Rangers Fun Facts

Random Fun Facts

• June 17th was a historic night at Rangers Ballpark.  Former Rangers catcher Ivan “Pudge” Rodgriguez returned to Arlington as a member of the Houston Astros and broke Carlton Fisk’s record of games caught with Pudge’s 2,227th game behind home plate.   Pudge played 12 seasons as a Ranger.  “It was awesome what happened today, it’s just unbelievable,” Pudge said after acknowledging repeated standing ovations from appreciative Rangers fans.

• On June 10th, the Rangers drafted Ruben Sierra Jr., an 18 year old center fielder from Puerto Rico.  Sierra is the son of the former Ranger All-Star.

• When the radio Voice of the Texas Rangers, Eric Nadel, missed the June 4th broadcast of the Rangers @ Yankees game because of eye surgery to repair a tear in the retina of his right eye, it broke a streak of 3,175 consecutive Rangers games broadcast by Nadel.  He had not missed a game since June 2, 1989 when he attended his father’s funeral, a streak of 20 years.  Nadel joined the broadcast crew in 1979.

• The rookie minimum in Major League Baseball is approximately $400,000.00.

• The Rangers won 20 games in the month of May, the second most wins of any month in team history (21 wins in Sept, 1978).  It was only the second 20-win month in team history, and only time in the month of May.

• Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia’s grand slam in the 10th inning on May 5th at Seattle was the fifth in extra innings in Rangers history and the first in a road game since Bump Wills hit an extra inning grand slam at Baltimore on July 19th, 1980.   Salty’s slam was the icing on the cake of the Rangers’ 7-2 win over the Mariners.

• Ian Kinsler’s bat which he used to hit for the cycle against the Orioles will be on display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.  Kinsler’s record setting night included 6 hits and he became the first player since 1890 to go 6-for-6 and hit for the cycle in a 9-inning game.  The Hall of Fame requested Kinsler’s jersey from that night, but Kinsler decided to keep the jersey for himself and sent the baseball bat to Cooperstown.

• On April 16th, every major league player wore uniform #42 as part of the 62nd anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking major league baseball’s color barrier.  The Rangers hosted the Orioles at Rangers Ballpark on Jackie Robinson Day and won the game 19-6. The Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation also sponsors a Jackie Robinson scholar, Makenzie Hodge of Baylor University.

• On Opening Day 2009, the Rangers payroll ranked 22nd highest among all 30 major league teams at $68,646,023.  The Yankees have the highest payroll at $201,400,000 with the Mets 2nd at $135,700,000.  The three lowest payrolls belonged to the Marlins ($37 million), the Padres ($43 million) and Pirates ($49 million).

• The minimum salary for Major League players in 2009 is $400,000.00.

• The Rangers have scored 800-or-more runs the past 13 straight seasons, going all the way back to the 1996 AL West championship season.  Thirteen years is the second longest streak in Major League history.  Over the 13 year span, the Rangers have the most home runs and highest slugging percentage of any American League team.

• The same owner who moved basketball’s Lakers from Minneapolis to Los Angeles is the same man who moved the Washington Senators to Arlington where the team would become known as the Rangers.  Bob Short moved the team to Arlington after the 1971 season.

• Former Rangers pitching coach Dick Bosman holds an unusual distinction in team history.  He was the starting pitcher for the Washington Senators’ final game on Sept 30, 1971 before the team moved to Arlington and became the Rangers.  He also was the starting pitcher for the first Rangers game on April 15, 1972.

Player Fun Facts

• On June 17th Omar Vizquel collected his 2,677th hit in his major league career, tying him with the legendary Luis Aparicio for the most hits by a native of Venezuela.

• Relief pitcher Frankie Francisco did not allow an earned run until the final day of May, a streak of 31 appearances which dated back to August 18, 2008.  He logged the most innings of any pitcher in 2009 before surrendering a run.

• Pitcher C.J. Wilson’s Guitar Hero Metallica Madness charitable event raised $12,000 this year, a new record for the event.  Proceeds go to his children’s charities as well as the Texas Hemophilia Camp.

• Shortstop Omar Vizquel is playing his 21 season of Major League Baseball.  But until joining the Rangers this season, the 11-time All-Star shortstop had never started a game at 2nd base.  He has started at SS, 2B and 3B as a Ranger.

• Pitcher Matt Harrison pitched back-to-back complete game victories during the second week of May versus the White Sox and Mariners, respectively.  He is the first Ranger to accomplish back-to-back complete game wins since Kenny Rogers in 1994.

