Tagged: Pudge Rodriguez
Texas Rangers Fan Fest 2015
I recently relocated from the Rio Grande Valley to the Austin area, so naturally when I had the chance, I somehow managed to bypass going to the Rangers’ Winter Caravan stop in Round Rock, just a 45 minute drive away. Instead, I chose to make the 3 hour plus drive to Arlington to attend the annual Rangers Fan Fest with my son, who lives in the area.
This was my second Fan Fest, having attended the 2011 gathering at the Arlington Convention Center just three months after the Rangers’ first ever World Series appearance. Fan Fest has gotten so big now that the Rangers have moved it to Globe Life Park, opening up the entire stadium to the fans.
Looking up to the top of Globe Life Park.
Being among the first 5,000 in line (waiting over an hour in 36 degree “comfort”), we each received 5 scratch-off lottery tickets for the chance to get an autograph from the Big 5: Prince Fielder, Shin-Soo Choo, Elvis Andrus, Adrian Beltre and Pudge Rodriguez. Unfortunately, only 750 of the 25,000 tickets distributed were winners. As you can see, I was not one of the lucky 750. My son, however, had a winner and got Prince Fielder’s autograph. His impression? “That guy has some GUNS!”
There were plenty of other autograph opportunities but they weren’t announced until just a few minutes before the session. I was originally in a line to get autographs from Rangers prospects Chi Chi Gonzalez and Spencer Patton but then saw an announcement that propelled me to leave my current location and go halfway around the ballpark (sorry Chi Chi and Spencer!). Thus I was fortunate enough to get Nick Tepesch to sign my Rangers cap and Matt Harrison to ink my 2010 AL Champions T-shirt.
Nick Tepesch Autograph
Matt Harrison Autograph
Then it was on to a Q&A session with Rangers GM Jon Daniels. It was still early so I got a front row seat and even got to ask him a couple of questions. First one: How many calls and texts does it take to complete a trade such as the one that netted the Rangers Yovani Gallardo from the Brewers? Answer: Sometimes just a few, sometimes a lot. Gallardo was just a few… and Daniels says Brewers GM Doug Melvin doesn’t text much, he prefers talking directly to people. Second question: With hundreds of players in the minor league system, how do the Rangers communicate with them? Is there an employee newsletter or something? Answer: Not really. The managers, coaches and scouts grade every player in every game and share the info with each other but the players usually only know what’s really going on by following each other on social media to find out who’s moving up, getting traded, released, etc. Interesting tidbit: No matter how many people are in the room, Daniels looks the person who asked the question in the eye throughout his answer. Impressive!
Rangers GM Jon Daniels with Rangers announcer/former GM/former player Tom Grieve.
It was good to get to Fan Fest early because after a couple of hours, it became clear to us there would be no other autographs to get. At 11:30 more than 200 people were in line at one location for a 2 pm autograph session and the same held true at all the autograph locations. Thus we decided to walk around and see the other sites.
The home clubhouse was open but the line was too long. There was no waiting to get to the hitting cages, though. There we saw this “Hitter’s Prayer” on the wall and a couple of cracked batting practice bats, including this custom Adrian Beltre model.
The Boy With The Beltre Bat
The Hitter’s Prayer
We also attended a Q&A with new Rangers skipper Jeff Bannister. He’s not the charismatic rah-rah type like Ron Washington, but he’s just as passionate about the game. He’s a little more sabermetric oriented than Wash and, unlike his predecessor, is unlikely to bunt a lot in the early innings. The cancer survivor Bannister’s mantra, which got a lot of crowd applause, was “Never Ever Quit!”
New skipper Jeff Bannister (with radio announcer Matt Hicks)
Other items of interest. As I was walking out of the Rangers Hall of Fame, I suddenly realized the newest member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, Rangers radio announcer Eric Nadel, was right behind me. Nadel stands 6-1 or 6-2 so I told him he was taller than I expected. His response: “I sound shorter on the radio.”
In the gift shop, we noticed then Rangers still have shirts for one of their minor league players who likely will never face major league pitching, or minor league pitching for that matter: current Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson.
Russell Wilson has a future with the Rangers if he ever decides to give up his day job.
