48 Fun Facts About Texas Rangers

The Rangers franchise began in 1961 as an expansion team in which city?

They were the second Washington Senators; the first had just left to become the Minnesota Twins.

Which division do the Rangers play in?

American League West. The Rangers share it with the Astros, Angels, Athletics and Mariners; Houston came over from the National League in 2013 so that each league would have 15 teams.

Which Arlington mayor chased a big-league team for more than a decade before luring the Senators to Texas?

Tom Vandergriff. Elected mayor at 25, he persuaded owner Bob Short to move the club in 1971, then took a seat in the Rangers' broadcast booth himself.

How did the Rangers franchise's final home game before its move to Texas end?

Forfeited after fans stormed the field. With two outs in the ninth and the home team ahead, souvenir hunters poured on, one ran off with first base, and the umpires awarded the game to the visitors.

Which Hall of Famer managed the club to its only winning season before the move to Texas, in 1969?

Ted Williams. He had never coached or managed at any level, yet won 86 games in his first year; after the move he lost 100 in the Rangers' first Texas season and stepped down.

Which pitcher won a club-record 25 games for the Rangers in 1974?

Ferguson Jenkins. Acquired from the Cubs that winter, he led the league in wins as Texas climbed from 105 losses to 84 wins and second place.

Which future Texas governor headed the group that bought the Rangers in 1989?

George W. Bush. He borrowed to buy a small stake, became the club's public face as managing general partner, and collected about $15 million when the team was sold in 1998.

Which pitcher joined the Rangers in 1989 and reached 5,000 strikeouts and 300 wins with the club?

Nolan Ryan. He left Houston in a contract dispute after the Astros sought a pay cut, then threw his sixth and seventh no-hitters as a Ranger, the last at age 44.

Which White Sox player charged the mound in 1993 and was headlocked and punched by a 46-year-old Rangers pitcher?

Robin Ventura. He was 20 years younger than the pitcher he charged, yet he was the one ejected, while the veteran stayed in and earned the win.

Which Rangers pitcher threw a perfect game against the California Angels in Arlington on July 28, 1994?

Kenny Rogers. Rookie centre fielder Rusty Greer saved it with a diving catch to open the ninth inning, then caught the final out as well.

Who was MVP when the Rangers won their first division title?

Juan González. In 1996 he edged the runner-up by just three points in the vote, then hit five home runs in the four-game playoff series, which Texas still lost.

Which Rangers catcher, nicknamed 'Pudge', was the American League MVP in 1999?

Iván Rodríguez. He beat Pedro Martínez for the award even though the Boston pitcher drew more first-place votes, because two writers left Martínez off their ballots entirely.

Which team did Alex Rodriguez leave to sign a record 10-year, $252 million contract with the Rangers?

Seattle Mariners. It was by far the richest deal in baseball history, yet Texas finished last in all three of his seasons, while Seattle won 116 games the year he left.

Who did the Rangers get back from the Yankees when they traded A-Rod after the 2003 season?

Alfonso Soriano. Texas could also pick a prospect from a Yankees list that included Robinson Canó, and chose Joaquín Arias instead.

Who became MLB's youngest general manager when the Rangers promoted him at 28 in 2005?

Jon Daniels. His clubs won pennants in 2010 and 2011, but he was fired in 2022, a year before players he had signed delivered the first title.

Which ballpark, then in its final season, hosted Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton's 28-homer round in the 2008 Home Run Derby?

Yankee Stadium. Hamilton's 28 first-round homers, 13 of them on consecutive swings, set a derby record, yet he tired and lost the final to Justin Morneau.

Which two hand gestures became the Rangers' signature during the 2010 run?

Foam claws and deer-antler helmets took over the ballpark that autumn.

Whom did the Rangers beat in the 2010 ALCS to win the first pennant in franchise history?

New York Yankees. They had knocked Texas out in the first round in 1996, 1998 and 1999; this time the Rangers won in six games to reach their first World Series.

Who beat the Rangers in their first World Series, in 2010?

San Francisco Giants. Tim Lincecum beat Texas ace Cliff Lee twice, in the opener and again in the Game 5 clincher in Arlington.

Who hit the Cardinals' 11th-inning walk-off homer in Game 6 of the 2011 World Series?

David Freese. With Texas one strike from the title in the ninth, his two-run triple tied the game, and he was named series MVP after St. Louis won Game 7.

Which Ranger set a postseason-series record with six home runs in the 2011 ALCS?

Nelson Cruz. He ended Game 2 in the 11th inning with the first official walk-off grand slam in postseason history and was named series MVP.

Whose 3,000th hit in 2017 made him the first player born in the Dominican Republic to reach the mark?

Adrián Beltré. Four days earlier an umpire had ejected him for dragging the on-deck circle over to where he stood instead of walking to it; the 3,000th hit itself was a double.

Who set the Rangers' single-season records for hits (221) and doubles (52) in 2005 and 2006?

Michael Young. He moved from second base to shortstop and then to third to make room for teammates, and still left as the club's all-time hits leader with 2,230.

Which Japanese ace came within one out of a perfect game for the Rangers in 2013?

Yu Darvish. In his first start of the season he retired the first 26 Astros, striking out 14, before a single with two outs in the ninth ended the bid.

