| 1997 Texas Rangers | ||
|---|---|---|
| League | American League | |
| Division | West | |
| Ballpark | The Ballpark in Arlington | |
| City | Arlington, Texas | |
| Record | 77–85 (.475) | |
| Divisional place | 3rd | |
| Owners | George W. Bush | |
| General managers | Doug Melvin | |
| Managers | Johnny Oates | |
| Television | KXTX-TV KXAS-TV Fox Sports Southwest (Mark Holtz, Tom Grieve, Bill Jones) | |
| Radio | KRLD (Eric Nadel, Brad Sham ) KMRT (Luis Mayoral, Josue Perez) | |
| ||
The 1997 Texas Rangers season involved the Rangers finishing third in the American League West with a record of 77 wins and 85 losses. Despite not making the playoffs the club would set an all-time attendance record of over 2.945 million fans, which would be the franchise's best until 2011.
On a somber note, the club would lose long-time radio broadcaster Mark Holtz to leukemia during the season; however, in his final game in May the Rangers won, allowing him to sign off one final time with his trademark "Hello Win Column!".
Offseason
- December 10, 1996: Billy Ripken was signed as a free agent by the Rangers.[1]
- December 16, 1996: Scott Bailes was signed as a free agent with the Texas Rangers.[2]
- December 19, 1996: Mike Simms was signed as a free agent by the Rangers.[3]
- March 27, 1997: Dave Silvestri was selected off waivers by the Rangers from the Seattle Mariners.[4]
Regular season
- June 12, 1997: The first interleague game took place as the Texas Rangers hosted the San Francisco Giants at The Ballpark in Arlington (now Globe Life Park).
Opening Day starters
Mark McLemore, 2B
Rusty Greer, LF
Dean Palmer, 3B
Lee Stevens, 1B
Mickey Tettleton, DH
Warren Newson, RF
Damon Buford, CF
Benji Gil, SS
Season standings
| AL West | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle Mariners | 90 | 72 | 0.556 | — | 45–36 | 45–36 |
| Anaheim Angels | 84 | 78 | 0.519 | 6 | 46–36 | 38–42 |
| Texas Rangers | 77 | 85 | 0.475 | 13 | 39–42 | 38–43 |
| Oakland Athletics | 65 | 97 | 0.401 | 25 | 35–46 | 30–51 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | ANA | BAL | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR | NL |
| Anaheim | — | 4–7 | 6–5 | 6–5 | 7–4 | 5–6 | 6–5 | 7–4 | 4–7 | 4–7 | 11–1 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 6–5 | 4–12 |
| Baltimore | 7–4 | — | 5–7 | 5–6 | 6–5 | 6–6 | 7–4 | 5–6 | 10–1 | 8–4 | 8–3 | 7–4 | 10–1 | 6–6 | 8–7 |
| Boston | 5–6 | 7–5 | — | 3–8 | 6–5 | 5–7 | 3–8 | 8–3 | 8–3 | 4–8 | 7–4 | 7–4 | 3–8 | 6–6 | 6–9 |
| Chicago | 5–6 | 6–5 | 8–3 | — | 5–7 | 4–7 | 11–1 | 4–7 | 6–6 | 2–9 | 8–3 | 5–6 | 3–8 | 5–6 | 8–7 |
| Cleveland | 4–7 | 5–6 | 5–6 | 7–5 | — | 6–5 | 8–3 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 5–6 | 7–4 | 3–8 | 5–6 | 6–5 | 9–6 |
| Detroit | 6–5 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 7–4 | 5–6 | — | 6–5 | 4–7 | 4–7 | 2–10 | 7–4 | 4–7 | 7–4 | 6–6 | 8–7 |
| Kansas City | 5–6 | 4–7 | 8–3 | 1–11 | 3–8 | 5–6 | — | 6–6 | 7–5 | 3–8 | 3–8 | 5–6 | 6–5 | 5–6 | 6–9 |
| Milwaukee | 4–7 | 6–5 | 3–8 | 7–4 | 4–8 | 7–4 | 6–6 | — | 5–7 | 4–7 | 5–6 | 5–6 | 7–4 | 7–4 | 8–7 |
| Minnesota | 7–4 | 1–10 | 3–8 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 7–4 | 5–7 | 7–5 | — | 3–8 | 7–4 | 5–6 | 3–8 | 3–8 | 7–8 |
| New York | 7–4 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 9–2 | 6–5 | 10–2 | 8–3 | 7–4 | 8–3 | — | 6–5 | 4–7 | 7–4 | 7–5 | 5–10 |
| Oakland | 1–11 | 3–8 | 4–7 | 3–8 | 4–7 | 4–7 | 8–3 | 6–5 | 4–7 | 5–6 | — | 5–7 | 5–7 | 6–5 | 7–9 |
| Seattle | 6–6 | 4–7 | 4–7 | 6–5 | 8–3 | 7–4 | 6–5 | 6–5 | 6–5 | 7–4 | 7–5 | — | 8–4 | 8–3 | 7–9 |
| Texas | 4–8 | 1–10 | 8–3 | 8–3 | 6–5 | 4–7 | 5–6 | 4–7 | 8–3 | 4–7 | 7–5 | 4–8 | — | 4–7 | 10–6 |
| Toronto | 5–6 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 6–5 | 5–6 | 6–6 | 6–5 | 4–7 | 8–3 | 5–7 | 5–6 | 3–8 | 7–4 | — | 4–11 |
Notable transactions
- April 16, 1997: Alex Diaz was signed as a free agent by the Rangers.[5]
- June 20, 1997: Todd Van Poppel was signed as a free agent by the Rangers.[6]
