1979_Texas_Rangers_season
1979 Texas Rangers season
Major League Baseball team season
The 1979 Texas Rangers season involved the Rangers finishing third in the American League West with a record of 83 wins and 79 losses.
Quick Facts Texas Rangers, League ...
1979 Texas Rangers | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
League | American League | |||
Division | West | |||
Ballpark | Arlington Stadium | |||
City | Arlington, Texas | |||
Owners | Bradford G. Corbett | |||
General managers | Eddie Robinson | |||
Managers | Pat Corrales | |||
Television | KXAS-TV (Jon Miller, Frank Glieber, Eric Nadel) | |||
Radio | WBAP (Jon Miller, Bill Merrill) | |||
|
Close
- October 3, 1978: Len Barker and Bobby Bonds were traded by the Rangers to the Cleveland Indians for Larvell Blanks and Jim Kern.[1] Bobby Cuellar and Dave Rivera were sent to Cleveland to complete the August 31, 1978 trade for Johnny Grubb.[2]
- October 24, 1978: Sandy Alomar Sr. was released by the Rangers.[3]
- 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.[4]
- 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.[5]
- December 8, 1978: Jim Mason was traded by the Rangers to the Montreal Expos for Mike Hart.[6]
- 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.[7]
Season standings
More information W, L ...
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 |
Close
Record vs. opponents
More information Team, BAL ...
Sources: | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 | — |
Close
Notable transactions
- May 4, 1979: Bert Campaneris was traded by the Rangers to the California Angels for Dave Chalk.[8]
- June 15, 1979: Dock Ellis was traded by the Rangers to the New York Mets for Bob Myrick and Mike Bruhert.[9]
- June 15, 1979: Eric Soderholm was traded by the Chicago White Sox to the Texas Rangers for Ed Farmer and Gary Holle.[10]
- 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.[4]
Roster
1979 Texas Rangers | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
|
Catchers
Infielders
|
Outfielders
Other batters
|
Manager
Coaches
| ||||||
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
More information Pos, Player ...
Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
C | Jim Sundberg | 150 | 495 | 136 | .275 | 5 | 64 |
1B | Pat Putnam | 139 | 426 | 118 | .277 | 18 | 64 |
2B | Bump Wills | 146 | 543 | 148 | .273 | 5 | 46 |
SS | Nelson Norman | 147 | 343 | 76 | .222 | 0 | 21 |
3B | Buddy Bell | 162 | 670 | 200 | .299 | 18 | 101 |
LF | Billy Sample | 128 | 325 | 95 | .292 | 5 | 35 |
CF | Al Oliver | 136 | 492 | 159 | .323 | 12 | 76 |
RF | Richie Zisk | 144 | 503 | 132 | .262 | 18 | 64 |
DH | John Ellis | 111 | 316 | 90 | .285 | 12 | 61 |
Close
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
More information Player, G ...
Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Johnny Grubb | 102 | 289 | 79 | .273 | 10 | 37 |
Mickey Rivers | 58 | 247 | 74 | .300 | 6 | 25 |
Oscar Gamble | 64 | 161 | 54 | .335 | 8 | 32 |
Mike Jorgensen | 90 | 157 | 35 | .223 | 6 | 16 |
Eric Soderholm | 63 | 147 | 40 | .272 | 4 | 19 |
Willie Montañez | 38 | 144 | 46 | .319 | 8 | 24 |
Larvell Blanks | 68 | 120 | 24 | .200 | 1 | 15 |
Dave Roberts | 44 | 84 | 22 | .262 | 3 | 14 |
Gary Gray | 16 | 42 | 10 | .238 | 0 | 1 |
LaRue Washington | 25 | 18 | 5 | .278 | 0 | 2 |
Greg Mahlberg | 7 | 17 | 2 | .118 | 1 | 1 |
Bert Campaneris | 8 | 9 | 1 | .111 | 0 | 0 |
Dave Chalk | 9 | 8 | 2 | .250 | 0 | 0 |
Gary Holle | 5 | 6 | 1 | .167 | 0 | 0 |
Close
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
More information Player, G ...
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ferguson Jenkins | 37 | 259.0 | 16 | 14 | 4.07 | 164 |
Steve Comer | 36 | 242.1 | 17 | 12 | 3.68 | 86 |
Doc Medich | 29 | 149.0 | 10 | 7 | 4.17 | 58 |
Doyle Alexander | 23 | 113.1 | 5 | 7 | 4.45 | 50 |
Jon Matlack | 13 | 85.0 | 5 | 4 | 4.13 | 35 |
John Henry Johnson | 17 | 82.1 | 2 | 6 | 4.92 | 46 |
Dock Ellis | 10 | 46.2 | 1 | 5 | 5.98 | 10 |
Close
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
More information Player, G ...
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Danny Darwin | 20 | 78.0 | 4 | 4 | 4.04 | 58 |
Brian Allard | 7 | 33.1 | 1 | 3 | 4.32 | 14 |
Ed Farmer | 11 | 33.0 | 2 | 0 | 4.36 | 25 |
Jerry Don Gleaton | 5 | 9.2 | 0 | 1 | 6.52 | 2 |
Larry McCall | 2 | 8.1 | 1 | 0 | 2.16 | 3 |
Close
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
More information Player, G ...
Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jim Kern | 71 | 13 | 5 | 29 | 1.57 | 136 |
Sparky Lyle | 67 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 3.13 | 48 |
Dave Rajsich | 27 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3.52 | 32 |
Bob Babcock | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.12 | 6 |
Close
Awards and honors
All-Stars
See also: Minor League Baseball
More information Level, Team ...
Close
- 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.