Strangest sight of all: I’m used to seeing tarp over the infield grass and dirt during a rain delay but, due to the mid-30’s early morning weather, I don’t think I’d ever seen tarp over ALL of the grass on the field!
That’s a lot of tarp!
Now the only bad thing is there’s still over two months to go before the Season Opener. Thanks to Fan Fest, I’m ready NOW!
A Father’s Day Story 2001
Author’s Note: This will be a multiple-post day. Since it’s Father’s Day, I thought I’d re-share, for those who missed it, my Father’s Day post from 2010. Happy Father’s Day, one and all!
June 15th, 2001. It was a Friday. Mrs. 40 Year Ranger Fan (although she hyphenates the name Mrs.Mariner Fan-40 Year Ranger Fan) approached me as we were preparing to sleep for the night.
“Honey, you know my friend (name withheld to protect the guilty)? She had a special piece of furniture made for her father for Father’s Day. It’s a guy who lives north of town and it’s a pretty heavy piece. She wants to bring it home and get it in the house before her father wakes up so it’ll be there for Father’s Day.” She then stumbled through the next sentence. “I… I kind of… Well, I kind of promised her we’d help her pick it up.”
“OK,” I said, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
It did.
“We’re going to have to go over to her house at 5 AM. Don’t be upset, baby. She’s done a lot for us and I want to help her!”
“OK,” I said, already thinking about setting the alarm for 4 AM on Father’s Day.
Sunday arrives. The alarm rings at 4 AM. Groggily I take a shower and get dressed. The hot water doesn’t even begin to wake me up. We drive over to the friend’s house. When we arrive, all the lights are out at her house. Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The wife gets out the cell phone and calls. No answer on her friend’s cell phone. “I hate the idea of waking her father up, but I need to call her home number,” she says. Apparantly somebody answers because see tells me, “She overslept. She’ll be right out.”
I’m falling asleep in the car.
Eventually the friend comes out, carrying her 4-year old son and some other stuff. I’m not paying much attention. I’m just sleepy.
The missus tells me to get into her friend’s car. I comply. The friend puts the 4-year old in the back seat with me. He’s as sleepy as I am. While I note it, I don’t think anything of the fact that the friend’s mother and father are standing right there on the front step. I may have thought that the surprise for her dad must be ruined since he’s seeing her leave, but that was about it. I pay no attention to what the wife is doing as she’s putting things in the trunk.
We depart in the friend’s vehicle and head north. We reach the next town and continue heading north. After 15 minutes or so we have cleared the northern border of said next town. Wearily, I ask, “Where is this piece of furniture, in Falfurrias (about an hour away)? My wife turns around in the front seat.
“Actually, we’re not going to get a piece of furniture.”
“What are we doing then?”
“We’re going to Houston to see the Astros-Rangers game.”
“Yeah, right. Houston is six hours away.”
“I’m serious, baby. We’re going to Houston to see the Astros-Rangers game!”
“I can’t go to a game. I don’t have the right clothes to go to a ball game! I need a jersey and a cap”
“I already packed it. I can’t believe I pulled this off. You didn’t have a clue!”
She was right. I didn’t have a clue.
We drove six hours to Houston to what was still Enron Field at the time. On the way, I opened Father’s Day cards from my wife and our one remaining son at home. My son gave me a book on major league ballparks. When the 4-year old woke up we got acquainted. I was glad to talk to someone who was as clueless as I was.
We met up with a friend of the friend in front of the ballpark and took our seats, upper deck on the third base side. The Rangers started Darren Oliver against the Astros Scott Elarton. We scored a run in the top of the first on a Ruben Sierra sac fly, but the ‘stros came back in the bottom of the first with a solo shot by Craig Biggio.
Biggio struck again with his second homer of the game in the third inning. It stayed 2-1 Astros until the top of the 5th when Pudge Rodriguez knocked in a run with a single and Alex Rodriguez followed with a three-run shot to make it 5-2. A 9th inning sac fly by Bo Porter (who I don’t even remember) closed out the scoring and the Rangers won for me on Father’s Day 6-2.
After the game, we started filing out of the park. We were close to the wall looking out over the street and the 4-year-old accidentally drops his souvenier 12-inch bat over the side. Thank goodness it didn’t hit anyone! We drove home and I was back at work the next day following a one day 12-hour road trip with a three hour game in between.
