Around the Horn: Texas Rangers

The players and the crowd in the picture above are celebrating. Why? Because it's time for another edition of "Around the Horn", this time featuring the Texas Rangers.

The Rangers were actually born all the way back in 1961 as the expansion version of the Washington Senators. Despite being a new team with new promise (as the original Senators moved to Minnesota to open the 1961 season), they were just as bad. During their time, they only had one winning season (1969).

For the first few years, Cincinnati native Claude Osteen (bottom middle) was one of the standout pitchers compiling a 33-41 record with a 3.46 ERA in 108 games (90 of those starts) over four seasons before being swapped to the Dodgers for the man shown next to him, Ken McMullen and a trade that also netted the Senators slugger Frank Howard.

I love these 1971 Senators cards for a number of reasons. First, being they're 1971 Topps and who doesn't love that set. Second, 1971 was the final Senators season before they moved to Texas the next year and set up shop in Arlington as the Texas Rangers. The Ted Williams card is the only vintage Ted Williams card I own.

This Rangers team card is glorious. Check out the old school uniforms but the thing I love most is that you can see the bottom of the Texas shaped scoreboard in the background.

Here's a couple more Rangers cards from the 70s. Bert Blyleven could be considered a short term stop I think as he only spent a season and a half with the Rangers.

Al Oliver and Bert Blyleven were involved in a crazy four team trade in December of 1977. As part of the deal, Blyleven was sent to Pittsburgh and Al Oliver arrived in Texas. During his stint in Texas, he was a two-time all star and played all 163 games of the 1980 season.

There's a lot to like about this card in general. First, the old Rangers uniform. Then there the cameo of an unnamed Brewers player scampering back to first on a pickoff attempt. Last, looking at the background, it has the feel of a spring training game. It's just a glorious card.

Billy Sample spent the majority of his career with the Rangers and was a decent outfielder and DH. Between the picture of him and the Larry Biittner card above, how can you really not like 1984 Fleer. The design is just so simple. 

By the time this card was released, Fergie Jenkins was playing for the Cubs. He'd only hang around the majors for two more years after this, retiring after the 1983 season. Fergie had two different stints with Texas (1974-1975, 1978-81). In 1974, he won 25 games for a Rangers club that won 84 and finished 2nd in the west. For the 1981 club, he was 5-8 over 19 games.

Here's an interesting card, the man for who the "Mendoza Line" was named, Mario Mendoza. This would be his sunset card for Donruss (he also had cards in the 1982 Fleer and Topps issues) but none of them actually capture him in action like this card. He only played in 12 games for the 1982 Rangers, hitting a paltry .118 in 18 plate appearances.

I'd forgotten how many interesting players donned Ranger uniforms in the 80s. Most of the players from the 1982 Donruss batch above I'd forgotten played down south, except for Hough and Darwin. The 1987 Topps Toby Harrah card is a sunset card. He was the last link to the original days in Washington as he played for the team before the move to Texas. 

Throughout the 80s, the Rangers were a middle-to-bottom of the standings team in the AL West. Only three times finishing the season with an above .500 record. One of those years was 1986,  which was Bobby Valentine's first season managing the team. Don Slaught was in his second season in Texas and split catching duties with Gino Petralli. That team also had a young Ruben Sierra and Pete Incaviglia and also featured grizzled vets like Charlie Hough, Toby Harrah, and Darrell Porter.

The Rangers signed Nolan Ryan as a free agent after he left Houston over a contract dispute. His first season in Texas was his best, going 16-10 with a 3.20 ERA and making the All-Star team. When I first got back into collecting, the card shop I went to had some packs of 1989 Upper Deck for sale. I took a chance, while I didn't get the vaunted Griffey rookie card, I did get this Nolan Ryan card from said pack. 

The 90s are when I really starting noticing the Rangers, especially when Ivan Rodriguez started becoming a household name and when they made the deal for Jose Canseco. Of course, everyone remembers the infamous moment with a ball bouncing off Canseco's head for a home run.

Yep, that.

Here's a random assortment of 90s cards. I wonder if the scoreboard in the background of the 1991 Topps Juan Gonzalez card is the same scoreboard that's in the background of the Rangers team card from earlier?

