Texas Rangers (baseball)
{{MLB infobox |
name = Texas Rangers |
established = 1961 |
misc =
Based in Dallas/Fort Worth since 1972 |
logo = TexasRangers_100.png |
WS = (0) |
WORLD CHAMPIONS = None |
LEAGUE = AL |
P = (0) |
PENNANTS = None |
misc1 = |
OTHER PENNANTS = |
DIV = West |
DV = (3)
[1] |
Division Champs = 1999 • 1998 • 1996 |
misc5 = |
OTHER DIV CHAMPS = |
WC = (0) |
Wild Card = None |
misc6 =
[1] - In 1994, a players' strike wiped out the last eight weeks of the season and all post-season. Texas was in first place by two games in the West Division (despite being 10 games under .500) when play was stopped. No official titles were awarded in 1994. |
current league = American League |
y1 = 1961 |
division =
West Division |
y2 = 1972 |
misc2 =
**
East Division (
1969-
1971) |
nickname = Texas Rangers |
y3 = 1972 |
misc3 =
*Washington Senators (
1961-
1971) | ballpark =
Ameriquest Field in Arlington |
y4 = 1994 |
misc4 =
**a.k.a. Ballpark in Arlington (
1994-
2004)
*
Arlington Stadium (
1972-
1993)
*
RFK Stadium (Washington, DC) (
1962-
1971)
**a.k.a. D.C. Stadium (
1962)
*
Griffith Stadium (Washington, DC) (
1961) |
Uniform logo = Al 2005 texas 01.gif |
Retired numbers = 26
34 | Retired names =
Johnny OatesNolan Ryan♦ | Retired pos =
MGRP | Retired date = 2005
1996 |
misc7 = |
Team = Rangers |
Team1 = Rangers |
The
Texas Rangers are a
Major League Baseball team based in
Arlington, Texas, a suburb in the
Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. They are in the West Division of the
American League.
Washington Senators
|
President Richard Nixon throwing out the opening pitch for the Senators' season in April 1969; Senators manager Ted Williams is observing. |
When the original
Washington Senators moved to
Minnesota in 1960, Major League Baseball awarded a team to
Washington, D.C., giving it the name of the old franchise.
Elwood Richard Quesada lead the 10 men group that bought the franchise. In eleven seasons, the new
Washington Senators posted only one winning season (
1969).
Frank Howard was the team's most accomplished player. Hall of Famer
Ted Williams of
Boston Red Sox fame managed the team from 1969 to
1971, and moved with the franchise to Arlington,
Texas in
1972.
The team played its games at D.C. Stadium (renamed
Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in 1969) on East Capitol Street and the
Anacostia River.
Team uniform colors: Red, blue and white, with script "Senators" across the player's chest
Efforts to bring baseball to the Metroplex
In 1962 the American League began to entertain the idea of bringing a professional baseball team to the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
Charles O. Finley, the owner of the
Kansas City Athletics, sought to move his team to Dallas, but the idea was rebuffed by the other AL team owners.
In 1964, the 10,000-seat Turnpike Stadium was constructed in Arlington for the
minor-league Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs. The stadium, later renamed
Arlington Stadium, would eventually serve as the Rangers' first home stadium.
Meanwhile, the Senators received new ownership in 1968 in the form of
Bob Short, the Treasurer of the
Democratic National Committee. He sought to move the team from Washington. On
September 20,
1971, he got his wish, receiving approval from AL owners to move the franchise to Arlington for the 1972 season. Washington fans were outraged, leaving the team's public relations director, Ted Rodgers, with the unenviable task of putting a positive spin on such events as fans unfurling a giant banner that contained Short's name, preceded by a popular four-letter invective. A photo of the banner appeared on the front page of a DC newspaper the following day. Fan enmity was so great that in the team's final game in RFK Stadium on
September 30 against the
New York Yankees, the Senators were forced to
forfeit the game after angry fans stormed the field and damaged much of the stadium and playing surface.
First years in Texas
During the off-season, additions were made to Turnpike Stadium to increase its seating capacity, and it was officially renamed Arlington Stadium. Bob Short also announced that the franchise would be called the
Texas Rangers (following the lead of the previous Senators team, which had become the
Minnesota Twins). The team played its first game on
April 15, 1972, a 1-0 loss at the
California Angels. The next day, the Rangers defeated the Angels 5-1 for the team's first victory. The first home game was also against the Angels on
April 21. After the season, Ted Williams retired as manager.
