1977 Texas Rangers season
The 1977 Texas Rangers season involved the Rangers finishing second in the American League West with a record of 94 wins and 68 losses.
1977 Texas Rangers | |
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Other information | |
Owner(s) | Bradford G. Corbett |
General manager(s) | Dan O'Brien, Sr./Eddie Robinson |
Manager(s) | Frank Lucchesi, Eddie Stanky, Connie Ryan, Billy Hunter |
Local television | KXAS-TV |
Local radio | WBAP (Dick Risenhoover, Bill Merrill) |
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Offseason
On December 10, 1976, shortstop Danny Thompson died of leukemia. Thompson had played in 64 games for the Rangers in 1976.
Notable transactions
- November 17, 1976: Bert Campaneris was signed as a free agent by the Rangers.[1]
- November 23, 1976: Doyle Alexander was signed as a free agent by the Rangers.[2]
- December 9, 1976: Jeff Burroughs was traded by the Rangers to the Atlanta Braves for Carl Morton, Adrian Devine, Ken Henderson, Dave May, Roger Moret, and $250,000.[3]
- December 15, 1976: Dave Criscione was traded by the Rangers to the Baltimore Orioles for Bob Babcock.[4]
- January 11, 1977: Dave Righetti was drafted by the Rangers in the 1st round (10th pick) of the 1977 Major League Baseball Draft.[5]
- February 2, 1977: Fritz Peterson was released by the Rangers.[6]
- February 5, 1977: The Rangers traded a player to be named later and cash to the Chicago Cubs for Darold Knowles. The Rangers completed the deal by sending Gene Clines to the Cubs on February 15.[7]
- February 17, 1977: Brian Doyle, Greg Pryor and cash were traded by the Rangers to the New York Yankees for Sandy Alomar.[8]
Regular season
For one June day in 1977, Eddie Stanky was drawn back into the major leagues as manager of the Rangers.[9] After that day, he abruptly quit and left for Alabama, saying only that he was homesick.[10]
Season standings
AL West | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
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Kansas City Royals | 102 | 60 | 0.630 | — | 55–26 | 47–34 |
Texas Rangers | 94 | 68 | 0.580 | 8 | 44–37 | 50–31 |
Chicago White Sox | 90 | 72 | 0.556 | 12 | 48–33 | 42–39 |
Minnesota Twins | 84 | 77 | 0.522 | 17½ | 48–32 | 36–45 |
California Angels | 74 | 88 | 0.457 | 28 | 39–42 | 35–46 |
Seattle Mariners | 64 | 98 | 0.395 | 38 | 29–52 | 35–46 |
Oakland Athletics | 63 | 98 | 0.391 | 38½ | 35–46 | 28–52 |
Record vs. opponents
1977 American League Records Sources: | ||||||||||||||
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Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
Baltimore | — | 6–8 | 5–6 | 5–5 | 11–4 | 12–3 | 4–7 | 11–4 | 6–4 | 8–7 | 8–2 | 7–3 | 4–6 | 10–5 |
Boston | 8–6 | — | 7–3 | 3–7 | 8–7 | 9–6 | 5–5 | 9–6 | 4–6 | 8–7 | 8–3 | 10–1 | 6–4 | 12–3 |
California | 6–5 | 3–7 | — | 8–7 | 6–4 | 4–6 | 6–9 | 5–5 | 7–8 | 4–7 | 5–10 | 9–6 | 5–10 | 6–4 |
Chicago | 5–5 | 7–3 | 7–8 | — | 6–4 | 4–6 | 8–7 | 6–5 | 10–5 | 3–7 | 10–5 | 10–5 | 6–9 | 8–3 |
Cleveland | 4–11 | 7–8 | 4–6 | 4–6 | — | 8–7 | 3–7 | 11–4 | 2–9 | 3–12 | 7–3 | 7–3 | 2–9 | 9–5 |
