1997 Texas Rangers season
| 1997 Texas Rangers | ||
|---|---|---|
| File:TexasRangers 100.png | ||
| Division | Western Division | |
| Ballpark | The Ballpark in Arlington | |
| City | Arlington, Texas | |
| Record | 77–85 (.475) | |
| Owners | George W. Bush | |
| 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 Texas Rangers 1997 season involved the Rangers finishing 3rd 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
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle Mariners | 90 | 72 | .556 | — | 45–36 | 45–36 |
| Anaheim Angels | 84 | 78 | .519 | 6 | 46–36 | 38–42 |
| Texas Rangers | 77 | 85 | .475 | 13 | 39–42 | 38–43 |
| Oakland Athletics | 65 | 97 | .401 | 25 | 35–46 | 30–51 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
Other batters |
Manager
Coaches
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | Will Clark | 110 | 393 | 128 | .326 | 12 | 51 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billy Ripken | 71 | 203 | 56 | .276 | 3 | 24 |
| Mike Simms | 59 | 111 | 28 | .252 | 5 | 22 |
| Alex Diaz | 28 | 90 | 20 | .222 | 2 | 12 |
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 |
|---|
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 |
|---|
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xavier Hernandez | 44 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4.56 | 36 |
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
- ^ https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bailesc01.shtml
- ^ 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.