Goose Gossage is probably the only true "short term stop" I could find in my Rangers collection. Goose made a comeback to the majors in 1991 after spending the 1990 season in Japan and pitched one season for Texas. There was a weird coincidence on July 23 of that season where Gossage recorded his 308th career save to preserve Nolan Ryan's 308th career win.

I think everyone is well award of A-Rod's 3-year stint in Texas. I remember when he signed with them and I found it a little bizarre that he signed with Texas from out of nowhere. The three seasons he had were might successful, especially with him winning an MVP his last season there. The giant contract turned out to be an albatross on the Rangers who shipped him to the Yankees during the 2003-04 offseason after Aaron Boone suffered a knee injury playing basketball

As far as player collections go for the Rangers, I'd say probably Nolan Ryan would be one even though I don't really look for his cards. If I find a cool card of his in a bargain bin, I'll probably snatch it up.

Adrian Beltre seems to be an unintentional player collection, although I think I might add him officially to my list. I never got to see him play much put I always heard that he had a good time playing the game. He was also an anchor for the 2011 team that made a run to the World Series.

After this past season, Beltre retired after a 21 season career with the Dodgers, Mariners, Red Sox, and Rangers. I would be he'll be a sure-fire first ballot Hall of Famer once he's eligible. I'm not sure if he has a card in the 2019 Topps issue but if he doesn't, then I think this 2018 card is a pretty fitting sunset card.

Speaking of sunsets, this edition of "Around the Horn" is riding off into the sunset.

Next up ... the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays.

Around the Horn: Seattle Mariners

It's time for another entry in my "Around the Horn" series, this time the Seattle Mariners are up! The Mariners debuted in 1977 but it wasn't Seattle's first foray into the world of MLB. The first go-round was in 1969 with the infamous "one and done" Seattle Pilots. More on them another time once I get to the Milwaukee Brewers entry in this series.

When thinking of the Mariners, the first person that comes to mind, at least for me, is Ken Griffey Jr. Now, normally I would show only a few cards of player collections but with Griffey, I decided to show all the Mariners cards I have, aside from the two 1989 Bowman rookies. One day I would like to own a 1989 Upper Deck Griffey. I guess I could consider that one of those "white whale" type deals but for now, I'll settle with what I've got. 

During his time in Seattle, there were also four baseball video games that were put out with Griffey's name on them during his time in Seattle, "Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball" and "Ken Griffey Jr.'s Winning Run" for the Super Nintendo and "Major League Baseball featuring Ken Griffey Jr" and "Ken Griffey Jr's Slugfest" for the N64. At some point next year, I might do an article about those games as they were by far my favorites of any baseball video game.

I see no reason why Edgar Martinez shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame to be honest. He was a 7-time All-Star, finished in the Top 20 of MVP voting five times (including twice in the top ten), won five Silver Slugger awards, won the AL Batting Title twice, and is the Mariners all-time leader in doubles, total bases, and RBIs.

My grandpa used to call Randy Johnson "big ugly" because of the long hair and bushy mustache he always sported. I always enjoyed watching Johnson pitch. Occasionally, I'd get to see a Mariners game if it was on ESPN or on national TV but mostly I'd only know what was happening by the clips from SportsCenter. That being said, I really enjoy going back now and collecting his cards

Another young star of those 90s Mariners teams was A-Rod. While I'm not really a big fan of him with the Yankees or Rangers, I tend to keep an eye out for cheap A-Rod Seattle cards. These are the four favorites of mine that I have that chronicle his stay in the Pacific Northwest.

The Tino Martinez card I have here probably has to be my favorite one I have of him with the M's. It's just a flat out cool looking card with the teal jersey, gold foil on the bottom, and great picture of him finishing his swing.

For more modern fans, Ichiro is probably one of the other names people think about when someone mentions the Mariners (well, there's also Felix Hernandez). He debuted in 2001 as part of that legendary team that won 116 games and made it to the ALCS for the second year in a row. I really need to invest in more Ichiro cards as I've only got a handful but that card from this years Topps Big League set is probably one of the best ones I've got.