Whitey Herzog was named the new manager, but he was replaced in the middle of the 1973 season by
Billy Martin.
In 1974, the Rangers began to come into their own as a team. They finished the season 84-76 and in second place behind the eventual
World Series champion
Oakland Athletics. (The 1974 Rangers are still the only MLB team to finish above .500 after two consecutive 100-loss seasons.)
Mike Hargrove was named AL Rookie of the Year, Billy Martin was named Manager of the Year,
Jeff Burroughs was named AL Most Valuable Player, and
Ferguson Jenkins was named the Comeback Player of the Year after winning a (still) club record 25 games. After a 44-51 start the following season, however, Martin was fired as the Rangers manager and replaced by
Frank Lucchesi.
The Rangers' first four seasons set what has become a pattern for the franchise -- cycles of poor to mediocre seasons, followed by an occasional year of near-success, falling off the following year, and then reverting to poor to mediocre seasons.
After excellent seasons between 1977-79, the Rangers came very close in clinching a playoff spot in the first half of
1981. However, Texas lost the game before the strike hit, and the
Oakland A's led the first-half Western Division by half-game. After 1981, the Rangers would not finish with a winning record for another five seasons. During this stretch, the Rangers made one of their worst (and most unpopular) trades ever, sending multi-
Gold Glove (and highly popular) catcher
Jim Sundberg to the
Milwaukee Brewers for future Brewers' manager
Ned Yost.
Valentine Era
Bobby Valentine, who would eventually become the Rangers' longest-serving manager at 1,186 games, became steward over an influx of talent in the team in the late 1980s and 1990s. The 1986 season's success was made possible with the help of rookies
Ruben Sierra and
Pete Incaviglia. However, the Rangers finished five games behind division-winning California. Signing 41-year-old star pitcher
Nolan Ryan prior to the 1989 season allowed Ryan to reach his 5,000th
strikeout, 300th
win and throw his sixth and seventh
no-hitters with the Rangers. Coupled with the powerful bats of
Juan González,
Rubén Sierra,
Julio Franco,
Harold Baines, and
Rafael Palmeiro and a pitching staff that also included
Charlie Hough,
Bobby Witt,
Kevin Brown, and
Kenny Rogers, fans expected much from the team. However, the team never improved past being average, and Valentine was let go during the 1992 season. One of the teams most popular players during this time was catcher
Geno Petralli.
The alleged "Texas Agreement" of 1986
In a 1990 book titled
The Impossible Takes A Little Longer sportswriter Phil Rogers alleged that on
May 19,
1986, with little fanfair, Rangers general manager
Tom Grieve and
Houston Astros general manager
Dick Wagner reached an agreement to always deal with each other first for experienced players. Rogers stated that the agreement was carried out in secret due to the fact it would likely have violated anti-collusion regulations and brought down the wrath of the commissioner's office. According to the allegations, the players involved sometimes did not come directly from one team to another. An alleged example was the case of
Denny Walling, the Astros third baseman from the 1980s along with
Phil Garner, who was given a spot on the
1991 Rangers' roster and allowed to have 44 at-bats. A story by Ivy McLemore in the
Houston Post on June 17, 1990 maintained that many of the allegations in Rogers' book were true.
Another alleged example was the Astros allowing former Rangers rookie sensation
Pete Incaviglia to make their team in 1992. He struggled in only 113 games with the Astros and was released. In 1994, Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams supposedly brought about the end of the secret deal when he exploded in the Astros bullpen (having previously started his career with the Rangers) by blowing so many saves that he was quickly discarded.
The Astros general manager during the Wild Thing saga,
Bill Wood, publicly stated he would not be bound by any such arrangement. The Rangers are alleged to have responded by refusing to trade first baseman Jack Daugherty to the Astros. In
1998 Pete Incaviglia supposedly invoked an obscure clause in the agreement and was able to garner 16 at-bats in the later part of the 1998 Houston Astros season. At this point
Major League Baseball is alleged to have stepped in and banned the "Texas Agreement." To this day both Tom Grieve and Dick Wagner deny that any such agreement took place.
