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2009 Texas Rangers Season
The Texas Rangers 2009 season was the 49th in franchise history and the team's 38th year in Arlington, Texas. 2009 signified the continuation of a strategy implemented by General Manager Jon Daniels in the summer of 2007. The plan to improve the club emphasized the acquisition and development of prospective talent within the Rangers' organization. Several young players such as shortstop Elvis Andrus, outfielder Julio Borbon, and pitchers Derek Holland and Tommy Hunter made their big league debuts in 2009 after spending time in the Rangers' minor league system. Ranked as the #1 farm system by Baseball America prior to the start of the season, the organization began the season with several of its heralded prospects still in the minor leagues. Emergence of these prospects on the Major League level gave the franchise and its fan base a brighter hope for the future, in line with the objective of competing for the A.L. West title in 2010 and beyond. Notable performances from several ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American League West
The American League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The division has five teams as of the 2013 season, but had four teams from 1994 to 2012, and had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams currently only reside along the West Coast of the United States, west coast and in Texas, historically the division has had teams as far east as Chicago. From 1998 (when the NL West expanded to five teams) to 2012, the AL West was the only MLB division with four teams. The current champion of this division is the Houston Astros. In 2013, the Houston Astros went from the National League Central to the AL West. That move gives all six MLB divisions an equal five teams and both leagues an equal 15 teams each. Division membership Current members * Houston Astros - Joined in 2013; formerly from the National League West, NL West (1969–1993) and National League Central, NL Central (1994–2012) * Los Angeles AngelsThe Angels were formerly known as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Texas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are an American professional baseball team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Rangers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. In 2020, the Rangers moved to the new Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, Arlington after having played at Globe Life Park (now Choctaw Stadium) from 1994 to 2019. The team's name is shared with a Texas Ranger Division, law enforcement agency. The franchise was established in 1961, as the Washington Senators, an expansion team awarded to Washington, D.C., after the city's first AL ballclub, the History of the Washington Senators (1901–60), second Washington Senators, moved to Minnesota and became the Minnesota Twins, Twins (the Washington Senators (1891–99), original Washington Senators played primarily in the National League during the 1890s). After the season, the new Senators moved to Arlington, and debuted as the Rangers the followin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Omar Vizquel
Omar Enrique Vizquel González (; born April 24, 1967), nicknamed "Little O", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball shortstop. During his 24-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, Vizquel played for the Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indians, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, and Toronto Blue Jays. In Venezuela he played for Leones del Caracas. From 2014 to 2017, he was the Detroit Tigers' first-base, infield and baserunning coach. He was manager for the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League. Widely considered one of baseball's all-time best fielding shortstops, Vizquel won 11 Gold Glove Awards, including nine consecutive from 1993 to 2001. Among shortstops, his .985 fielding percentage is tied for highest all-time, he is the all-time leader in games played, and the all-time leader in double plays turned. Vizquel tied Cal Ripken Jr.'s American League record for most consecutive games at shortstop without an error (95, between September 26, 1999, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taylor Teagarden
Taylor Hill Teagarden (born December 21, 1983) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers from 2008 to 2011, the Baltimore Orioles in 2012 and 2013, the New York Mets in 2014 and the Chicago Cubs in 2015. Early life Teagarden graduated from Creekview High School in Carrollton, Texas in 2002. Teagarden attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he was a catcher on the Texas Longhorns baseball team. Most notably, Teagarden played on the Longhorns' 2005 NCAA Championship team, which won the College World Series. Major league career Texas Rangers Taylor was drafted in the third round of the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft by the Texas Rangers. His first major league hit (a solo home run) happened on July 20, 2008. It came off Minnesota Twins pitcher Scott Baker in the top of the 6th, who, until then, had not given up a hit all game. It would end up being the only run of the game in a Ranger ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jarrod Saltalamacchia
Jarrod Scott Saltalamacchia (; born May 2, 1985) is an American former professional baseball catcher. Between 2007 and 2018, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, Miami Marlins, Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, and Toronto Blue Jays. Raised in West Palm Beach, Florida, Saltalamacchia attended Royal Palm Beach High School. His performance on the institution's baseball team drew the attention of scouts, and the Braves selected him in the first round of the 2003 MLB Draft. He spent four years in the Braves' farm system, but in 2007, injuries to both of Atlanta's regular catchers forced them to call him up to the major leagues. Saltalamacchia was prevented from becoming a regular catcher for the Braves by the presence of Brian McCann, and so he became the centerpiece of a trading deadline deal with the Rangers in 2007. Shortly after becoming the team's starting catcher in 2009, a bout of thoracic outlet syndrome for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gerald Laird
