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1989 Texas Rangers season
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Texas Rangers |
| season | 1989 |
| league | American League |
| division | West |
| ballpark | Arlington Stadium |
| city | Arlington, Texas |
| record | |
| divisional_place | 4th |
| owners | George W. Bush |
| general_managers | Tom Grieve |
| managers | Bobby Valentine |
| television | KTVT |
| (Bob Carpenter, Steve Busby) | |
| HSE | |
| (Greg Lucas, Norm Hitzges, Merle Harmon) | |
| radio | WBAP |
| (Eric Nadel, Mark Holtz ) |
(Bob Carpenter, Steve Busby) HSE (Greg Lucas, Norm Hitzges, Merle Harmon) (Eric Nadel, Mark Holtz ) |}}
The 1989 Texas Rangers season was the 29th of the Texas Rangers franchise overall, their 18th in Arlington as the Rangers, and the 18th season at Arlington Stadium. The Rangers finished fourth in the American League West with a record of 83 wins and 79 losses. Nolan Ryan would achieve his 5,000th career strikeout during the season. He would finish as the American League leader in strikeouts.
This season, the Rangers were sold to a new ownership group; the managing partner was future United States President George W. Bush.
Offseason
- October 11, 1988: Guy Hoffman was released by the Rangers.
- December 5, 1988: Paul Kilgus, Mitch Williams, Curtis Wilkerson, Steve Wilson, Luis Benitez (minors) and Pablo Delgado (minors) were traded by the Rangers to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for Rafael Palmeiro, Jamie Moyer and Drew Hall.
- December 5, 1988: Bobby Meacham was traded by the New York Yankees to the Texas Rangers for Bob Brower.
- December 6, 1988: Pete O'Brien, Oddibe McDowell, and Jerry Browne were traded by the Rangers to the Cleveland Indians for Julio Franco.
- December 7, 1988: Nolan Ryan was signed as a free agent by the Rangers.
- January 6, 1989: Cecilio Guante was signed as a free agent by the Rangers.
- January 6, 1989: Jim Sundberg was signed as a free agent by the Rangers.
- January 23, 1989: Rick Leach was signed as a free agent by the Rangers.
Regular season
- June 16, 1989: Sammy Sosa made his major league debut in a game against the New York Yankees. In four at-bats, Sosa appeared in 4 at-bats and had 2 hits.
- August 22, 1989: Against the eventual World Champion Oakland A's, Ryan became the first pitcher ever to record 5,000 career strikeouts. He struck out Rickey Henderson in the fifth inning to break the 5,000 barrier.
- September 12, 1989: Nolan Ryan threw 164 pitches before he was replaced on the mound by Kenny Rogers in the ninth inning. The Rangers lost the game, 6–5, to the Kansas City Royals.
- Rubén Sierra had a career year as he led the AL in triples and RBI but ranked 6th in home runs (29), third in runs scored (101) and 5th in hits (194). He set the club record for most total bases in a season (344), which also led the league.
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Notable transactions
- July 29, 1989: Sammy Sosa, Wilson Álvarez, and Scott Fletcher were traded by the Rangers to the Chicago White Sox for Harold Baines and Fred Manrique.