Detroit | 3–12 | 6–9 | 6–4 | 6–4 | 7–8 | — | 3–8 | 10–5 | 5–5 | 6–9 | 5–5 | 5–6 | 2–8 | 10–5 |
Kansas City | 7–4 | 5–5 | 9–6 | 7–8 | 7–3 | 8–3 | — | 8–2 | 10–5 | 5–5 | 9–6 | 11–4 | 8–7 | 8–2 |
Milwaukee | 4–11 | 6–9 | 5–5 | 5–6 | 4–11 | 5–10 | 2–8 | — | 3–8 | 8–7 | 5–5 | 7–3 | 5–5 | 8–7 |
Minnesota | 4–6 | 6–4 | 8–7 | 5–10 | 9–2 | 5–5 | 5–10 | 8–3 | — | 2–8 | 8–6 | 7–8 | 8–7 | 9–1 |
New York | 7–8 | 7–8 | 7–4 | 7–3 | 12–3 | 9–6 | 5–5 | 7–8 | 8–2 | — | 9–2 | 6–4 | 7–3 | 9–6 |
Oakland | 2–8 | 3–8 | 10–5 | 5–10 | 3–7 | 5–5 | 6–9 | 5–5 | 6–8 | 2–9 | — | 7–8 | 2–13 | 7–3 |
Seattle | 3–7 | 1–10 | 6–9 | 5–10 | 3–7 | 6–5 | 4–11 | 3–7 | 8–7 | 4–6 | 8–7 | — | 9–6 | 4–6 |
Texas | 6–4 | 4–6 | 10–5 | 9–6 | 9–2 | 8–2 | 7–8 | 5–5 | 7–8 | 3–7 | 13–2 | 6–9 | — | 7–4 |
Toronto | 5–10 | 3–12 | 4–6 | 3–8 | 5–9 | 5–10 | 2–8 | 7–8 | 1–9 | 6–9 | 3–7 | 6–4 | 4–7 | — |
Opening Day starters
Notable transactions
- April 1, 1977: Carl Morton was released by the Rangers.[3]
- April 12, 1977: Steve Foucault was traded by the Rangers to the Detroit Tigers for Willie Horton.[11]
- April 30, 1977: Mike Marshall was purchased by the Rangers from the Atlanta Braves.[12]
- May 9, 1977: Roy Howell was traded by the Rangers to the Toronto Blue Jays for Jim Mason, Steve Hargan and $200,000.[13]
- May 23, 1977: Dave Moates was purchased from the Rangers by the New York Yankees.[14]
- June 7, 1977: John Butcher was drafted by the Rangers in the 1st round (18th pick) of the secondary phase of the 1977 Major League Baseball Draft.[15]
- June 15, 1977: Dock Ellis was purchased by the Rangers from the Oakland Athletics.[16]
- June 15, 1977: Jim Fregosi was traded by the Rangers to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Ed Kirkpatrick.[17]
Roster
1977 Texas Rangers | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
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Player stats
= Indicates team leader |
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 |
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C | Jim Sundberg | 149 | 453 | 132 | .291 | 6 | 65 |
1B | Mike Hargrove | 153 | 525 | 160 | .305 | 18 | 69 |
2B | Bump Wills | 152 | 541 | 155 | .287 | 9 | 62 |
3B | Toby Harrah | 159 | 539 | 142 | .263 | 27 | 87 |
SS | Bert Campaneris | 150 | 552 | 140 | .254 | 5 | 46 |
LF | Claudell Washington | 129 | 521 | 148 | .284 | 12 | 68 |
CF | Juan Beníquez | 123 | 424 | 114 | .269 | 10 | 50 |
RF | Dave May | 120 | 340 | 82 | .241 | 7 | 42 |
DH | Willie Horton | 139 | 519 | 150 | .289 | 15 | 75 |
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 |
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Ken Henderson | 75 | 244 | 63 | .258 | 5 | 23 |
Tom Grieve | 79 | 236 | 53 | .225 | 7 | 30 |
John Ellis | 49 | 119 | 28 | .235 | 4 | 15 |
Kurt Bevacqua | 39 | 96 | 32 | .333 | 5 | 28 |
Sandy Alomar | 69 | 83 | 22 | .265 | 1 | 11 |
Keith Smith | 23 | 67 | 16 | .239 | 2 | 6 |
Bill Fahey | 37 | 68 | 15 | .221 | 0 | 5 |
Jim Mason | 36 | 55 | 12 | .218 | 1 | 7 |
Ed Kirkpatrick | 20 | 48 | 9 | .188 | 0 | 3 |
Lew Beasley | 25 | 32 | 7 | .219 | 0 | 3 |
