| 1979 Texas Rangers | |
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| Major League affiliations | |
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| Location | |
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| Other information | |
| Owner(s) | Bradford G. Corbett |
| General manager(s) | Eddie Robinson |
| Manager(s) | Pat Corrales |
| Local television | KXAS-TV (Jon Miller, Frank Glieber, Eric Nadel) |
| Local radio | WBAP (Jon Miller, Bill Merrill) |
| < Previous season Next season > | |
The 1979 Texas Rangers season involved the Rangers finishing 3rd in the American League West with a record of 83 wins and 79 losses.
Offseason
- October 3, 1978: Len Barker and Bobby Bonds were traded by the Rangers to the Cleveland Indians for Larvell Blanks and Jim Kern.[1]
- October 24, 1978: Sandy Alomar was released by the Rangers.[2]
- October 25, 1978: Mike Hargrove, Kurt Bevacqua, and Bill Fahey were traded by the Rangers to the San Diego Padres for Oscar Gamble, Dave Roberts and $300,000.[3]
- November 10, 1978: Dave Righetti, Juan Beníquez, Mike Griffin, Paul Mirabella, and Greg Jemison (minors) were traded by the Rangers to the New York Yankees for Domingo Ramos, Mike Heath, Sparky Lyle, Larry McCall, Dave Rajsich, and cash.[4]
- December 8, 1978: Jim Mason was traded by the Rangers to the Montreal Expos for Mike Hart.[5]
Regular season
- June 24, 1979: Rickey Henderson made his major league debut for the Oakland Athletics in a game against the Rangers. Henderson had 4 at bats with 2 hits, and 1 stolen base.[6]
Season standings
| AL West | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California Angels | 88 | 74 | 0.543 | — | 49–32 | 39–42 |
| Kansas City Royals | 85 | 77 | 0.525 | 3 | 46–35 | 39–42 |
| Texas Rangers | 83 | 79 | 0.512 | 5 | 44–37 | 39–42 |
| Minnesota Twins | 82 | 80 | 0.506 | 6 | 39–42 | 43–38 |
| Chicago White Sox | 73 | 87 | 0.456 | 14 | 33–46 | 40–41 |
| Seattle Mariners | 67 | 95 | 0.414 | 21 | 36–45 | 31–50 |
| Oakland Athletics | 54 | 108 | 0.333 | 34 | 31–50 | 23–58 |
Record vs. opponents
1979 American League Records Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
| Baltimore | — | 8–5 | 9–3 | 8–3 | 8–5 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 5–6 | 8–4 | 10–2 | 6–6 | 11–2 |
| Boston | 5–8 | — | 5–7 | 5–6 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 9–3 | 5–8 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 9–4 |
| California | 3–9 | 7–5 | — | 9–4 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 7–5 | 10–3 | 7–6 | 5–8 | 7–5 |
| Chicago | 3–8 | 6–5 | 4–9 | — | 6–6 | 3–9 | 5–8 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 4–8 | 9–4 | 5–8 | 11–2 | 7–5 |
| Cleveland | 5–8 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 6–6 | — | 6–6 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 8–4 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 8–5 |
| Detroit | 6–7 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 9–3 | 6–6 | — | 5–7 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 9–4 |
| Kansas City | 6–6 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 6–6 | 7–5 | — | 5–7 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 9–4 | 7–6 | 6–7 | 9–3 |
| Milwaukee | 5–8 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 7–6 | 7–5 | — | 8–4 | 9–4 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 9–3 | 10–3 |
| Minnesota | 4–8 | 3–9 | 4–9 | 8–5 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 6–7 | 4–8 | — | 7–5 | 9–4 | 10–3 | 4–9 | 11–1 |
| New York | 6–5 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 8–5 | 6–7 | 7–5 | 4–9 | 5–7 | — | 9–3 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 9–4 |
| Oakland | 4–8 | 3–9 | 3–10 | 4–9 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 3–9 | — | 8–5 | 2–11 | 4–8 |
| Seattle | 2–10 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 3–9 | 3–10 | 6–6 | 5–8 | — | 6–7 | 8–4 |
| Texas | 6–6 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 2–11 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 3–9 | 9–4 | 4–8 | 11–2 | 7–6 | — | 7–5 |
| Toronto | 2–11 | 4–9 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 4–9 | 3–9 | 3–10 | 1–11 | 4–9 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 5–7 | — |
Notable transactions
- May 4, 1979: Bert Campaneris was traded by the Rangers to the California Angels for Dave Chalk.[7]
- June 15, 1979: Dock Ellis was traded by the Rangers to the New York Mets for Bob Myrick and Mike Bruhert.[8]
- June 15, 1979: Eric Soderholm was traded by the Chicago White Sox to the Texas Rangers for Ed Farmer and Gary Holle.[9]
- August 1, 1979: Oscar Gamble, Amos Lewis (minors) and players to be named later were traded by the Rangers to the New York Yankees for Mickey Rivers and players to be named later. The Rangers completed the deal by sending Ray Fontenot and Gene Nelson to the Yankees on October 8. The Yankees completed the deal by sending Bob Polinsky (minors), Neal Mersch (minors), and Mark Softy (minors) to the Rangers on October 8.[3]
Roster
| 1979 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SS | Nelson Norman | 147 | 343 | 76 | .222 | 0 | 21 |
| LF | Billy Sample | 128 | 325 | 95 | .292 | 5 | 35 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oscar Gamble | 64 | 161 | 54 | .335 | 8 | 32 |
| Larvell Blanks | 68 | 120 | 24 | .200 | 1 | 15 |
| Dave Roberts | 44 | 84 | 22 | .262 | 3 | 14 |
| Gary Gray | 16 | 42 | 10 | .238 | 0 | 1 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Comer | 36 | 242.1 | 17 | 12 | 3.68 | 86 |
| Doyle Alexander | 23 | 113.1 | 5 | 7 | 4.45 | 50 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Allard | 7 | 33.1 | 1 | 3 | 4.32 | 14 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Kern | 71 | 13 | 5 | 29 | 1.57 | 136 |
| Bob Babcock | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.12 | 6 |
Awards and honors
- Jim Kern, Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award
- Buddy Bell, 3B, Gold Glove
- Jim Sundberg, C, Gold Glove
All-Stars
Farm system
| Level | Team | League | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|
| AAA | Tucson Toros | Pacific Coast League | Rich Donnelly |
| AA | Tulsa Drillers | Texas League | Jimmie Schaffer |
| A | Asheville Tourists | Western Carolinas League | Wayne Terwilliger |
| Rookie | GCL Rangers | Gulf Coast League | Andy Hancock |
Notes
- ^ Larvell Blanks page at Baseball-Reference
- ^ Sandy Alomar page at Baseball Reference
- ^ a b Oscar Gamble page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Dave Righetti page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Jim Mason page at Baseball Reference
- ^ https://www.baseball-reference.com/h/henderi01.shtml
- ^ Bert Campaneris page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Dock Ellis page at Baseball Reference
- ^ https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/soderer01.shtml
References
- 1979 Texas Rangers team page at Baseball Reference
- 1979 Texas Rangers team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
- 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.