While it was the first time I discovered that I don’t recover as quickly from one day road trips as I used to, it was an unforgettable Father’s Day surprise. Thanks, honey!
The Awesome Mr. Hamilton
Earlier this season, a perfect game was thrown. It was the 21st in major league history.
Tonight in Baltimore, Josh Hamilton accomplished something even rarer. The 2010 AL MVP became just the 14th player in the modern era and the 16th overall to club four home runs in one game. There was little doubt about any of the shots, though Adam Jones gamely made an attempt at catching the first one. Hamilton’s 18 total bases for the game set a new AL record.
If you watch the replays of Hamilton’s night, you’ll see he missed a record-breaking fifth home run by just a little bit, slamming a double in the only at bat in which he didn’t clear the fences.
Hamilton connected off Jake Arrieta. He blasted one off Arietta again. Zach Phillips? See ya. Former teammate Darren O’Day? Let’s hit the record tying home run off you.
By the time the night was over, Hamilton had knocked in eight of the Rangers 10 runs, totally eclipsing Neftali Feliz’ pretty dominant six inning, eight strikeout performance.
Here are the sad things about this game. On a personal note, Ranger Son-In-Law and Ranger Grandson are going to be at Camden Yards tomorrow night. What memories those two would have shared had they been there tonight. On a broader note, they weren’t the only ones not there. Unbelievably, the two best teams in the American League right now record-wise met in front of a mere 11,263 paying customers. I know the Birds have not been a good team for a few years now, but that is a really horrible turnout, even if the weather was threatening.
Also overshadowed by Hamilton’s accomplishment: Nelson Cruz had his second straight 3-hit game. Adrian Beltre had a home run of his own. And Elvis Andrus was on base for every one of Hamilton’s homers, scoring ahead of him each time.
One record Hamilton did NOT set- the Rangers single game RBI record. Hamilton knocked in 8 Tuesday night. The record is still held by Pudge Rodriguez with 9.
The win evens up this road trip record to 4-4 with two games remaining. Considering it started out 2-4, it could have been a disastrous road trip. Instead, now it could still end up a winning one, thanks to the awesome Mr. Hamilton.
The Shlabotnik Non-Stars: Bobby Witt, RHP
In honor of Joe Shlabotnik, Charlie Brown’s favorite player in the Peanuts comic strip, here is the latest player in Rangers history who we rooted for even when things didn’t work out.
Here’s the Shlabotnik Non-Star mentioned most often in my blog posts, almost always as a point of comparison to the latest Rich Harden outing.
Bobby Witt grew up in the backyard of the Washington Senators in Arlington, Virginia. Maybe it was that connection that kept Bobby from signing with the Cincinnati Reds when they drafted him out of high school in 1982. Regardless, he decided to go to the University of Oklahoma instead, where the Rangers made him their first round draft choice (and #3 pick overall) in 1985.
Bobby’s first year in the minors was with AA Tulsa in 1985, where he went 0-6 with a 6.43 ERA. This was the beginning of the Bobby Valentine era in Arlington. In 1986, Valentine decided it was time to start over from scratch and it really showed in the pitching staff. Despite a minor league career that comprised only 11 games and no wins, Bobby Witt made it to the Rangers in 1986, joining a starting staff that comprised one veteran (Charlie Hough) with four rookies (Witt, Kevin Brown, Edwin Correa and Jose Guzman).
The first four years of his career saw Witt lead the American League three times- in walks. He also led the league twice- in wild pitches. And he led the league once- in earned runs allowed. Needless to say watching Bobby Witt was an adventure, and that’s without even considering the games Witt started that Mitch Williams then came in to pitch. Yeesh!
Despite these adventures in pitching, Witt actually managed a winning record in 1986, going 11-9 with a 5.48 ERA during the Rangers surprise run to an 87-75 finish. Mostly, though, Witt was the consummate .500 pitcher, plus or minus a win throughout most of his Rangers career. He followed up his 11-9 with 8-10 records in ’87 and ’88 and 12-13 in 1989.
“Promise” is the word most used about Witt in these early years. You got the feeling that one day Witt, as with all the young Rangers, would figure it out, put it all together and propel the Rangers to greatness. In 1990, Rangers fans thought that had finally happened with Bobby Witt.
