Update: The Rangers' recent success, including taking two of three from the Yankees this week in the Bronx, came to a temporary crashing thud with an 18-7 loss Wednesday to NY).
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After yesterday's post about the Texas Rangers' sudden newfound success and today's morning-after glow of what will be at least a series win in Yankee Stadium on their last visit to the vaunted hall of athleticism, I stand accused of being somewhat of a bandwagon jumper-onner. But let me assure you, as I may have done in the past, I have never climbed off this turbulent ride, I have only changed seats a few times. I have sat at the front in the mid 1990s and late 1970s, and I have wallowed in the back in hopes of not being noticed for pretty much the remainder of the team's existence.
So if it appears I have jumped on while the gettin' is good, so be it. I have earned as much. Any fan that has stuck with this fiasco for all 36 seasons is entitled to criticize freely. And I have. And now the time has come again when I find my fist high in the air Tuesday night when Ian Kinsler steals third in as gutsy bit of base running as the Rangers may have ever been party to.
Being friends with a number of Chicago Cubs fans, including one who professes that his wife must be a fellow fan as a condition of their nuptials, I grow weary of the talk of the Cubs' curse. How they haven't won in 100 years. Boo hoo. Sure, there's Bartman, the curse of the goat, Ron Santo leaving for his final season to play with the White Sox, a three game sweep at the hands of the Padres in 1984, the first night game at Wrigley rained out, and other sordid and sorry tales, but below I submit to you a list of frustrations that would rival or better anything any team has to offer in three and a half decades. Maybe ever. Yes. Ever. Frustrations and low moments that no other team dare lay claim to. And I posit, therefore, that it is indeed more frustrating to call one's self a Ranger fan than a Cubs fan. Losing is not the only thing, after all. Not when you have a team history full of things like this:
In 1977, second baseman Lenny Randle slugged his own manager, Frank Lucchesi, breaking his jaw and leading to Randle's dismissal from the team. Lucchesi, who had called Randle a "$90,000 a year punk" to prompt Randle's outrage, was fired weeks later, after the Rangers continued to lose.
Succeeding Lucchesi was Eddy Stanky, who managed the Rangers for one game in 1977 before deciding he'd had enough. He called three of his players from an airport, on his way home, to tell them he would not be back.
The David Clyde experiment. Precisely the way how NOT to nurture and develop a pitcher straight out of high school. So desperate for pitching even in 1973 were the Rangers that Clyde, thought at one time to be the future of the franchise, was done at 26, his arm toast from overuse. Clyde had one decent season. Owner Bob Short said the fans wanted to see the young star and manager Whitey Herzog went along with it. Clyde was left in too long in too many games and flamed out far too quickly. According to Wikipedia, Clyde recently retired from the lumber business.
Ranger relief pitcher Frank Francisco was arrested (suspended and later sued) after throwing a chair into the stands, left, during a game against the Oakland A's in September 2004. Frank remains on the Rangers' 2008 active roster.
Kenny Rogers was not as lucky as Frank. Rogers achieved fame for shoving a television cameraman after a disappointing pitching performance in June 2005. Rogers was released by the team at the end of '05 and he remains with the Detroit Tigers.
On May 23, 1993, Former Cleveland Indians infielder Carlos Martinez hit a home run that bounced off the head of Ranger outfielder Jose Canseco. Three days later, Canseco convinced manager Kevin Kennedy (now an expert baseball analyst with Fox) to let him pitch the eighth inning of a blowout loss to the Red Sox. He would eventually retire the side, but not before walking three, allowing two hits and three runs. Injuries received through the pitching motions that Canseco was not accustomed to brought ligament surgery and an early end to his season.
On June 4, 1974, the Texas Rangers were the visiting team at Cleveland Municipal Stadium during the ill-fated 10-cent Beer Night promotion. The crowd drowned themselves in both teams' sorrows, tanked themselves up good, began a riot and forced the cancellation of the contest. Rangers players were pelted with hot dogs and other debris. An empty bottle of Thunderbird thrown from the stands narrowly missed Ranger first baseman Mike Hargrove, who would later enjoy his finest seasons in baseball as manager of the Tribe.
Although I've been unable to pinpoint the date I remember clearly that Doyle Alexander, who pitched for the Rangers from 1977-79, once threw a pitch that sailed into and rolled up the screen that protects fans from foul balls behind home plate.
The only historical book (excluding photo books and coffee table books) ever written about the Texas Rangers is entitled "Seasons in Hell With Billy Martin, Whitey Herzog and the Worst Baseball Team in History -- The 1973-75 Texas Rangers."
Chan Ho Park.
While it should be said that there is nothing funny about this, it must be included on the team's list of ignoble moments. In 1978, before a scheduled start, pitcher Roger Moret went into a catatonic trance, standing stark naked and holding a shower slipper at arm's length for more than an hour. The scene prompted manager Billy Hunter to respond, "I need a starter, not some *&^% statue."
With all that said, it's no wonder Ranger fans are riding such a wave of optimism of late. There is, however, much time left in the season.
And so, the gauntlet has been laid down: if you are a fan of a team with more humbling moments than these, please stumble forward.
And ... GO RANGERS!
As I have mentioned before, my life's dream is to see an all-Texas World Series. I still don't know if it will happen in my lifetime or any other lifetime, but as a long-suffering Rangers fan, this has indeed been refreshing. Now if they just don't pull another patented Rangers mid-Summer fold...
Posted by: Darrell Ward | Wednesday, July 02, 2008 at 03:56 PM
Go Rangers. Forget that stumble last night ...
Posted by: Jimmy | Thursday, July 03, 2008 at 11:52 AM