· The Rangers were established as an expansion team in 1961 as the Washington Senators.
· They were the second incarnation of the Senators after the original team moved to Minnesota and became the Twins.
· The Senators moved to Arlington in 1972 and became the Rangers.
· Their name comes from the famous law enforcement of the same name.
· They play their games at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
· They made the playoffs eight times with one wild card berth and seven divisional titles.
· They have won two AL Pennants.
Batting Lineup:
1. 2B Ian Kinsler
2. SS Michael Young
3. LF Frank Howard
4. RF Juan Gonzalez
5. DH Rafael Palmeiro
6. 1B Mark Teixeira
7. 3B Adrian Beltre
8. CF Josh Hamilton
9. C Ivan Rodriguez
Starting Rotation:
1. Nolan Ryan
2. Kenny Rogers
3. Kevin Brown
Bullpen:
1. Closer: John Wetteland
3. Jeff Russell
5. Ron Kline
6. Joe Nathan
Bench:
OF-Ruben Sierra
INF-Buddy Bell
INF-Toby Harrah
Coaching Staff:
Manager-Ron Washington
Ron Washington managed the Rangers for eight seasons where he finished with the most wins with 664. He guided them to the playoffs three times with two AL Pennants the only two in their history and the first playoff win in their history too.
Bench Coach-Bobby Valentine
Bobby Valentine managed the Rangers for eight seasons where he finished with the second most wins with 581. He managed them to a second place finish which got him second place in the Manager of the Year voting and was fired by George Bush half way through a season.
1B Coach-Johnny Oates
Johnny Oates managed the Rangers for seven seasons where he finished with third most wins with 506. He guided them to their first playoff appearance, three division titles overall and won Manager of the Year once but resigned at the beginning of his last season. He is in the Rangers Hall of Fame and they retired his number 26.
3B Coach-Jeff Bannister
Jeff Bannister managed the Rangers for four seasons where he finished with the fourth most wins with 325. He guided them to two divisional titles and won Manager of the Year once.
Hitting Coach-Gil Hodges
Gil Hodges managed the Rangers (Senators) for five seasons where he finished with the fifth most wins with 321. He was traded for an outfielder to become the manager but retired from playing so he could focus on managing and they improved every year but never had a winning record.
Pitching Coach-Sid Hudson
Sid Hudson was the first pitching coach in franchise history where he spent over thirteen seasons in both Washington and Dallas. Between the years of being the pitching coach he was a minor league pitching instructor for them.
Bullpen Coach-Buck Showalter
Buck Showalter managed the Rangers for four seasons where he finished with the sixth most wins with 319. He mostly guided them to third place but won Manager of the Year once.
There have been nine Hall of Fame players who have played for them at different points in their respective careers. They have retired four numbers for players and one number for a manager.
Ivan Rodriguez spent thirteen seasons behind the plate for the Rangers as their greatest/longest tenured catcher where he put up numbers that speak for themselves that got him elected into the Hall of Fame in 2017, is in the Rangers Hall of Fame and they retired his number 7. He made ten of his fourteen All-Star appearances, won ten of thirteen gold gloves, won six of his seven silver sluggers and won the 1999 AL MVP while there. He also finished in the top 10 for many offensive categories in Rangers history like having the highest defensive WAR, highest WAR for position players, second most hits, doubles and third most singles to name some.
Nolan Ryan pitched five seasons for the Rangers where he put up numbers that speak for themselves that got him elected into the Hall of Fame in 1999, is in the Rangers Hall of Fame and they retired his number 34. He made one of his eight All-Star appearances, led the majors in strikeouts two times while there, has the most no hitters, strikeouts in MLB history and is one of twenty nine players to have appeared in four decades. He also was their team president for six seasons. He finished with the fifth most strikeouts, fifth lowest ERA, seventh highest WAR for pitchers and eight best win-loss percentage in Rangers history.
Fergie Jenkins pitched six seasons for the Rangers where he put up numbers that speak for themselves that got him elected into the Hall of Fame in 1991 and is the Rangers Hall of Fame. He led the majors in wins once and won AL Comeback Player of the Year while there. He also finished in the top 10 for many pitching categories in Rangers history like having the most shutouts, second most complete games, third highest WAR for pitchers, fourth most wins and innings pitched to name some.
