Senators / Rangers - The Disco Era (1970-1979)

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1970

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1973

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1977

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Decade

1971

Washington

1974

Arlington

1978

Arlington

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1972

Arlington

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1975

Arlington

1979

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1976

Arlington

Titles:

Top Senators / Rangers Players of the Seventies

None

Pitchers:

BallPark:

Ferguson Jenkins (19.08) - 54

RFK Stadium (1970-1971)

Gaylord Perry (13.1) - 30

Arlington Stadium (1972-1979)

Dick Bosman (5.65) - 28

Doyle Alexander (5.47) - 18

Team Name:

Jim Bibby (4.23) - 17

Senators (1970-1971)

Steve Comer (5.39) - 16

Rangers (1972-1979)

Steve Foucault (3.54) - 16

Bert Blyleven (11.11) - 15

Owner:

Steve Hargan (1.52) - 12

Bob Short (1970-1974)

Jim Kern (6.16) - 11

Brad Corbett (1974-1979)

Jon Matlack (6.9) - 11

Dock Ellis (2.8) - 9

General Managers:

Doc Medich (2.45) - 9

Joe Burke (1972-1973)

Nelson Briles (3.46) - 9

Dan O'Brien (1974-1976)

Darold Knowles (4.02) - 9

Eddie Robinson (1977-1979)

Paul Lindblad (5.45) - 7

Managers:

Catchers:

Ted Williams (1970-1972)

Jim Sundberg (22.18) - 55

Whitey Herzog (1973)

Del Wilbur (1973)

First Basemen:

Billy Martin (1973-1975)

Mike Hargrove (17.1) - 41

Frank Lucchesi (1975-1977)

Frank Howard (7.49) - 17

Eddie Stanky (1977)

Jim Spencer (1.97) - 13

Connie Ryan (1977)

Don Mincher (4.85) - 11

Billy Hunter (1977-1978)

Pat Corales (1978-1979)

Second Basemen:

Bump Wills (12.29) - 24

No Hitters:

Dave Nelson (5.14) - 22

Jim Bibby (1973)

Lenny Randle (5.26) - 15

Bert Blyleven (1977)

ShortStop:

Hall of Famers:

Toby Harrah (28.21) - 69

Ferguson Jenkins

Bert Campaneris (3.69) - 14

Gaylord Perry

Ed Brinkman (4.31) - 7

Bert Blyleven

Third Base:

Rookie of the Year:

Buddy Bell (6.91) - 10

Mike Hargrove (1974)

Aurelio Rodriguez (5.63) - 8

MVP:

Outfield:

Jeff Burroughs (1974)

Jeff Burroughs (9.3) - 24

Juan Beniquez (5.84) - 23

Cy Young:

Al Oliver (6.73) - 16

None

Tom Grieve (2.23) - 13

Alex Johnson (1.79) - 12

Notable Events:

Bobby Bonds (3.98) - 11

Cesar Tovar (1.92) - 11

1970 - Coming into the decade, the Senators are a bad ball club. That won't change

Ed Stroud (3.07) - 10

for a while but , that being said, the Senators / Rangers start drafting some pretty

Del Unser (3.2) - 10

good hitters and while it doesn't make them a winner, it makes them a fun watch:

Richie Zisk (2.34) - 8

□ 1968 - SS Toby Harrah,19, minor league draft from Phillies - rookie in '71

□ 1969 - OF Jeff Burroughs, 18 - 1st round of amateur draft - rookie in '73

Notable Events:

□ 1970 - 3B Bill Madlock, 19 - 5th round of draft

==> later traded to Cubs for Ferguson Jenkins

1973 - Bob Short hires on Billy Martin as manager.

