2008 Texas Rangers season

2008 Texas Rangers
Major league affiliations
American League (since 1961) Western Division (since 1972)
Location
Rangers Ballpark in Arlington (since 1994) Arlington, Texas (since 1972)
2008 information
Owner(s)	Tom Hicks
Manager(s)	Ron Washington
Local television	FSN Southwest KDFI (My 27) KDFW (Fox 4)
Local radio	KRLD KFLC (Spanish)
[[2007 Texas Rangers season|Previous season]]     [[2009 Texas Rangers season|Next season]]

The Texas Rangers' 2008 season was the 48th year of the franchise and 37th since moving to Arlington, Texas. The organization, after finishing second in the American League Western Division in 2007. The new season would be the first under the oversight of newly-hired club president and former Ranger great Nolan Ryan. Upon his hire, Ryan indicated that his role in the 2008 season would be largely observational with regard to baseball operations, and any major changes would be made following the conclusion of the regular season.

"I don't come in with any preconceived ideas of what I want to do or what needs to be done", said Ryan, who indicated that he will make two extended trips to spring training to become acquainted with players and staff. "I think it'll be a learning process for me. I'm going to try to get my arms around our organization so I'll have a better understanding of who we are and what we do and what I can do to help us be better."

—Nolan Ryan, February 8, 2008

The Rangers set a Major League record for the most doubles by a team in a season, with 376.

Preseason

Notable Offseason Transactions

The Rangers' offseason was filled with activity as Jon Daniels moved to quickly acquire talent both on and off the field. The 2007 club roster fielded several arbitration-eligible players, whose status for 2008 remained unsure. Several of these players would sign short-term contracts with the Rangers while others would seek playing time elsewhere.

2007

• OFs Sammy Sosa, Brad Wilkerson, and IF Jerry Hairston, Jr. signed with other clubs in the offseason.
• Hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo signed a new 2-year contract with the Rangers; RHPs Frank Francisco and Joaquín Benoit also signed 1- and 2-year extensions with the club.
• RHP Warner Madrigal signed as a minor league free agent after the Los Angeles Angels failed to add him to the team's 40-man roster before free agency began.
• December 8: OF Milton Bradley signed a 1-year contract for $5 million.
• December 21: OF Josh Hamilton acquired from the Cincinnati Reds for RHP Edinson Volquez and RHP Danny Herrera.
• December 29: 1B Chris Shelton acquired from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for minor league OF Freddy Guzman.

January 2008

• January 5: 1B Ben Broussard acquired via trade from the Seattle Mariners for minor leaguer Tug Hulett and signed to a 1-year contract worth $3.85 million, avoiding salary arbitration.
• January 11–18: LHP Eddie Guardado ($2 million), RHP Jason Jennings ($4m), C Gerald Laird ($6m), and OF Marlon Byrd ($1.8m) all signed 1-year contracts with the Rangers.
• January 14: RHP Kazuo Fukumori agreed to a 2-year contract worth $3 million.
• January 25: RHP Armando Galarraga designated for assignment and traded to the Tigers in exchange for minor league OF Michael Hernandez.

February and March

Ian Kinsler

• February 19: 2B Ian Kinsler signed a 5-year extension for $22 million, keeping him with the Rangers through 2012.
• February 25: The Rangers agreed to terms with 7 players: OF David Murphy, 3B Travis Metcalf, RHPs Brandon McCarthy and Wes Littleton, and LHP A.J. Murray. The other two, RHPs Alexi Ogando and Omar Beltre remained on the restricted list until their legal issues were resolved prior to the 2010 season.
• February 28: General Manager Jon Daniels and Rangers President Nolan Ryan signed contracts through the 2011 season.
• March 25: OF Nelson Cruz designated for assignment, cleared waivers, and later assigned to the minor leagues.