Other notable players alleged to have been part of the "Texas Agreement" over the years and who have played for Texas and Houston include
Buddy Bell,
Dickie Thon,
Nolan Ryan,
Calvin Schiraldi,
Mike Lamb,
Floyd Bannister,
Alan Bannister,
Luis Pujols,
Ken Caminiti,
John Cangelosi,
Mike Henneman,
Dwayne Henry,
Art Howe (first base coach in Texas),
Chris James,
Cliff Johnson,
Darren Oliver,
Jay Powell,
Doug Rader (as Texas manager),
Mike Simms and
Danny Darwin.The allegations about many of these players strain credulity, because their stints with the Astros and Rangers were interspersed with years of play for other organizations. Darren Oliver, for instance, last played for the Rangers in 2001. He then played for three other teams—the
Boston Red Sox, the
Colorado Rockies, and the
Florida Marlins—before his very brief stint with the Astros in 2004. Oliver has since returned to the majors as a reliever for the
New York Mets. It is difficult to understand how all these organizations could have been part of any supposed "Texas Agreement," particularly when the alleged agreement is said to have ended years earlier.
On March 25, 1988
Mike Loynd, the Rangers first round pick in 1986, was traded by the Texas Rangers to the Houston Astros in exchange for one of their prior first round picks, catcher
Robbie Wine. It was the only trade of first rounders under the alleged agreement though neither player made it back to the major leagues.
1987 Catchers Surplus
The 1987 Texas Rangers set a record for being the only team in Major League history to carry four catchers on their roster for the entire season.
Don Slaught,
Darrell Porter,
Mike Stanley, and
Geno Petralli all split time as the team's catcher. Most teams seldom have more than two catchers. The catcher heavy roster did little to help the Rangers as they finished last with a 75-87 record. Many of the foursome would pinch hit or play DH if not catching.
Future U.S. President George W. Bush becomes Managing Partner
Meanwhile, in April of 1989, the Rangers' owner,
Eddie Chiles, sold the team to an investment group headed by future
President George W. Bush. Bush would serve as the Rangers' managing partner until he was elected
Governor of Texas in 1994. During this time, the Rangers and the City of Arlington decided to construct a new stadium to replace the aging Arlington Stadium. Ground was broken on
October 30,
1991 on what would become The Ballpark in Arlington (later renamed
Ameriquest Field in Arlington).
Success in the 1990s
1993
In 1993,
Kevin Kennedy took over managerial duties, leading the team for two seasons. The 1993 squad was the first since the 1974 team to seriously contend for a playoff berth in to mid-September. He was let go in 1994 despite leading the AL West prior to the players' strike. When commissioner
Bud Selig canceled the remainder of the season, the strike officially wiped out what could have been the Rangers' first division championship.
1995
1995 saw the beginnings of the most promise for the Rangers. With a brand new ballpark that hosted its first
All-Star Game,
Johnny Oates was hired as the Rangers' manager and promptly led them to their first AL West division title in 1996. The first Rangers' playoff series in the team's 24 year history saw the Rangers lose to the
New York Yankees, but the team had finally made the playoffs. Oates was named AL Manager of the Year and Juan Gonzalez was named AL MVP. The team featured a powerful lineup of hitters including
Ivan Rodriguez,
Will Clark,
Mark McLemore,
Dean Palmer,
Rusty Greer, Juan Gonzalez, and
Mickey Tettleton, but struggled with pitching despite having
Rick Helling,
Aaron Sele, and
John Wetteland on their roster. Oates also led the team to AL West championships in 1998 and 1999, but was let go halfway through the 2001 season as the Rangers were en route to their second straight last place finish.
Hicks Era
Meanwhile, Bush sold the team to an investment group led by Dallas businessman
Tom Hicks in 1998. In 1999, Nolan Ryan became the first player ever elected to the
Baseball Hall of Fame to have a Rangers cap placed on his plaque.
The Alex Rodriguez experiment
Prior to the 2001 season, star free-agent shortstop
Alex Rodriguez, previously of the
Seattle Mariners, was signed by the Rangers in the most lucrative deal in baseball history: a 10-year,
US $252 million contract. The move was considered controversial and was frequently maligned by the media who thought that Hicks was placing too much emphasis on one player instead of spreading out money among many players, especially for a team that lacked significant pitching talent. Although Rodriguez's individual performance was outstanding, the Rangers continued to struggle, and manager
Jerry Narron was fired following the 2002 season, replaced by seasoned manager
Buck Showalter.