□ 1972 - 1B Mike Hargrove, 22, - 25th round of amateur draft

At this point owners have figured out that if you want a guy to give your

□ 1973 - C Jim Sundberg, 22, - 2nd overall pick in draft - rookie in '74

franchise a short term boost so that you can sell the club at a premium,

bring in Martin. Of course, it works, as the Rangers improve 27

1972 - The Senators move out of Washington for Arlington, Texas.

games to 84 wins in '74 with Martin at the helm. Meanwhile, have

Bob Short had bought the club in 1968 and the feeling is that he never wanted to

we ever seen anyone more oily than Short? He buys the club in

keep it in Washington. Other than hiring Ted Williams as a quick and dirty type of

Washington, runs it into the ground there so that he can move it

fix, Short did nothing to enhance Washington's chances of winning. Not only that,

to Arlington so that he can get a big financial windfall from the city

he jacked up ticket prices so high for that attendence dropped enough so that he

taxpayers and, once he does, turns around and hires a manager who

could break his RFK Stadium lease and have an excuse to move the franchise.

will, via a short term mirage, make the team look competitive so that

In 1972, local politicians expanded minor league ballpark, Turnpike Stadium in Arlington

he can jack up the price and sell it for the max. This is what baseball

as part of the deal to get Short to move the team to Texas. They also made a multi

had come to in the early Seventies.

million dollar guarantee to purchase radio and TV rights to Ranger games.

Short was a poster boy for the quick buck huckster Major League owners of the time.

1973 - Bob Short drafts David Clyde first overall and immediately

Apparently, Short was open to staying in Washington - if the city built him a stadium.

brings him up to the big leagues. The move generated revenue short

Major League Baseball had always felt it needed keep a team in Washington

term as Clyde was a spectacle, but long term, it probably ruined a

in order to keep Congressional support for the Baseball Reserve Clause.

promising career, but what's that in comparison to turning a quick buck?

However, with the country in turmoil due to the Viet Nam war, worry about

Just ask Bob Short, he'll tell you.

Congress acting on the Reserve Clause was not as big an issue in this climate.

The AL owners allowed the club to move out of Washington. Altho' I don't see

1974 - Bob Short sells the Rangers to Brad Corbett in something of

a relationship between this thumbing of the nose at Congress and the fact

a "short" sale.

that the Reserve Clause ended three years afterward, it is an interesting

coincidence. Karma.

1974 - Mike Hargrove is Rookie of the Year and Jeff Burroughs is MVP

Neither one was a particularly good choice for the award.

1972 - Just to beat a dead horse, Arlington, Texas or Minneapolis, Minnesota are not

more lucrative cities for hosting major league baseball than Washington DC.

1975 - The Rangers come back to earth and Martin is fired.

Opportunism for a quick buck is what motivated the moves out of Washington for its

first two major league franchises. The current, third, franchise located in Washington

1975 - 1977 - New owner Brad Corbett spends for pitching.

is proving that point. Ironically, the current Washington franchise was born out of the

There are a bunch of decent sticks on the roster,

mother of all huckster franchise moves. That was the one orchestrated in the early

but the pitching is hurting and needs an infusion of talent:

2000's by then Commissioner Bud Selig that cost Montreal a major league franchise

□ 1975 - Gaylord Perry, 37, obtained from Cleveland for 3 players and $$

while creating multi hundred million windfalls for owners Jeff Loria and John Henry.

□ 1976 - Bert Blyleven, 25, obtained from Minnesota for 4 players and $$

Added to the irony is that Selig's maneuverings almost cost Minnesota its major

□ 1977 - Doyle Alexander, 26, free agent

league franchise when, at one point, Selig was trying to eliminate two big league

□ 1977 - Dock Ellis, 32, purchased from Oakland

franchises - Montreal and Minnesota. It's a big circle.

□ 1978 - Jon Matlack, 28, obtained in a four team trade

□ 1978 - Ferfuson Jenkins, 35, re-acquired in a trade with Boston

1972 - Bob Short hires Joe Burke as GM. However, we get the feeling that

□ 1978 - Doc Medich, 29, free agent

we know who is really calling the shots here.

1977 - 1979 - The spending works, to a degree.

The Rangers contend in '77 and finish over .500 in '78 and '79,

but don't win any titles.