Who managed the Rangers to their first World Series title in his first season with the club?

Bruce Bochy. He had retired after the 2019 season with three titles to his name; Texas talked him back, and he won a fourth in his first year.

Whom did the Rangers beat in the 2023 World Series?

Arizona Diamondbacks. On paper they were the weakest side Texas met that postseason: an 84-win wild card, after three earlier opponents who had averaged 97 wins.

Who was the first Ranger to be named World Series MVP?

Corey Seager. He had already won the award as a Dodger in 2020, in a World Series played at the Rangers' own new ballpark, before he ever signed with Texas.

Who won ALCS MVP in 2023 as the Rangers beat the Astros in seven games?

Adolis García. Hit by a pitch as benches cleared in Game 5, he answered in Houston with a Game 6 grand slam and drove in a series-record 15 runs.

The 2023 Rangers set a postseason record by going 11-0 in which kind of game?

Road games. They went 11-0 away from Arlington but only 2-4 at home, so even the title was clinched on the road.

Which pitcher did the Rangers sign to a five-year, $185M contract before the 2023 season?

Jacob deGrom. He made only six starts before elbow surgery ended his season, so Texas won that year's title almost entirely without its new ace.

Under what name did the Rangers' retractable-roof ballpark open in 2020?

Globe Life Field. The pandemic meant its first Rangers game, in July 2020, was played before cutouts instead of fans; paying crowds were first let in that October.

The Dodgers won the 2020 World Series at the Rangers' new ballpark, a neutral site, by beating which team?

Tampa Bay Rays. The pandemic sent the whole Series to one neutral park, and Los Angeles had already beaten San Diego and Atlanta in Arlington before winning the title there in six games.

Which Ranger landed a punch on Toronto's José Bautista during a 2016 brawl?

Rougned Odor. The grudge dated to the previous October, when Bautista flipped his bat after a playoff home run against Texas; the punch followed his hard slide into second base.

What trophy is awarded to the winner of the Rangers–Astros Lone Star Series?

The Silver Boot. The two Texas clubs played for it in interleague series from 2001, then became division rivals when Houston switched leagues in 2013.

What is the name of the Rangers' horse mascot?

Captain. Rangers Captain, to give him his official name, is also for hire: the club books him out for school shows, office parties and even weddings.

Which Dallas financier bought the Rangers for $250 million in 1998?

Tom Hicks. He also owned hockey's Dallas Stars and England's Liverpool, but after defaulting on $525 million in loans he had to sell the Rangers in bankruptcy court in 2010.

What attendance policy made the Rangers' 2021 home opener a first for MLB during the pandemic?

Full capacity. Texas had just lifted its pandemic limits, so 38,238 fans came, masks still required, while other clubs opened that season with capped crowds.

Who unofficially founded the Texas Rangers law-enforcement agency in 1823 by hiring ten frontiersmen?

Stephen F. Austin. The 'Father of Texas' hired the ten men as rangers for his colony, twelve years before lawmakers formally created the force in 1835.

Which saying gives its name to the bronze Texas Ranger statue that long stood at Dallas Love Field?

One Riot, One Ranger. In one telling of a tale no Ranger records support, a lone lawman arrives to stop a prizefight; the 12-foot bronze moved to the baseball Rangers' ballpark in 2026.

Which former Texas Ranger led the 1934 posse that killed Bonnie and Clyde?

Frank Hamer. He was off the force by then, so the Texas prison system hired him as a special investigator, and he sprang the trap near Gibsland, Louisiana.

In which Texas city is the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum?

Waco. The museum stands by the Brazos River in Fort Fisher Park, named for an 1837 Ranger outpost that was soon abandoned, years before the town itself existed.

Which outlaw's gang was shot up by Rangers at Round Rock in 1878?

Sam Bass. One of his own gang had tipped off the Rangers about the planned bank robbery; wounded in the gunfight, he died two days later, on his 27th birthday.

Chuck Norris played which Texas Ranger in a CBS series that ran from 1993 to 2001?

Cordell Walker. In 2010 life copied Walker, Texas Ranger: the state's governor made Norris and his brother honorary Texas Rangers.

Which two retired Texas Rangers lead the cattle drive in Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove?

Augustus McCrae and Woodrow Call. The old lawmen stock their herd by raiding Mexico at night, then drive it north to Montana; the novel won the 1986 Pulitzer Prize.

What was the Rangers' first Texas ballpark called when it opened for a minor-league team in 1965?

Turnpike Stadium. Named for the highway beside it, it was built with a big-league club in mind, then enlarged and renamed Arlington Stadium when the Senators came.

Which Ranger won the American League MVP award in 1974, the club's breakout season?

Jeff Burroughs. The first overall pick of the 1969 draft led the league with 118 RBIs at age 23, yet Texas traded him away only two years later.

What was the Rangers' 1994-2019 home, opened as The Ballpark in Arlington, renamed in 2021?

Choctaw Stadium. Rather than being knocked down when the club moved out, the old park was refitted for football and soccer, and a casino company bought its name in 2021.

Which former big-league pitcher became the Rangers' general manager in December 2020?

Chris Young. A 6-foot-10 pitcher who debuted with Texas in 2004 and won a ring with Kansas City in 2015, he added another as an executive when the Rangers won in 2023.