 The Texas Rangers is a professional team based in Arlington , Texas that is a suburb in the Dallas/Fort worth Metroplex. It is one of the four teams playing in the Western division of American League (AL) of Major League Division. The team was originally known as Washington Senators who moved to Minnesota in 1960. It was in 1972 that the team moved to Arlington , Texas , and changed their names to the Texas Rangers. The team played its games at D.C. Stadium; it was renamed from Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in 1968 that is located on the East Capitol Street and the Anacostia River . The team played its first game on April 15, 1972 , a 1-0 loss at the California Angels. The next day, the Rangers defeated the Angels 5-1 for the team's first victory . The Rangers could not win much in their first year as they ended the season at last place with a woeful 54-100 record. In 1974 the team was managed by Billy Martin, when the team lost 105 games the year before and changed them into 84-76 contender that finished 5 games behind the 3- time World Champion Athletics. The seasons 1975 and 76 brought bad luck and poor performance for the team ass they could not achieve much in these sessions.
The Rangers achieved 2nd place with a 94-68 record in 1977, as they could only get within 8 games of the 1st place Kansas City Royals. After the 1977 and 1978 seasons, the Rangers could not record another winning season until 1986; it was under manager Bobby Valentine, when the team ended second in the AL West. During this time, the team had a host of talent, including Bert Blyleven, Buddy Bell, Fergie Jenkins, Mike Hargrove, Jim Sundberg, Toby Harrah and Rick Honeycutt. It was in the year 1986 season that the Rangers jumped up to challenge the California Angels for the Western Division Title before falling 5 games short with an 87-75 record. The Rangers in the session 1989 ended the season in 4th place with an 83-70 record, as Ruben Sierra led the AL In RBI with 119. In his 2nd season in 1990 the Rangers Nolan Ryan won 13 games and led the League in strikeouts for the 11th time in his great career. The milestones have little effect on the Rangers playoff drive as the team finished in 3rd Place with an 83-79 record. In 1993, Kevin Kennedy took over managerial duties, helming the team for two seasons.
The 1993 squad was the first since the 1974 team to be in serious contention for a playoff berth into mid-September.  The year 1995 saw the beginnings of the most promise for the Rangers. With a brand new ballpark that hosted its first All-Star Game, Johnny Oates was hired as the Rangers' manager and promptly led them to an AL West division title in 1996. Oates again led the team to AL West championships in 1998 and 1999, but en route to a second straight last place finish, Oates was let go mid-way through the 2001 season. The session 2003 saw a new manager Buck Showalter but unfortunately the posted an Major League Worst team ERA of 5-67, and they ended the season in last place with a record of 71-91. The team did not win any World Series championships.
|