The season started out in typical Witt fashion. A good game here, a couple of bad games there, control issues just about every game. By the time June was almost at a close, Bobby sat at 3-8 on the year with a 4.97 ERA. On June 28th, Witt faced the Twins in the Kingdome, allowing one run in seven innings in picking up the win. He followed it up with a complete game win over the Orioles. After a no decision against the Red Sox, Witt then ripped off seven wins in seven starts with three complete games and four double digit strikeout games. From June 28th through the end of the season, Witt went 14-2 with a 2.40 ERA and a 12-game winning streak. Singlehandedly, Bobby Witt kept the Rangers in the AL West race, though they would end the season just four games over .500 at 83-79.
Bobby Witt ended the 1990 season with a 17-10 record and a career low 3.36 ERA. The sky was now the limit for the righthander with “promise”.
1990 turned out to be a tease. It was by far Witt’s best season in the majors and he never came close to the dominance he showed that year. In 1991, Witt went 3-7 with a 6.09 ERA. In 1992 he was 9-13 with a 4.46 ERA. The Rangers were out of the pennant race at 65-69, Bobby Valentine had been fired, Ruben Sierra was unhappy and had regressed. The division rival A’s were in the pennant race, however, so Texas made a bold move. The Rangers sent Witt packing to the Oakland A’s, along with Jeff Russell and Ruben Sierra, in exchange for Jose Canseco.
Witt spent the rest of the ’92 season, along with 1993 and 1994, with Oakland where he pitched like, well, Bobby Witt, going a combined 23-24 with an ERA in the upper 4’s. Witt signed as a free agent with the Florida Marlins. In 19 starts, Witt was 2-7 with a reasonable (for him) 3.90 ERA when the Marlins traded him back to Texas for Wilson Heredia and Scott Podsednik (bet many of you didn’t know he was originally in the Rangers organization). Down the stretch Witt was 3-4.
1996 was the year of the Rangers’ first division title and trip to the playoffs. You could say Bobby Witt was a major factor in that success. He did go 16-12 on the year but that’s as much a testament to the Rangers offense, which now featured the killer trio of Palmeiro, Rodriguez and Gonzalez. Witt’s ERA was a robust 5.41 for the division winners. Witt’s only playoff appearance for the Rangers was in ’96 when he gave up three runs in 3 1/3 innings against the Yankees.
Bobby followed up the ’96 campaign with a 12-12/ 4.82 ERA mark in 1997. After resigning with the Rangers for 1998, he was 5-4 with a nasty 7.66 ERA when the Rangers sent him to the St. Louis Cardinals. He would never pitch for the Rangers again. Witt finished his career going 7-15 for Tampa Bay in 1999, 0-1 for Cleveland in 2000 and 4-1 for Arizona in 2001. Astonishingly enough, Witt got a World Series championship ring in his final year in the majors, throwing one shutout inning for the Diamondbacks against the Yankees.
Bobby Witt ended his career with a 142-157 record and a career ERA of 4.83. For his Rangers career, Witt was 104-104, 4.85.
Other career highlights: With Oakland, Witt had a one-hitter that would have been a no-hitter were it not for a blown call in the 6th inning. He is also the first American League pitcher to have hit a home run since 1972 when he hit one in interleague play against the LA Dodgers in 1997 while a member of the Rangers.
16 Year Ranger Fan
So I have been given the weighty task of carrying on in my father’s footsteps for the next couple of days. As such I felt that as 40 Year Ranger Fan had done, I should share a little about my history of being a Rangers fan.
A Father’s Day Story 2001
June 15th, 2001. It was a Friday. Mrs. 40 Year Ranger Fan (although she hyphenates the name Mrs.Mariner Fan-40 Year Ranger Fan) approached me as we were preparing to sleep for the night.
“Honey, you know my friend (name withheld to protect the guilty)? She had a special piece of furniture made for her father for Father’s Day. It’s a guy who lives north of town and it’s a pretty heavy piece. She wants to bring it home and get it in the house before her father wakes up so it’ll be there for Father’s Day.” She then stumbled through the next sentence. “I… I kind of… Well, I kind of promised her we’d help her pick it up.”
“OK,” I said, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
It did.
“We’re going to have to go over to her house at 5 AM. Don’t be upset, baby. She’s done a lot for us and I want to help her!”