- July 29, 1997: Ken Hill was traded by the Rangers to the Anaheim Angels for Jim Leyritz and a player to be named later. The Angels completed the deal by sending Rob Sasser to the Rangers on October 31.[7]
Draft picks
- June 3, 1997: Mike Lamb was drafted by the Rangers in the 7th round of the 1997 Major League Baseball draft. Player signed June 6, 1997.[8]
Roster
| 1997 Texas Rangers | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
|
Catchers
Infielders
|
Outfielders
Other batters |
Manager
Coaches
| ||||||
Player stats
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Iván Rodríguez | 150 | 597 | 187 | .313 | 20 | 77 |
| 1B | Will Clark | 110 | 393 | 128 | .326 | 12 | 51 |
| 2B | Mark McLemore | 89 | 349 | 91 | .261 | 1 | 25 |
| SS | Benji Gil | 110 | 317 | 71 | .224 | 5 | 31 |
| 3B | Dean Palmer | 94 | 355 | 87 | .245 | 14 | 55 |
| LF | Rusty Greer | 157 | 601 | 193 | .321 | 26 | 87 |
| CF | Damon Buford | 122 | 366 | 82 | .224 | 8 | 39 |
| RF | Warren Newson | 81 | 169 | 36 | .213 | 10 | 23 |
| DH | Juan González | 133 | 533 | 158 | .296 | 42 | 131 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lee Stevens | 137 | 426 | 128 | .300 | 21 | 74 |
| Domingo Cedeño | 113 | 365 | 103 | .282 | 4 | 36 |
| Fernando Tatis | 60 | 223 | 57 | .256 | 8 | 29 |
| Tom Goodwin | 53 | 207 | 49 | .237 | 0 | 17 |
| Billy Ripken | 71 | 203 | 56 | .276 | 3 | 24 |
| Mike Simms | 59 | 111 | 28 | .252 | 5 | 22 |
| Alex Diaz | 28 | 90 | 20 | .222 | 2 | 12 |
| Jim Leyritz | 37 | 85 | 24 | .282 | 0 | 14 |
| Mike Devereaux | 29 | 72 | 15 | .208 | 0 | 7 |
| Henry Mercedes | 23 | 47 | 10 | .213 | 0 | 4 |
| Mickey Tettleton | 17 | 44 | 4 | .091 | 3 | 4 |
| Marc Sagmoen | 21 | 43 | 6 | .140 | 1 | 4 |
| Hanley Frias | 14 | 26 | 5 | .192 | 0 | 1 |
| Kevin Brown | 4 | 5 | 2 | .400 | 1 | 1 |
| Dave Silvestri | 2 | 4 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bobby Witt | 34 | 209.0 | 12 | 12 | 4.82 | 121 |
| Darren Oliver | 32 | 201.1 | 13 | 12 | 4.20 | 104 |
| John Burkett | 30 | 189.1 | 9 | 12 | 4.56 | 139 |
| Ken Hill | 19 | 111.0 | 5 | 8 | 5.19 | 68 |
| Roger Pavlik | 11 | 57.2 | 3 | 5 | 4.37 | 35 |
| Rick Helling | 10 | 55.0 | 3 | 3 | 4.58 | 46 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Julio Santana | 30 | 104.0 | 4 | 6 | 6.75 | 64 |
| Tanyon Sturtze | 9 | 32.2 | 1 | 1 | 8.27 | 18 |
| Terry Clark | 9 | 30.2 | 1 | 4 | 5.87 | 11 |
| Jose Alberro | 10 | 28.1 | 0 | 3 | 7.94 | 11 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Wetteland | 61 | 7 | 2 | 31 | 1.94 | 63 |
| Eric Gunderson | 60 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3.26 | 31 |
| Danny Patterson | 54 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3.42 | 69 |
| Xavier Hernandez | 44 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4.56 | 36 |
| Matt Whiteside | 42 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5.08 | 44 |
| Ed Vosberg | 42 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4.61 | 29 |
| Scott Bailes | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.86 | 14 |
| Wilson Heredia | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.20 | 8 |
| Eric Moody | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4.26 | 12 |
| Bryan Eversgerd | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 20.25 | 2 |
Awards and honors
- Juan González, Silver Slugger Award
- Iván Rodríguez, C, Gold Glove
- Iván Rodríguez, Silver Slugger Award
Farm system
References
- ↑ Billy Ripken at Baseball Reference
- ↑ "Scott Bailes Stats".
- ↑ Mike Simms at Baseball Reference
- ↑ Dave Silvestri at Baseball Reference
- ↑ Alex Diaz at Baseball Reference
- ↑ Todd Van Poppel at Baseball Reference
- ↑ Ken Hill at Baseball Reference
- ↑ Mike Lamb at Baseball Reference
- 1997 Texas Rangers at Baseball Reference
- 1997 Texas Rangers at Baseball Almanac
- Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (3rd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-1-932391-17-6.
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