Roster
| 1989 Texas Rangers |
|---|
| **Roster** |
| **Pitchers** |
Player stats
Batting
| = Indicates team leader |
|---|
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Chad Kreuter | 87 | 158 | 24 | .152 | 5 | 9 |
| 1B | Rafael Palmeiro | 156 | 559 | 154 | .275 | 8 | 64 |
| 2B | Julio Franco | 150 | 548 | 173 | .316 | 13 | 92 |
| 3B | Steve Buechele | 155 | 486 | 114 | .235 | 16 | 59 |
| SS | Scott Fletcher | 83 | 314 | 75 | .239 | 0 | 22 |
| LF | Pete Incaviglia | 133 | 453 | 107 | .236 | 21 | 81 |
| CF | Cecil Espy | 142 | 275 | 122 | .257 | 3 | 31 |
| RF | Rubén Sierra | 162 | 634 | 194 | .306 | 29 | 119 |
| DH | Harold Baines | 50 | 172 | 49 | .285 | 3 | 16 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Kunkel | 108 | 293 | 79 | .270 | 8 | 29 |
| Rick Leach | 110 | 239 | 65 | .272 | 1 | 23 |
| Fred Manrique | 54 | 191 | 55 | .288 | 2 | 22 |
| Geno Petralli | 70 | 184 | 56 | .304 | 4 | 23 |
| Jim Sundberg | 76 | 147 | 29 | .197 | 2 | 8 |
| Mike Stanley | 67 | 122 | 30 | .246 | 1 | 11 |
| Jack Daugherty | 52 | 106 | 32 | .302 | 1 | 10 |
| Sammy Sosa | 25 | 84 | 20 | .238 | 1 | 3 |
| Buddy Bell | 34 | 82 | 15 | .183 | 0 | 3 |
| Juan González | 24 | 60 | 9 | .150 | 1 | 7 |
| Scott Coolbaugh | 25 | 51 | 14 | .275 | 2 | 7 |
| Thad Bosley | 37 | 40 | 9 | .225 | 1 | 9 |
| Jeff Stone | 22 | 36 | 6 | .167 | 0 | 5 |
| Dean Palmer | 16 | 19 | 2 | .105 | 0 | 1 |
| Kevin Reimer | 3 | 5 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
| = Indicates league leader |
|---|
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nolan Ryan | 32 | 239.1 | 16 | 10 | 3.20 | 301 |
| Bobby Witt | 31 | 194.1 | 12 | 13 | 5.14 | 166 |
| Kevin Brown | 28 | 191.0 | 12 | 9 | 3.35 | 104 |
| Charlie Hough | 30 | 182.0 | 10 | 13 | 4.35 | 94 |
| Mike Jeffcoat | 22 | 130.2 | 9 | 6 | 3.58 | 64 |
| Jamie Moyer | 15 | 76.0 | 4 | 9 | 4.86 | 44 |
| Wilson Álvarez | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | inf | 0 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Barfield | 4 | 11.2 | 0 | 1 | 6.17 | 9 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Russell | 71 | 6 | 4 | 38 | 1.98 | 77 |
| Kenny Rogers | 73 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2.93 | 63 |
| Cecilio Guante | 50 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 3.91 | 69 |
| Gary Mielke | 43 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3.26 | 26 |
| Drew Hall | 38 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3.70 | 45 |
| Craig McMurtry | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.43 | 14 |
| Brad Arnsberg | 16 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4.13 | 26 |
| Darrel Akerfelds | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.27 | 9 |
| Paul Wilmet | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15.43 | 1 |
| Jeff Kunkel | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21.60 | 0 |
Awards and honors
- Julio Franco, Silver Slugger Award, 1989
- Jeff Russell, Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award 1989
- Nolan Ryan, American League Leader Strikeouts (301)
- Rubén Sierra, Silver Slugger Award, 1989
- Rubén Sierra, American League Leader, Triples (14)
- Rubén Sierra, American League Leader, RBI (119)
- Rubén Sierra, American League Leader, Total Bases (344)
- Julio Franco, second baseman, starter
- Rubén Sierra, outfield, starter
- Nolan Ryan, pitcher, reserve
- Jeff Russell, relief pitcher, reserve
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Charlotte
References
- 1989 Texas Rangers at Baseball Reference
- 1989 Texas Rangers at Baseball Almanac
References
- [https://www.baseball-reference.com/h/hoffmgu01.shtml Guy Hoffman] at ''Baseball Reference''
- [https://www.baseball-reference.com/k/kilgupa01.shtml Paul Kilgus] at ''Baseball Reference''
- "Bobby Beacham: Career Statistics". Baseball Reference.
- [https://www.baseball-reference.com/f/francju01.shtml Julio Franco] at ''Baseball Reference''
- [https://www.baseball-reference.com/r/ryanno01.shtml Nolan Ryan] at ''Baseball Reference''
- [https://www.baseball-reference.com/g/guantce01.shtml Cecilio Guante] at ''Baseball Reference''
- [https://www.baseball-reference.com/s/sundbji01.shtml Jim Sundberg] at ''Baseball Reference''
- [https://www.baseball-reference.com/l/leachri01.shtml Rick Leach] at ''Baseball Reference''
- [https://www.baseball-reference.com/s/sosasa01.shtml Sammy Sosa] at ''Baseball Reference''
- "The Nolan Ryan Express {{!}} The Strikeout King".
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