“OK,” I said, already thinking about setting the alarm for 4 AM on Father’s Day.
Sunday arrives. The alarm rings at 4 AM. Groggily I take a shower and get dressed. The hot water doesn’t even begin to wake me up. We drive over to the friend’s house. When we arrive, all the lights are out at her house. Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The wife gets out the cell phone and calls. No answer on her friend’s cell phone. “I hate the idea of waking her father up, but I need to call her home number,” she says. Apparantly somebody answers because see tells me, “She overslept. She’ll be right out.”
I’m falling asleep in the car.
Eventually the friend comes out, carrying her 4-year old son and some other stuff. I’m not paying much attention. I’m just sleepy.
The missus tells me to get into her friend’s car. I comply. The friend puts the 4-year old in the back seat with me. He’s as sleepy as I am. While I note it, I don’t think anything of the fact that the friend’s mother and father are standing right there on the front step. I may have thought that the surprise for her dad must be ruined since he’s seeing her leave, but that was about it. I pay no attention to what the wife is doing as she’s putting things in the trunk.
We depart in the friend’s vehicle and head north. We reach the next town and continue heading north. After 15 minutes or so we have cleared the northern border of said next town. Wearily, I ask, “Where is this piece of furniture, in Falfurrias (about an hour away)? My wife turns around in the front seat.
“Actually, we’re not going to get a piece of furniture.”
“What are we doing then?”
“We’re going to Houston to see the Astros-Rangers game.”
“Yeah, right. Houston is six hours away.”
“I’m serious, baby. We’re going to Houston to see the Astros-Rangers game!”
“I can’t go to a game. I don’t have the right clothes to go to a ball game! I need a jersey and a cap”
“I already packed it. I can’t believe I pulled this off. You didn’t have a clue!”
She was right. I didn’t have a clue.
We drove six hours to Houston to what was still Enron Field at the time. On the way, I opened Father’s Day cards from my wife and our one remaining son at home. My son gave me a book on major league ballparks. When the 4-year old woke up we got acquainted. I was glad to talk to someone who was as clueless as I was.
We met up with a friend of the friend in front of the ballpark and took our seats, upper deck on the third base side. The Rangers started Darren Oliver against the Astros Scott Elarton. We scored a run in the top of the first on a Ruben Sierra sac fly, but the ‘stros came back in the bottom of the first with a solo shot by Craig Biggio.
Biggio struck again with his second homer of the game in the third inning. It stayed 2-1 Astros until the top of the 5th when Pudge Rodriguez knocked in a run with a single and Alex Rodriguez followed with a three-run shot to make it 5-2. A 9th inning sac fly by Bo Porter (who I don’t even remember) closed out the scoring and the Rangers won for me on Father’s Day 6-2.
After the game, we started filing out of the park. We were close to the wall looking out over the street and the 4-year-old accidentally drops his souvenier 12-inch bat over the side. Thank goodness it didn’t hit anyone! We drove home and I was back at work the next day following a one day 12-hour road trip with a three hour game in between.
While it was the first time I discovered that I don’t recover as quickly from one day road trips as I used to, it was an unforgettable Father’s Day surprise. Thanks, honey!
Honoring A Quiet Hero: Rangers 6, Marlins 3
In the annals of Texas Rangers history, this trade may be in the top five for a long long time.
It was the July 19, 200 trade that sent pitcher Esteban Loaiza to the Toronto Blue Jays for pitcher Darwin Cubillan. The Rangers wanted another player to make the deal happen. The Blue Jays gave the Rangers a choice of two players. The Rangers decided on Michael Young.
Ten years and 1,748 hits later, Michael Young is now the Rangers all-time hits leader, passing Pudge Rodriguez in Wednesday night’s win over the Marlins.
The team record-tying hit was the same as Pudge’s last Rangers hit, a double to right center field. Fittingly, the record-breaker was a single that plated two runs and put the game out of reach for the Fish.
Who knew that a four hit night from Josh Hamilton is one of the last things people will remember about this game. Or that this game ends a three-game stretch in which Rangers pitchers have given up a total of ten hits. Or that Julio Borbon not only got his first home run of the season but his third walk as well.
