face and how proud he was of me. I'll never forget that as long as I live."

Howard had much to be proud of, as his son was a star athlete at Tucson's Canyon del Oro High School. But dad had a big part in that, beyond making sure the Kinsler family went to Padres games at Jack Murphy Stadium during their vacations to San Diego, and being there when Kinsler made his Major League debut at the Ballpark in Arlington in 2006.

"He was my coach all through Little League and in winter Pony League," Kinsler said. "He taught me pretty much everything. He was my coach up until high school, and even after that he enjoyed practicing with me.

"The thing that he taught me the most was confidence, confidence in yourself. ... Not just baseball-related, but anything in life, really. That rubbed off on me, and in baseball I was really able to use it. He's pretty smart in the psychology of sports, and I know he had a minor in psychology in college. He really helped me with the mental edge, playing the game with confidence and swagger."

Apparently so. Kinsler was asked how dad did as a Little League coach. Apparently they were quite successful.

"Oh yeah," Kinsler said. "We won. I always won."

T.R. Sullivan is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Postcards from Elysian Fields, and follow him on Twitter @Sullivan_Ranger. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its