In the 2003 season, the Rangers finished in last place for the fourth straight year, and after a post-season fallout between Rodriguez and team management, the then-reigning AL MVP and new Rangers captain, Alex Rodriguez, was traded to the New York Yankees for
Alfonso Soriano and
Joaquin Arias.
The present
2004
Prior to the 2004 season there was little hope for the Rangers to improve on their losing ways. However, behind a young team with good chemistry (spurred partially by comments from former Ranger Alex Rodriguez that he didn't want to play with a "bunch of kids"), the Rangers battled with the Anaheim Angels and Oakland Athletics for first place in the AL West for much of the season.
Mark Teixeira,
Alfonso Soriano,
Michael Young, and
Hank Blalock became one of the better tandems of batting infielders in the league with Young, Blalock, and Soriano being named to the 2004 All-Star Game. Soriano was named the All-Star MVP after going two for three with a three-run
home run. The Rangers remained in contention until the last week of the season, eventually finishing in third place behind the Angels and A's, yet only three games out of first place. By comparison, the Seattle Mariners finished in fourth place team, 29 games out of first.
2005
In 2005, the Rangers struggled to find consistency amid controversy and injuries.
Frank Francisco and
Carlos Almanzar, two key members of the bullpen, were sidelined for
Tommy John surgery.
Kenny Rogers, the team's ace pitcher, received a 20 game suspension from commissioner
Bud Selig for attacking a cameraman at Ameriquest Field. (Rogers signed with the Tigers for the 2006 season after the Rangers declined to offer him a contract.) Shortly after a spectacular homestand where the Rangers swept all three series for the first time in team history, management unexpectedly placed opening-day starter
Ryan Drese on waivers, where he was claimed by the
Washington Nationals. After Drese's release and Rogers' suspension, the Rangers struggled to find consistency on the mound, and a disastrous road trip in August in which the Rangers went 1-12 all but assured that the Rangers would not make the playoffs in 2005.
2005-2006 Offseason
On
October 4,
2005, the Rangers announced that
John Hart would step aside as general manager and
Jon Daniels would be promoted from assistant general manager to general manager. At 28 years and one month, Daniels is the youngest general manager in major league history.
Daniels and the Rangers front office had an active 2005-2006 offseason. Alfonso Soriano, often mentioned in trade speculation, was dealt to the Nationals for outfielders
Brad Wilkerson and
Terrmel Sledge. The Rangers made moves to acquire the pitching help that they have long sought, acquiring starter
Vicente Padilla from the
Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for
Ricardo Rodriguez and acquiring
San Diego Padres pitchers
Adam Eaton and
Akinori Otsuka in exchange for
Chris Young,
Adrian Gonzalez, and Sledge. Finally, they signed reigning AL-ERA leader and free agent
Kevin Millwood to a five-year contract worth $60 million.
2006
After a slow start the Rangers have spent much of the season near the top of the
American League West, though the team has started to slide in the standings during the second half of the year. Slight improvement has occurred on the pitching staff, ranked eleventh in the American League in combined
ERA after play on August 8, compared to a twelfth-place finish in 2005. Millwood and Padilla have anchored the starting rotation despite Ameriquest Field's deserved reputation as a hitter's ballpark. One problem was the inconsistency of former closer
Francisco Cordero, who had blown nine of fifteen save chances before being traded to the Milwaukee Brewers as part of a significant six-player transaction (see below). He has been replaced as closer by
Akinori Otsuka.
Pitching troubles surfaced in a historic fashion on May 16, when the Rangers blew two nine-run leads in a 14-13 loss to the
New York Yankees, part of the Rangers' 2-8 season-series loss to New York. The Rangers also squandered a seven-run lead against the Kansas City Royals in a 16-12 loss on June 8. But the Rangers themselves overcame a seven-run deficit against the Oakland Athletics on May 25 to win 8-7, thanks to a
Rod Barajas grand slam and two
Ian Kinsler home runs.