Jim Fregosi | 13 | 28 | 7 | .250 | 1 | 5 |
Pat Putnam | 11 | 26 | 8 | .308 | 0 | 3 |
Roy Howell | 7 | 17 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Eddie Miller | 17 | 6 | 2 | .333 | 0 | 1 |
Gary Gray | 1 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
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 |
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Gaylord Perry | 34 | 238 | 15 | 12 | 3.37 | 177 |
Doyle Alexander | 34 | 237 | 17 | 11 | 3.65 | 82 |
Bert Blyleven | 30 | 234.2 | 14 | 12 | 2.72 | 182 |
Dock Ellis | 23 | 167.1 | 10 | 6 | 2.90 | 90 |
Tommy Boggs | 6 | 27.1 | 0 | 3 | 5.93 | 15 |
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 |
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Nelson Briles | 28 | 108.1 | 6 | 4 | 4.24 | 57 |
Roger Moret | 18 | 72.1 | 3 | 3 | 3.73 | 39 |
Len Barker | 15 | 47.1 | 4 | 1 | 2.66 | 51 |
Jim Umbarger | 3 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 5.54 | 5 |
Mike Marshall | 12 | 35.2 | 2 | 2 | 4.04 | 18 |
John Poloni | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6.43 | 5 |
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 |
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Adrian Devine | 56 | 11 | 6 | 15 | 3.58 | 67 |
Paul Lindblad | 42 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4.20 | 46 |
Darold Knowles | 42 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3.22 | 14 |
Steve Hargan | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8.76 | 10 |
Mike Wallace | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.56 | 2 |
Bobby Cuellar | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.35 | 3 |
Mike Bacsik | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19.29 | 1 |
Awards and honors
- Jim Sundberg, Gold Glove, catcher, 1977
- Juan Beníquez, Gold Glove, outfield, 1977
Other team leaders
- Stolen bases – Bump Wills (28)
- Walks – Toby Harrah (109)
Farm system
Level | Team | League | Manager |
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AAA | Tucson Toros | Pacific Coast League | Rich Donnelly |
AA | Tulsa Drillers | Texas League | Marty Martínez |
A | Asheville Tourists | Western Carolinas League | Wayne Terwilliger |
Rookie | GCL Rangers | Gulf Coast League | Joe Klein |
Notes
- Bert Campaneris page at Baseball Reference
- Doyle Alexander page at Baseball Reference
- Carl Morton page at Baseball Reference
- Dave Criscione page at Baseball Reference
- Dave Righetti page at Baseball Reference
- Fritz Peterson page at Baseball Reference
- Darold Knowles page at Baseball Reference
- Alomar traded to Rangers
- Eddie Stanky named new Ranger manager
- Durso, Joseph (June 7, 1999). "Eddie Stanky, 83, Spark Plug On 3 Pennant-Winning Teams". The New York Times. Retrieved April 20, 2010.
- Willie Horton page at Baseball Reference
- Mike Marshall page at Baseball Reference
- Jim Mason page at Baseball Reference
- Dave Moates page at Baseball Reference
- John Butcher page at Baseball Reference
- Dock Ellis page at Baseball Reference
- Jim Fregosi page at Baseball Reference
References
- 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.