Going back to the beginning now, this 1978 Topps team card is showing what I'm guessing to be the inaugural Mariners team. There weren't many star players on that team but there were players such as Ray Fosse, Julio Cruz, Skip Jutze, Rick Honeycutt, and Doc Medich. One interesting player on that team was Diego Segui, who I believe was the only person to play for both the Pilots in 1969 and the inaugural Mariners team in 1977.

The Mariners in the early years had an interesting mix of players both young and old, including a number of players that I'm sure most had ever forgotten had played for Seattle. Larry Andersen spent two seasons in Mariner blue, going 3-3 with a 4.46 ERA in 81 games, mostly as a reliever. Tom Paciorek's only All-Star season came as a Mariner in 1981 but I best remember him calling White Sox games with Hawk Harrelson on WGN Superstation in the 90s. Former Reds manager Jerry Narron was a back-up catcher in 1980 and 1981 and then returned for four games in 1987. Jeff Burroughs was one of the early "short term stops" of the Mariners, having appeared in 89 games with the 1981 squad.

Gaylord Perry spent the waning years of his career up in Seattle as well. He spent the entire 1982 season and then the first part of the 1983 season before being released mid-season. He latched on with the Royals to close out his career. These are the only two cards I have that chronicle Perry's stint with the M's.

I showed these last summer when I found them in a yard sale haul my stepmom picked up but I wanted to show them here as well for mere curiosity sake. These are some 1984 O-Pee-Chee cards. While these aren't the most notable names, I still find early 80s O-Pee-Chee cards pretty cool.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Julio Cruz was probably the Mariners first homegrown "star". He was plucked from the Angels in the expansion draft and was promptly installed as the second baseman (and occasional SS and DH). He spent 7 seasons in Seattle and actually finished in the top 25 of MVP voting in 1983. I don't remember where I found this card but I think it's pretty neat to have an oddball card of a player withe the old school "trident logo" on their hat.

I can't go without showing some 1986 Topps cards (I swear one day I'm going to put that set together). But also the Danny Tartabull and Mark Langston cards can't be forgotten about. Both guys had some pretty decent careers. I don't know what it is but there's something about all four of these cards together that just makes me smile.

I should probably add Dave Burba to the list of players I collect. He was one of the Reds top pitchers in the mid-90s and I remember going to a game that he was pitching once where he lost a no-hitter with five outs to go.

Bret Boone debuted as a rookie for the Mariners in 1992 and played more as a backup until he was traded to the Reds along with Erik Hanson for Bobby Ayala and Dan Wilson. The trade worked out well for all, Boone and Hanson were key parts of the Reds success in the mid-90s, including a trip to the NLCS in 1995. Wilson became the longtime catcher for the Mariners and Ayala teamed up with another former Red in Norm Charlton in the Seattle bullpen.

Kevin Mitchell goes into the lore of Mariners "short term stops" as he spent the 1993 season in the Pacific Northwest before being traded to the Reds for the aforementioned Norm Charlton. What is it with all these Reds/Mariners trades in the 90s? The Mariners even got Lou Piniella as the manager after he left the Reds.

I forgot the recently retired Adrian Beltre was with the Mariners until I saw this card. I figured it was probably for only a year or two, but no, he stuck with them for five years and won two Gold Gloves there. 

Carl Everett though did only spend one season in Seattle, that being his final season in the bigs. He appeared in 92 games for a 2006 Mariners squad that finished 4th in the AL West.

I'd forgotten that John Olerud also had a tour of duty up north. This card is interesting as in has a box score of a random game in the bottom right. I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it to be honest. I know it's the only card I have like that.

Hey look! It's a card of new Reds manager David Bell (again the Mariners/Reds connection is mind blowing). While the Reds haven't signed any players, they've completely started from scratch with a new manager and a whole new coaching staff. That's another story for another day though.

I'll round this out with a few more recent cards. By the time this posts, Robinson Cano may or may not still be a Mariner (there were rumors swirling about him being traded to the Mets as I'm writing this). Of the 2018 cards, I thought Archives was a bust this year but I really enjoyed the flagship cards and Heritage.

That puts the bow on this edition of "Around the Horn". Next up ... the Baltimore Orioles/St. Louis Browns.