Gerald Lee Laird III (born November 13, 1979) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, and Arizona Diamondbacks. Career Oakland Athletics Laird first attended Rancho Alamitos High School, and then later graduated from La Quinta High School in Westminster, California. He was chosen by the Oakland Athletics in the second round of the 1998 draft, but held out for more money. When the A's declined, Laird enrolled in Cypress College and led its baseball team to the finals. In June 1999, Oakland and Laird negotiated a new contract. In his first minor league season, 1999, he played 60 games with the Low-A Southern Oregon Timberjacks and hit .285. He divided the 2000 season between the rookie-level Arizona League Athletics and High-A Visalia Oaks, but a broken wrist limited his playing time. Going into the 2001 season he was considered a top prospect until h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nolan Ryan
Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr. (born January 31, 1947), nicknamed "the Ryan Express", is an American former professional baseball pitcher and sports executive. Over a record 27-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanning four decades, Ryan pitched for the New York Mets, California Angels, Houston Astros, and Texas Rangers. After his retirement in 1993, Ryan served as chief executive officer (CEO) of the Texas Rangers and an executive advisor to the Houston Astros. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999,Pitching Splits and Daily Pitching Logs aRetrosheetanBaseball-Reference.com and is widely considered to be one of the best MLB pitchers of all time. Ryan was a right-handed pitcher who consistently threw pitches that were clocked above 100 miles per hour (161 km/h). He maintained this velocity throughout his pitching career. Ryan was also known to throw a devastating 12–6 curveball at exceptional velocity for a breaking ball. Ryan had a lifetime win– ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Young (baseball)
Michael Brian Young (born October 19, 1976) is an American former professional baseball infielder who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies, and Los Angeles Dodgers. Since 2014, Young has worked in the Rangers’ front office as a Special Assistant to the General Manager. Originally a second baseman, the versatile Young was a five-time All-Star at shortstop, once at third base, and once as a combination designated hitter / utility infielder. He was the 2005 American League (AL) batting champion. Young played baseball in high school at Bishop Amat Memorial High School and in college at University of California, Santa Barbara (UC-Santa Barbara). He was originally drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in 1994, but elected to return to college and was eventually drafted in 1997 by the Toronto Blue Jays. After spending several seasons in the minor leagues with the Blue Jays, Young was traded to the Rangers, where he spent over a d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Maddux
Michael Ausley Maddux (born August 27, 1961) is an American professional baseball coach and former pitcher. He is the pitching coach for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for nine teams, over 15 seasons, and coached for four teams following his playing career. Maddux played in MLB from through for the Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, Seattle Mariners, Montreal Expos, and Houston Astros. Except for the Phillies, for whom he played during the first four seasons of his career, he never played more than two seasons for any team. Maddux has served as pitching coach for the Milwaukee Brewers, Texas Rangers, Washington Nationals, and St. Louis Cardinals. Teams that hired him subsequently allowed fewer runs to score. While coaching for the Rangers, the pitching staff posted season earned run averages (ERA) lower than 4.00 for the first time since , doing so for four ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mark Connor
Mark Peter Connor (born May 27, 1949 in Brooklyn, New York) is a former pitching coach for the Baltimore Orioles and Texas Rangers. Before his coaching career, he was a minor league pitcher from 1971 through 1972 who batted and threw right-handed. Playing career Connor played two minor league seasons for the Minnesota Twins before his career was ended by an arm injury. He went 4-5 with a 2.78 ERA, three saves, and 57 strikeouts in 55 innings for the 1971 Auburn Twins. The following season, he posted a 5-2 record with a 3.83 ERA in 32 relief appearances for the Wisconsin Rapids Twins. Coaching career Following his playing career, Connor became the pitching coach at the University of Tennessee from 1974 to 1978 and served as the head coach in 1988 and 1989. He also coached in the major leagues for the New York Yankees (1984–87, 1990–93), Arizona Diamondbacks (1998–2000) and Toronto Blue Jays (2001–02) before joining Texas (2003). Tommy John called Connor a "brilliant coa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tommy Hunter (baseball)
Raymond Thomas Hunter (born July 3, 1986) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the New York Mets organization. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Mets, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, and Philadelphia Phillies. Hunter was drafted by the Rangers in the supplemental first round of the 2007 Major League Baseball draft out of the University of Alabama. He made his major league debut in 2008. In 2010 he led the American League with a .765 winning percentage, as he had a 13–4 win–loss record. Early and personal life Hunter was born to Ray and Pam Hunter in Indianapolis, Indiana, and raised there with his older sister Megan. Hunter attended Cathedral High School, where he was a two-time All-City Player of the Year (2004 and 2005) . He played both baseball and football for the school. He was also a two-time Junior Olympic judo champion. Hunter married girlfriend Ellen Cohara on January 4, 2014. They h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Derek Holland
Derek Lane Holland (born October 9, 1986) nicknamed "Dutch Oven", is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Detroit Tigers. He is nicknamed "Dutch Oven". Early life Holland was born on October 9, 1986, in Newark, Ohio, to Wendy and Rick Holland. Professional career Draft and minor leagues The Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers selected Holland in the 25th round of the 2006 Major League Baseball draft, 2006 MLB draft out of Wallace State Community College in Hanceville, Alabama, a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association. He was the number two rated prospect in the Rangers organization according to ''Baseball America'', behind Neftalí Feliz, for 2009. Texas Rangers On April 22, 2009, Holland made his MLB debut; pitching innings, allowing three ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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