One of the worst losses of the season came on June 11, when the
Boston Red Sox went into the bottom of the ninth at
Fenway Park down 4-2 and facing their first back-to-back losses against the Rangers since 1997. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning and two men on,
David Ortiz hit a 2-2 pitch from Akinori Otsuka deep into the right-center seats to give the Red Sox the win, 5-4. The homer occurred right after Ortiz had barely fouled off a pitch that would otherwise have been strike three and ended the game. The Rangers successfully came back in the second game of the doubleheader that day, though, winning 13-6 and generating a season-high 22 hits.
Rangers shortstop
Michael Young was named the MVP of the 2006
All-Star game, played on July 11 in
Pittsburgh, for his game-winning two-run triple in the ninth. Center fielder
Gary Matthews, Jr. also played in the All-Star game.
The Yankees swept the Rangers in a three-game series at Ameriquest Field for the second time in the season on July 24-26. Adam Eaton, who had injured his right middle finger during spring training and had been placed on the 60-day
DL, made his first start of the season on July 25 in the second game of the series. He pitched three scoreless innings before a questionable call on two-strike pitch against
Alex Rodriguez led to a Rodriguez walk, rather than making him the third out. Instead Eaton had a meltdown, walking
Jorge Posada, hitting
Aaron Guiel, walking
Andy Phillips (which scored Rodriguez), and giving up an infield single to
Miguel Cairo before being relieved by
Ron Mahay. The Rangers eventually lost the game 7-4. The final game of the series saw Cordero and Otsuka both give up late leads in an 8-7 loss that was decided on a two-run homer by
Jason Giambi in the ninth.
The sweep by the Yankees was part of a season-worst six-game losing streak for the Rangers. Texas finally snapped the skid on July 30 with a 15-2 win over Kansas City. This game matched the Rangers' best run output for a season where the team's offense has been noticeably worse than last year. After play on August 8 Texas stands eighth in the American League in runs scored per game, compared to a third-place ranking in 2005.
The Rangers became the first team to make a significant deal near the
trade deadline, acquiring outfielders
Carlos Lee and
Nelson Cruz from the
Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for
Kevin Mench, Francisco Cordero,
Laynce Nix and pitching prospect Julian Cordero (no relation to Francisco) on July 28. As of August 8 the Rangers are 56-58 after a 5-11 run in their last sixteen games. The team has fallen 6.5 games behind the Oakland Athletics and is in third place in the AL West.
Washington Senators
| Year | Record (W-L) | Win Average | Place | | 1961 | 61-100 | .379 | 9th |
| 1962 | 60-101 | .373 | 10th |
| 1963 | 56-106 | .346 | 10th |
| 1964 | 62-100 | .383 | 9th |
| 1965 | 70-92 | .432 | 8th |
| 1966 | 71-88 | .447 | 8th |
| 1967 | 76-85 | .472 | 6th |
| 1968 | 65-96 | .404 | 10th |
| 1969 | 86-76 | .531 | 4th |
| 1970 | 70-92 | .432 | 7th |
| 1971 | 63-96 | .396 | 5th |
Beginning in 1969, the Washington Senators began playing in the
American League EastTexas Rangers
| Year | Record (W-L) | Win Average | Place | | 1972 | 54-100 | .351 | 6th |
| 1973 | 57-105 | .352 | 6th |
| 1974 | 84-76 | .525 | 2nd |
| 1975 | 79-83 | .488 | 3rd |
| 1976 | 76-86 | .469 | 4th |
| 1977 | 94-68 | .580 | 2nd |
| 1978 | 87-75 | .537 | 2nd |
| 1979 | 83-79 | .512 | 3rd |
| 1980 | 76-85 | .472 | 4th |
| 1981 | 57-48 | .543 | 2nd/3rd |
| 1982 | 64-98 | .395 | 6th |
| 1983 | 77-85 | .475 | 3rd |
| 1984 | 69-92 | .429 | 7th |
| 1985 | 62-99 | .385 | 7th |
| 1986 | 87-75 | .537 | 2nd |
| 1987 | 75-87 | .463 | 6th |
| 1988 | 70-91 | .435 | 6th |
| 1989 | 83-79 | .512 | 4th |
| 1990 | 83-79 | .512 | 3rd |
| 1991 | 85-77 | .525 | 3rd |
| 1992 | 77-85 | .475 | 4th |
| 1993 | 86-76 | .531 | 2nd |
| 1994 | 52-62 | .456 | 1st |
| 1995 | 74-70 | .514 | 3rd |
| 1996 | 90-72 | .556 | 1st |
| 1997 | 77-85 | .475 | 3rd |
| 1998 | 88-74 | .543 | 1st |
| 1999 | 95-67 | .586 | 1st |
| 2000 | 71-91 | .438 | 4th |
| 2001 | 73-89 | .451 | 4th |
| 2002 | 72-90 | .444 | 4th |
| 2003 | 71-91 | .438 | 4th |
| 2004 | 89-73 | .549 | 3rd |
| 2005 | 79-83 | .488 | 3rd |
Notes:
* 1994 had no postseason due to the player's strike.
