Challenge accepted.

With apologies to Nellie, Raffy, and Cliff, I give you my 26-year, 26-man Rangers roster supreme — and a defense for some of my choices.

Thanks to one of you, I was challenged to take on Baseball Prospectus author Russell A. Carleton’s puzzle: to put together the most formidable 26-man Rangers roster I can, with one trick: it has to include one player — no more and no fewer — from each of the last 26 seasons.

This is the type of contest — you know, with my party animal DNA and all — that I can’t resist.

It’s not an easy exercise. Do you start the process with the superstar players, finding their best season and plugging them in? Or with the franchise’s worst seasons since 1998, to make sure we find a worthy representative from those forgettable clubs, and go from there? Either way, lots of line-throughs. Including at least a couple players whom I couldn’t find room for at all. Someone doesn’t get to be the 49ers’ all-time quarterback.

Here’s one man’s result. Please feel free to chime in with your objections and improvements in the Comments.