All will be forgotten in short order because of what will be remembered. Michael Young has been the ultimate team player for the Rangers. He arrived as a second baseman and, while the fans liked him, probably didn’t cement their love until the day A-Rod was traded to the Yankees in exchange for second baseman Alfonso Soriano. That day, Michael Young went to manager Buck Showalter and volunteered to move to shortstop, where he thrived for five years.
During that time, Young hit. And hit. And hit some more. From 2003-2008 only Ichiro had more hits than Michael Young. He has a game-winning hit in not one, but two All-Star games. You rarely hear him complain. Even his brief demand to be traded after the Rangers brass announced Elvis Andrus as the new shortstop in 2009, sending Young to third, was mostly because management hadn’t talked with him first before making the announcement.
Best of all, Young is a rarity. Despite playing for a team that hasn’t whiffed the playoffs since his arrival, he is loyal to the core. After recording his record-breaking hit, he let Rangers fans know he wants to finish his big league career here. He is a Texas Ranger from beginning to end.
Even if he gets to 3,000 hits, Michael Young is not a lock for the Hall of Fame. Playing three different positions over a career may actually hurt his chances at getting a plaque in Cooperstown.
He will have a plaque at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington at the earliest possible date after he hangs them up. I hope that won’t be for at least another five years.
Pressure: Rangers 4, Brewers 3
“And here you are in the 9th, with two out and three men on. Nowhere to look but inside where we all respond to pressure.”
-Billy Joel, “Pressure”
That was the 9th inning in a nutshell Saturday night, except the bases were loaded with only one out. A game well in hand was on the verge of being frittered away and maybe even lost. Scott Feldman had pitched six of the most nail-biting shutout innings you’ll ever see and left with a comfortable lead.
Darren Oliver pitched a stronger 7th. Frank Francisco allowed a run in the 8th, but the Rangers still led 4-1 going to the bottom of the 9th. Neftali Feliz time.
Only this time, Neftali couldn’t get it done. He got the first out in short order but couldn’t get another one. By the time Feliz left the game, it was 4-2 and should have been 4-3 except the third Brewers run was inexplicably held at third when he could have scored.
Ron Washington critics should now heap praise on the Rangers skipper for seeing Feliz didn’t have his best stuff and getting Chris Ray up in the bullpen as quickly as he did. Ray came in with runners on the corners and one out. A grounder to third nearly ended the game on a double play but the batter beat the throw to first, scoring the third run. Ray then had to pitch to the always dangerous Prince Fielder and got him to fly to Josh Hamilton and end the game in front of a sellout crowd of Brewers fans. You never heard such a liatny of language coming from these lips as I spewed through every agonizing hit, walk, and pitch of the bottom of the 9th. Nor have you heard a louder sigh of relief than when Ray got that last out to seal the win.
This is the type of road win the Rangers need- a game with everything on the line in front of a hostile crowd. Maybe at the end of the season we’ll look back and see this one as a turning point.
Meanwhile, Scott Feldman pitched in trouble all night. I think the Brewers had runners in scoring position in every inning Feldman pitched. Every time, Feldman got tough when he needed to, ending with six shutout innings and his fourth win of the year.
Josh Hamilton had another big fly. He and Michael Young are just on fire lately. Young is also just two hits away from tying Pudge Rodriguez’ Rangers record for most career hits. Will he tie it today? It wouldn’t surprise me, although I predict it’ll happen on Tuesday in Flordida.
David Murphy was the star of the game for me. Murphy is never going to be Mr. Graceful in the outfield, yet time and time again he makes great plays that just look awkward. Murph made a catch Saturday that would have been a triple if it had gotten by him and he robbed a few Mariners of hits in CJ Wilson’s last start. One day he may be become another Shlabotnik Non-Star, an integral part of a team but not one of the main players most fans root for.
Worry for Sunday’s game- no Feliz, no Francisco. They threw too many pitches Saturday. If there’s a save situation today, it’ll probably be up to to one of the Darrens, Oliver or O’Day, to come through.
Angels keep winning and are still breathing down our necks. It would be nice to put another game of distance between us and them.
Nowhere to look but inside where we all respond to pressure.
The Shlabotnik Non-Stars: George Wright, OF
In honor of good ol’ Charlie Brown, the Texas Rangers team full of high hopes and low results, but loved by the die-hard fan anyway!
