The Texas Rangers 1989 season involved the Rangers finishing fourth in the

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 curr ...

with a record of 83 wins and 79 losses. This season, the Rangers were sold to a new ownership group; the managing partner was future United States President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

Offseason

* October 11, 1988:

Guy Hoffman Guy Hoffman (born May 20, 1954 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is a drummer and vocalist, formerly of such bands as Oil Tasters, BoDeans, Violent Femmes and Absinthe. He is a composer for such films as ''Field Day'' and a founding member of Radio Rome ...

was released by the Rangers. * December 5, 1988:

Paul Kilgus Paul Nelson Kilgus (born February 2, 1962) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, and St. Louis Cardinals. Early l ...

Mitch Williams Mitchell Steven Williams (born November 17, 1964), nicknamed "Wild Thing", is an American former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for six teams from 1986 to 1997. He was also a studio analyst for the MLB Network from 2009 to ...

Curtis Wilkerson Curtis Vernon Wilkerson (born April 26, 1961), is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a utility player for the Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Kansas City Royals from -. ...

, Steve Wilson, Luis Benitez (minors) and Pablo Delgado (minors) were traded by the Rangers to the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

in exchange for

Rafael Palmeiro Rafael Palmeiro Corrales (born September 24, 1964) is a Cuban-American former Major League Baseball first baseman and left fielder. Palmeiro was an All-American at Mississippi State University before being drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 1985. H ...

Jamie Moyer Jamie Moyer (born November 18, 1962) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Over his 25-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB), Moyer pitched for the Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, Boston R ...

and

Drew Hall Andrew Clark "Drew" Hall is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher with the Chicago Cubs (–), Texas Rangers () and Montreal Expos (). He was born in Louisville, Kentucky, but grew up in Ashland, Kentucky and attended Paul G. Blazer ...

. *December 5, 1988:

Bobby Meacham Robert Andrew Meacham (born August 25, 1960) is an American former professional baseball shortstop, who spent his entire six-year big league playing career with the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). Since retiring from active play ...

was traded by the New York Yankees to the Texas Rangers for Bob Brower. * December 6, 1988: Pete O'Brien,

Oddibe McDowell Oddibe McDowell (born August 25, 1962) is an American former center fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played from 1985 to 1994 for the Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians, and Atlanta Braves. His first name is pronounced "owed a bee" or " ...

, and

Jerry Browne Jerome Austin Browne (born February 13, 1966), nicknamed "The Governor", is a American former second baseman who played ten seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He also worked as a hitting coach for the Syracuse Chiefs. Browne's best season ...

were traded by the Rangers to the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

for

Julio Franco Julio César Franco Robles (born August 23, 1958)Franco's birth date is in question. Many of his early bios and cards have his birthday listed in 1954, and on the roster of the Quintana Roo Tigres, his birthday is listed in 1961. is a Dominica ...

. * December 7, 1988:

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 ...

was signed as a free agent by the Rangers. * January 6, 1989:

Cecilio Guante Cecilio Guante Magallanes (born February 1, 1960) is a Dominican former professional baseball player. He made his Major League Baseball(MLB) debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates and ended his career after playing with the Cleveland Indians. He fin ...

was signed as a free agent by the Rangers. * January 6, 1989:

Jim Sundberg James Howard Sundberg (born May 18, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player, television sports analyst and executive. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1974 to 1989. A three-time All-Star player, Sundberg estab ...

was signed as a free agent by the Rangers. * January 23, 1989:

Rick Leach Rick Leach (born December 28, 1964) is a former professional tennis player and a coach from the United States. A doubles specialist, he won five Grand Slam doubles titles (three at the Australian Open, one at Wimbledon, and one at the US Open) ...

was signed as a free agent by the Rangers.

Regular season

* June 16, 1989:

Sammy Sosa Samuel Peralta Sosa (born November 12, 1968) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Chicago Cubs. After playing for the Texas Rangers and C ...

made his major league debut in a game against the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

.Sammy Sosa
at ''Baseball Reference'' 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 The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

, Ryan became the first pitcher ever to record 5,000 career strikeouts. He struck out

Rickey Henderson Rickey Nelson Henley Henderson (born December 25, 1958) is an American retired professional baseball left fielder who played his 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine teams from 1979 to 2003, including four separate tenures with hi ...

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 Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted mo ...

in the ninth inning. The Rangers lost the game, 6–5, to the Kansas City Royals. *

Rubén Sierra Rubén Angel Sierra García (born October 6, 1965) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. Sierra goes by the nicknames ''El Caballo'' and ''El Indio''. Over 20 seasons, Sierra played for the Texas Rangers (1986–92, 2000–01, 2003), O ...

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:

Wilson Álvarez Wilson Eduardo Álvarez Fuenmayor (born March 24, 1970) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher. During a thirteen-year baseball career, he pitched for the Texas Rangers, ...

, and Scott Fletcher were traded by the Rangers to the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

for

Harold Baines Harold Douglas Baines (born March 15, 1959) is an American former right fielder and designated hitter (DH) in Major League Baseball who played for five American League (AL) teams from 1980 to 2001, and is best known for his three stints with th ...

and

Fred Manrique Fred Eloy Manrique Reyes an-RE-kay(born November 5, 1961) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman who played for the Toronto Blue Jays (1981, 1984), Montreal Expos (1985), St. Louis Cardinals (1986), Chicago White Sox (1987–89), Tex ...

Roster

Player stats

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''

Other batters

''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Other pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Relief pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Awards and honors

Silver Slugger Award The Silver Slugger Award has been awarded annually since 1980 to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League and the National League, as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball. These voters cons ...

, 1989 *

Jeff Russell Jeffrey Lee Russell (born September 2, 1961) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played 14 years from 1983 to 1996. Russell played for the Cincinnati Reds of the National League and the Texas Rangers, Oakland A's, Boston Red Sox and Cl ...

, Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award 1989 *

, American League Leader Strikeouts (301) *

, 1989 *

, American League Leader, Triples (14) *

, American League Leader, RBI (119) *

, American League Leader, Total Bases (344)

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...

, second baseman, starter *

, outfield, starter *

, pitcher, reserve *

, relief pitcher, reserve

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Charlotte

References

1989 Texas Rangers
at ''Baseball Reference''
1989 Texas Rangers
at ''Baseball Almanac'' * {{Texas Rangers Texas Rangers seasons

Texas Rangers seasons This is a list of seasons completed by the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers, originally known as the Washington Senators, professional baseball franchise; they have played in the American League from their inception in 1961. The Rangers ha ...

1989 in sports in Texas