Glory Days T he Rangers are one of two teams that were once called the Washington Senators The other is the Minnesota Twins In 1961 the Senators moved to Minnesota after 60 seasons in Washington D C A new team also called the Senators replaced them in the nation’s capital Baseball fans who cheered for the Senators in 1960 rooted for an entirely different group of Senators in 1961 The new Senators played in the American League AL They were made up of unwanted players from other clubs The team found a few diamonds in the rough including pitchers Claude Osteen and Ron Kline plus hitters Chuck Hinton and Don Lock A trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1964 brought Frank Howard to the Senators He became one of the most feared sluggers in baseball 6
LEFT Frank Howard hit more than 40 homers three years in a row for the Senators RIGHT Third baseman Buddy Bell was known for his glove as well as his bat The team’s first winning season came in 1969 The Senators hired former All-Star Ted Williams to be their manager Williams was a great student and teacher of hitting The team’s batting average soared and Washington raised its record to 86 76 Unfortunately the Senators did not keep improving Soon they were looking for a new home In 1972 the team moved from Washington to Arlington Texas and became the Rangers Since the club did not have a lot of great hitters it focused on pitching During the next decade the Rangers had some of the best pitchers in baseball including Fergie Jenkins Gaylord Perry Jim Bibby Bert Blyleven Doc Medich Jon Matlack and Charlie Hough By the late 1970s the Rangers were also a good team at the plate Their offense was led by Buddy Bell Al Oliver Mike Hargrove Toby Harrah and Richie Zisk In the 1980s more talented hitters 7
FA T A CO
joined the team Larry Parrish Pete O’Brien Gary Ward Ruben Sierra and Pete Incaviglia gave Texas fans something to cheer about as the team tried to reach the playoffs for the first time Finally in the 1990s the Rangers became true pennant contenders The team’s top two stars were Ivan Rodriguez and Juan Gonzalez Rodriguez was the league’s best catcher and Gonzalez was a dangerous slugger who was named the AL Most Valuable Player MVP twice The pair was surrounded by smart hardworking teammates such as Will Clark Rusty Greer and Mark McLemore The Rangers made it to the playoffs in 1996 1998 and 1999 Each time they lost to the New York Yankees The Rangers had plenty of hitters but they lacked the pitching needed to reach the World Series LEFT Fans and teammates called Ivan Rodriguez Pudge His nickname can be seen on his chest protector ABOVE Juan Gonzalez was nicknamed Juan Gone for his long home runs 9