Regular season

Opening Day starters

• Gerald Laird, C
• Ben Broussard, 1B
• Ian Kinsler, 2B
• Hank Blalock, 3B
• Michael Young, SS
• David Murphy, LF
• Josh Hamilton, CF
• Marlon Byrd, RF
• Milton Bradley, DH
• Kevin Millwood, RHP

Season standings

AL West	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	100	62	.617	—	50–31	50–31
Texas Rangers	79	83	.488	21	40–41	39–42
Oakland Athletics	75	86	.466	24½	43–38	32–47
Seattle Mariners	61	101	.377	39	35–46	26–55

Record vs. Opponents

Team	BAL	BOS	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	LAA	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TB	TEX	TOR	NL
Baltimore	–	6–12	4–5	4–4	4–3	5–3	3–6	3–3	7–11	0–5	8–2	3–15	4–5	6–12	11–7
Boston	12–6	–	4–3	5–1	5–2	6–1	1–8	4–3	9–9	6–4	6–3	8–10	9–1	9–9	11–7
Chicago	5–4	3–4	–	11–7	12–6	12–6	5–5	9–10	2–5	5–4	5–1	4–6	3–3	1–7	12–6
Cleveland	4–4	1–5	7–11	–	11–7	10–8	4–5	8–10	4–3	5–4	4–5	5–2	6–4	6–1	6–12
Detroit	3–4	2–5	6–12	7–11	–	7–11	3–6	7–11	4–2	3–6	7–3	3–4	6–3	3–5	13–5
Kansas City	3–5	1–6	6–12	8–10	11–7	–	2–3	6–12	5–5	6–3	7–2	3–5	2–7	2–5	13–5
Los Angeles	6–3	8–1	5–5	5–4	6–3	3–2	–	5–3	7–3	10–9	14–5	3–6	12–7	6–3	10–8
Minnesota	3–3	3–4	10–9	10–8	11–7	12–6	3–5	–	4–6	5–5	5–4	3–3	5–5	0–6	14–4
New York	11–7	9–9	5–2	3–4	2–4	5–5	3–7	6–4	–	5–1	7–2	11–7	3–4	9–9	10–8
Oakland	5–0	4–6	4–5	4–5	6–3	3–6	9–10	5–5	1–5	-	10–9	3–6	7–12	4–6	10–8
Seattle	2–8	3–6	1–5	5–4	3–7	2–7	5–14	4–5	2–7	9–10	–	3–4	8–11	5–4	9–9
Tampa Bay	15–3	10–8	6–4	2–5	4–3	5–3	6–3	3–3	7–11	6–3	4–3	–	6–3	11–7	12–6
Texas	5–4	1–9	3–3	4–6	3–6	7–2	7–12	5–5	4–3	12–7	11–8	3–6	–	4–4	10–8
Toronto	12–6	9–9	7–1	1–6	5–3	5–2	3–6	6–0	9–9	6–4	4–5	7–11	4–4	–	8–10

Roster

2008 Texas Rangers
Roster
Pitchers 53 Joaquín Benoit 65 Joselo Díaz 39 Scott Feldman 50 Frank Francisco 14 Kazuo Fukumori 13 Kason Gabbard 54 Franklyn Germán 52 Brian Gordon 18 Eddie Guardado 54 Matt Harrison 37 Eric Hurley 31 Jason Jennings 58 Wes Littleton 43 Kameron Loe 60 Warner Madrigal 49 Doug Mathis 20 Brandon McCarthy 46 Luis Mendoza 33 Kevin Millwood 47 A. J. Murray 57 Dustin Nippert 44 Vicente Padilla 35 Sidney Ponson 47 Elizardo Ramírez 59 Josh Rupe 55 Robinson Tejeda 56 Bill White 36 C. J. Wilson 45 Jamey Wright		Catchers 15 Gerald Laird  2 Adam Melhuse 51 Max Ramírez 25 Jarrod Saltalamacchia  2 Taylor Teagarden Infielders  4 Joaquin Arias  9 Hank Blalock 29 Jason Botts 23 Ben Broussard 27 Frank Catalanotto 19 Chris Davis  6 Germán Durán  5 Ian Kinsler 30 Travis Metcalf 16 Chris Shelton 12 Ramón Vázquez 10 Michael Young		Outfielders 41 Brandon Boggs 21 Milton Bradley 22 Marlon Byrd 17 Nelson Cruz 16 Jason Ellison 32 Josh Hamilton  7 David Murphy Other batters 14 Ryan Roberts		Manager 38 Ron Washington Coaches 48 Jim Colborn (bullpen) 40 Andy Hawkins (pitching) 11 Art Howe (bench)  8 Rudy Jaramillo (hitting) 24 Gary Pettis (first base)  3 Matt Walbeck (third base)

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

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

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO

Other pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO

Relief pitchers

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO

References

• 2008 Texas Rangers season at Baseball Reference