* In 1996, the team lost
ALDS to
New York Yankees, 1-3.
* In 1998, the team lost
ALDS to
New York Yankees, 0-3.
* In 1999, the team lost
ALDS to
New York Yankees, 0-3.
Overall Totals
Not including the 2006 season, the Rangers have won 3,336 games and lost 3,807 over their history, equating to a .467 lifetime average. They are 1-9 in individual playoff games, and 0-3 overall for postseason series.
:
Founded: 1961 (American League expansion):
Formerly known as: the Washington Senators, 1961-1971. (Not to be confused with the team that was the Washington Senators prior to 1961, which became the
Minnesota Twins, or the Washington Senators that existed from 1891-1899 and were contracted.):
Home ballpark:
Ameriquest Field in Arlington (known as The Ballpark in Arlington 1994-2003):
Uniform colors: Blue, White, and Scarlet red:
Logo design: A "T" superimposed on a baseball, set inside a circle with "TEXAS" on the top half and "RANGERS" on the bottom:
Team motto: Every Day Is Game Day:
Playoff appearances (3): 1996, 1998, 1999:
Local radio:
KRLD 1080:
Local television: FSN Southwest,
KDFI,
KDFW-4:
Spring Training facility: Surprise Stadium,
Surprise, AZThe Rangers (when combined with their predecessor the Senators) are the oldest franchise that has yet to appear in a World Series; in fact, they have yet to win any playoff series. In their history the team has only one playoff victory, on the road at
Yankee Stadium in the franchise's first playoff game; they have never won a home playoff game.
See also: Lone Star Shootout (Rangers-Astros rivalry)
* 9
Ted Williams, Manager 1972 (inducted for his playing career with the
Boston Red Sox)
* 31
Ferguson Jenkins, P, 1974-75 & 1978-81
* 36
Gaylord Perry, P, 1975-77 & 1980
* 34
Nolan Ryan, P, 1989-93
Chuck Hinton and
Frank Howard, who played for the franchise in Washington, are listed on the Washington Hall of Stars display at
Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington. So are
Gil Hodges and
Mickey Vernon, who managed the "New Senators." Vernon also played for the "Old Senators" who became the
Minnesota Twins.
* 26
Johnny Oates, MGR, 1995-2001
* 34
Nolan Ryan, P, 1989-93
* 42
Jackie Robinson, retired throughout Major League Baseball
*
Jeff Burroughs, 1974
*
Juan Gonzalez, 1996, 1998
*
Ivan Rodriguez, 1999
*
Alex Rodriguez, 2003
*
Johnny Oates, 1996
*
Buck Showalter, 2004
*
Mike Hargrove, 1974
*
Buddy Bell, 3B, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984
*
Juan Beniquez, OF, 1977
*
Rafael Palmeiro, 1B, 1999
*
Gary Pettis, OF, 1990
*
Alex Rodriguez, SS, 2002, 2003
*
Ivan Rodriguez, C, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
*
Kenny Rogers, P, 2000, 2002, 2004
*
Jim Sundberg, C, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981
*
Mark Teixeira, 1B, 2005
*
AAA: Oklahoma RedHawks,
Pacific Coast League*
AA: Frisco RoughRiders,
Texas League*
Advanced A: Bakersfield Blaze,
California League*
A: Clinton LumberKings,
Midwest League*
Short A: Spokane Indians,
Northwest League*
Rookie: AZL Rangers,
Arizona League*
Lone Star Shootout - interleague rivalry with the
Houston Astros*
Rangers award winners and league leaders*
Rangers statistical records and milestone achievements*
Rangers players of note*
Rangers broadcasters and media*
Rangers managers and ownership*
Texas Rangers official web site*
Sports E-Cyclopedia