Some of the positions on the Rangers Non-Stars team were hard to fill because, believe it or not, the Rangers/Senators have had a history of exceptional players at those positions. Specifically, a lot of years in team history were filled with Pudge Rodriguez and Jim Sundberg behind the plate. Buddy Bell, Bill Madlock and Dean Palmer spent quite a few years on the hot corner. And recent Rangers history has seen quite a bit of quality at first base with Rafael Palmeiro, Will Clark and Mark Texeira.
When you get to the outfield, it becomes a lot easier to pick among the Non-Stars. For every Juan Gonzalez there were dozens of Oddibe McDowells. We once had Ruben Sierra but countered with more Pete Incaviglias and yes, even Tom Grieves, to mention.
So it is with pride that we hand out the first outfield slot on the Non-Stars team to George Wright.
Huh?
Exactly. Diehard fan as I’ve been for 40 years, George Wright barely made a blip on my radar when I think of all the years I’ve rooted for the Rangers. Yet Wright not only played for the Rangers, he was a starter for two years and one of the main guys off the bench for three more. Still, if I were to come face to face with him tomorrow, I probably wouldn’t know who he was.
George Wright was drafted out of high school by the Rangers in the 4th round of the 1977 draft. Hailing from Oklahome City, Wright wound his way through the minors from ’77 to ’81. Following his 1981 campaign at AA Tulsa, where he hit .260 with 11 HR, 58 RBI and 22 steals, the Rangers felt he was ready for the big time.
Wright mostly manned center field in his rookie year, when he played in 150 games and came to bat 599 times, mostly as the lead-off man in the Rangers order. So he must have walked a lot, right? Nope, only 30 walks. Stolen bases? Guess again. He was caught stealing on 7 of 10 attempts. Scored a lot of runs? Wrong again. He only had 69 for the year. And he batted a merely mortal .264 with a .305 On-Base Percentage. No wonder the Rangers were a dismal 64-98 under managers Don Zimmer and Darrel Johnson.
As if to prove 1982 wasn’t a fluke (!), Wright played in all 162 games for the Rangers in 1983, all but two as the starting center fielder. New manager Doug Rader decided maybe lead-off wasn’t the best place in the batting order for George, so he rotated between 3rd and 8th in the order throughout the year. Actually, Wright’s sophomore year wasn’t half-bad for the Rangers. He improved his average to .276, with 18 HR and 80 RBI and was feared enough to have even garnered nine intentional walks. In fact, Wright finished 24th in the AL MVP voting.
In 1984, Wright had a hard time living up to the new expectations from his earlier success. He got off to a horrible start in ’84, bottoming out at a low .185 average by the end of May. In mid-June he was sent back down to Oklahoma City for a month to find his stroke again. When he returned to the club in July, the Rangers saw a vastly better hitter. Wright brought his average up from .203 on June 9th to an end of season .243, while dividing his time equally between center field and right field.
1985 was a mirror image of 1984, except it was even worse. This time, Wright was hitting a feeble .175 at the end of May when he was once again returned to Oklahoma City for some seasoning. This time, he was gone for a quarter of the season and was still only hitting .254 in the minors when the Rangers called him back up. This time, Wright didn’t really recover, ending the season with a paltry .190 average. The power he had shown just two seasons earlier had also vanished. Now he hit only two home runs for the Rangers compared to the 18 of 1983.
You would think by now the Rangers would have someone new in their sights for the outfield (true), but Wright still managed to stick with the Rangers one more year. Now he was strictly a utility player. While he managed to appear in 105 games, over a third of those appearances were just as a pinch hitter and he started only 45 times in the outfield, replaced as a fulltime starter by the incomparable Oddibe McDowell (at least everybody hoped he’d be incomparable at the time). In his final full year, Wright hit .202 for the Rangers.
Still managing to hold a big league job, Wright once again stuck with the Rangers to start the ’86 season, but only played in 49 games for Bobby Valentine before being shipped mid-season to the Montreal Expos, where he played the final 56 games of his major league career. After being without a job in 1988, Wright bopped around in the minors from 1989-1991 in the Giants, White Sox and Royals farm systems before calling it a career.
Wright’s career line in five seasons with Texas: .248 BA, 42 HR, 203 RBI
One Strike Away...Twice! 