Michael Young spent thirteen seasons all over the infield for the Rangers as their greatest player/greatest shortstop where he made all seven of his All-Star appearances, won his only gold glove, won an All-Star game MVP, won one batting title while there, is in the Rangers Hall of Fame and they retired his number 10. He is currently a special assistant to the GM. He also finished as the franchise leader in many offensive categories in Rangers history like having the most plate appearances, at bats, games played, hits, runs scored, total bases, doubles, triples and singles.
Adrian Beltre spent eight seasons in the infield for the Rangers as their greatest third basemen where he made three of his four All-Star appearances, led the majors in hits once, won three of his five gold gloves, won two of his silver sluggers, won two of his four fielding bible awards, won the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award, won two platinum gold gloves while there and they retired his number 29. He also finished in the top 10 for many offensive categories in Rangers history like having the third highest WAR for position players, fifth most home runs, sixth highest batting average, sixth most extra base hits, seventh highest defensive WAR and seventh highest offensive WAR to name some.
Rafael Palmeiro spent ten seasons in the infield for the Rangers as their longest tenured first basemen where he two of his four All-Star appearances, won one of his three gold gloves and won one of his two silver sluggers while there. He is one of six players to be a part of the 500 home run club and 3000 hits club. He also finished in the top 10 for many offensive categories in Rangers history like having the highest offensive WAR, most walks, second most extra base hits, RBIs, home runs, runs scored and WAR for position players to name some.
Juan Gonzalez spent thirteen seasons in the outfield for the Rangers as their greatest outfielder where he made two of his three All-Star appearances, won five of his six silver sluggers, led the AL in home runs twice, led the AL in RBIs once, second player to have 100 RBIs before the break, one of six players with 150+ RBIs in a season, won two MVPs while there and is in the Rangers Hall of Fame. He also finished in the top 10 for many offensive categories in Rangers history like having the most RBIs, home runs, extra base hits, second most total bases, second highest slugging percentage, fourth most runs scored and doubles to name some.
Frank Howard spent eight seasons in the infield or the outfield for the Rangers(Senators) where he made all four of his All-Star appearances, led the AL in slugging percentage once, led the AL in total bases twice, led the AL in walks once, led the AL in home runs twice and led the AL in RBIs once while there. He also finished in the top 10 for many offensive categories in Rangers history like having the second highest offensive WAR, third most home runs, walks and sixth most RBIs to name some.
Mark Teixeira spent five seasons in the infield for the Rangers where he made one of his three All-Star appearances, won two of his five gold gloves, hit for the cycle, won two of his three silver sluggers while there, has the record for most games with home runs hit from both sides of the plate and was the fifth switch hitter to make the 400 home run club. He also finished with the fourth highest slugging percentage and seventh highest on base percentage in Rangers history.
Ian Kinsler spent eight seasons in the infield for the Rangers as their greatest/longest tenured second basemen where he made three of his four All-Star appearances, hit for the cycle, made the 30-30 club once, made the 20-20 club three times while there and is the all-time stolen base leaders for Jewish players. He also finished in the top 10 for many offensive categories in Rangers history like having the second most stolen bases, fifth highest WAR for position players, sixth most runs scored, sixth highest defensive WAR, seventh most extra base hits and eight highest offensive WAR to name some.
Josh Hamilton spent six seasons in the outfield for the Rangers where he all five of his All-Star appearances, led the AL in RBIs once, won a batting title, won all three of his silver sluggers, won the 2010 AL MVP, won one ALCS MVP, has the AL record for most total bases in a game, has second most home runs in a home run derby, hit four home runs in a game once while there and is in the Rangers Hall of Fame. He also finished with the third highest slugging percentage and ninth highest batting average in Rangers history.
Kenny Rogers pitched twelve seasons for the Rangers where he made all four of his All-Star appearances, won four of his five gold gloves, pitched a perfect game while there, has the second most pickoffs in MLB history and is in the Rangers Hall of Fame. He is the seventh 200-game winner to not win 20 games in a season. He also finished in the top 10 for many pitching categories in Ranges history like having the most games played, second most inning pitched, wins and second highest WAR for pitchers to name some.
Kevin Brown pitched nine seasons for the Rangers where he made one of his six All-Star appearances and led the majors in wins once while there. He also finished in the top 10 for many pitching categories in Rangers history like having the fourth most complete games, fifth most wins, innings pitched and fifth highest WAR for pitchers to name some.