• Pitcher Vicente Padilla threw two gems in a row on a road trip in early May.  He pitched 8 innings at Seattle and allowed only 1 hit.  In his next outing in Chicago, he held the White Sox to 1 hit in 7 innings.  He’s the first pitcher in Rangers history with back-to-back starts allowing one-or-fewer hits.  And he’s only the fifth pitcher in the major leagues to accomplish that feat since 1954.

• Ian Kinsler became the 4th Ranger in club history to hit for the cycle (HR, triple, double, single in the same game) on April 15th at Rangers Ballpark versus the Orioles.  For the game, he totaled 6 hits (including 1 HR, 1 triple, 2 doubles and 2 singles.  Only one other Ranger has totaled 6 hits in one game (Alfonso Soriano in a 10-inning game in ’04).  Kinsler also scored 5 runs and totaled 13 bases, just one short of the team record set by Jose Canseco in 1994.

• In addition to Kinsler (2009), the other Rangers to hit for the cycle include Oddibe McDowell (1985), Mark Teixeira (2004) and Gary Matthews Jr. (2006).

• When Nelson Cruz hit a mammoth home run to left field in the 7th inning of the Rangers 8-5 win over the Indians on April 8th, he became only the 15th player in ballpark history to reach the club level in left field.

• Rookie Elvis Andrus became the third youngest player (20 yrs, 223 days) in team history to be in the Rangers starting lineup on opening day.  Ivan “Pudge” Rodgriguez (20 years, 130 days) remains the youngest Ranger to ever start a season opener.

• Rangers outfielder Nelson Cruz represented the Dominican Republic is the 2009 World Baseball Classic.  But he also had previously represented his country on the Dominican national BASKETBALL team.

• All-Star outfielder Josh Hamilton gave up smokeless tobacco at the behest of his 7-year old daughter, Julia, who asked her daddy to give up the habit.

• Pitcher Kevin Millwood is an excellent golfer with a single-digit handicap.  During the baseball season, he maintains about a 7 handicap.  But during the off-season, he gets as low as a 4.  His favorite golf course that he’s ever played is Augusta National, home of The Masters.

• Pitcher Jason Jennings had a memorable Major League debut on August 23, 2001.  He became the first pitcher in major league history to throw a shutout and hit a home run in his first Major League game.

• All-Star Michael Young played part of the 2008 season with two fractures in two different fingers. Another tidbit about Michael Young:  he drives a Maserati.

• Hank Blalock hit a home run in each of the final four Rangers home games in 2008.  The streak of four consecutive games with a home run was the longest streak of Blalock’s career.

• When Rangers catcher Taylor Teagarden hit a grand slam on September 15th, it was his 6th home run in 12 games.  He is only the third player since 1956 to hit six homers through his first 12 major league games.

• Taylor Teagarden earned a bronze medal as a member of USA’s baseball team in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

• Shortstop Omar Vizquel has won 11 Gold Glove Awards.  Only 9 players in major league history have won more Gold Gloves than Vizquel.

• With an RBI in a game versus the Mariners on September 2, 2008, Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton became the second major league baseball player in the past 55 years to record 120 RBI’s in only his second full major league season.  The only other player to accomplish the feat since 1953 is the Cardinals’ Albert Pujols in 2002.

Ballpark Fun Facts

• Grass clippings from the field are used in mulch for the outside landscaping or returned to the field as fertilizer.

• All edible foods left over from prep that are not used for games are sent to Mission Arlington.

• The playing surface consists of Bermuda Tifway 419.  The sod was grown on a farm in nearby Granbury, Texas.  The sod was laid in 4x100 foot strips on the field in October, 1996.  Drainage line are laid every 15 feet over the expanse of the entire field.  The playing surface is then covered by 4-to-5 inches of pea gravel, plus 14-to-15 inches of sand mixture.  The field’s drainage capacity is 9-to-10 inches of water per hour.  The irrigation system allows the entire outfield to be watered from one station at 750 gallons per minute, or 50,000 gallons per hour. 

• The tarp, which is used to protect the field during rain delays, is mounted on a hydraulic lift and stored below ground down the left field line, preventing any sight-line problems.  Thanks to the below ground storage, there are no obstructed views for fans seated down the left field line.

• *Each season the wives of Rangers and Astros players take part in the annual “Diamond Boot” softball game.

• *The Rangers helped the Miracle League build a new Texas Rangers Miracle League Field in Arlington which provides opportunities for all children to play baseball regardless of their abilities.  The stadium includes wheelchair accessible dugouts and a completely flat playing surface which eliminates barriers for wheelchair-bound players.  The custom-designed synthetic turf is cushioned to help prevent injuries.  The Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation helps fund the maintenance and upkeep of the field.

• When 30-year old Brian Gordon made his major league debut with the Rangers on September 17th, he became the 55th player used by the Rangers during the 2008 season, a team record for players used in one season.  The previous record was 52.