Charlie Hough pitched eleven seasons for the Rangers where he made his only All-Star appearance while there and is in the Rangers Hall of Fame. He also finished as the franchise leader in many pitching categories in Rangers history like having the most wins, innings pitched, strikeouts, complete games, games started and highest WAR for a pitcher. Other notable starters in Rangers history have been Joe Coleman, Bobby Witt, Kevin Millwood, Claude Olsteen, Camilo Pascual, Dick Bosman, Doyle Alexander, Dock Ellis, Juan Guzman, Doc Medich, John Matlack, Danny Darwin, Frank Tanana, Chan Ho-Park, John Burkett, Rich Helling, Colby Lewis, Yu Darvish who is active, Hall of Famers Gaylord Perry and Bert Blyleven.
Ruben Sierra spent ten seasons in the outfield for the Rangers where he made three of his four All-Star appearances, won his only silver slugger, led the AL in RBIs once while there and is in the Rangers Hall of Fame. He also finished in the top 10 for many offensive categories in Rangers history like having the third most triples, fifth most RBIs, extra base hits, sixth most hits, total bases and home runs to name some.
Jeff Burroughs spent seven seasons in the outfield for the Rangers where he made one of his two All-Star appearances, led the AL in RBIs once and won the 1974 AL MVP while there.
Buddy Bell spent eight seasons in the infield for the Rangers as their second greatest third basemen where he made four of his five All-Star appearances, won all six of his gold gloves, won his only silver slugger while there and is in the Rangers Hall of Fame. He also finished with the third highest defensive WAR and fourth highest WAR for position players in Rangers history.
Toby Harrah spent twelve seasons in the infield for the Rangers where he made three of his four All-Star appearances while there and is the Rangers Hall of Fame. He also managed in the minor leagues for them, was their first base coach, bench coach and managed them for one season. He also finished in the top 10 for many offensive categories in Rangers history like having the second most walks, fourth most stolen bases, fourth highest offensive WAR, sixth most plate appearances, seventh most games played and seventh highest WAR for position players to name some. Other notable infielders in Rangers history have been Will Clark, Mike Hargrove, Prince Fielder, Julio Franco, Alfonso Soriano, Alex Rodriguez, Ed Brinkman, Herbert Perry, Dean Palmer, Hank Blalock, Ken McMullen and current player Elvis Andrus.
Jim Sundberg spent twelve seasons behind the plate for the Rangers as their second greatest/second longest tenured catcher where he made two of his three All-Star appearances, won all six of gold gloves, led the AL in putouts while there and is in the Rangers Hall of Fame. He was a color commentator, was a minor league instructor and worked in their front office. He also finished in the top 10 for many offensive categories in Rangers history like having the second highest defensive WAR, fourth most games played, walks, fifth most singles and sixth highest WAR for position players to name some. Other notable catchers in Rangers history have been Mike Napoli, Gerald Laird, Rod Barajas, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Paul Casanova.
John Wetteland was the Rangers closer for four seasons where he made two of his three All-Star appearances while there and is in the Rangers Hall of Fame. He also finished with the most saves and second most games finished in Rangers history.
Francisco Cordero was the Rangers closer for seven seasons where he made one of his three All-Star appearances while there. He also finished with the third most saves, games finished and games played in Rangers history.
Jeff Russell was the Rangers closer for ten seasons where he made both of his All-Star appearances, led the AL in saves once, won reliever of the year once while there and is in the Rangers Hall of Fame. He also finished with the most games finished, second most saves and games played in Rangers history.
Darren Oliver pitched ten seasons for the Rangers where he finished the sixth most games played, tenth most wins in Rangers history and currently is a special assistant to the GM.
Ron Kline was the Rangers (Senators) closer for four seasons where he finished with fourth most games finished and fifth most saves in Rangers history.
Joe Nathan was the Rangers close for two seasons where he made two of his four All-Star appearances while there. He also finished with the sixth most saves and ninth most games finished in Rangers history. Other notable relievers in Rangers history have been CJ Wilson, Sparky Lyle, Steve Foucault, Frank Francisco, Eddie Guardado, Joaquin Benoit, Tom Henke and Neftali Feliz who is active.
