1998 Texas Rangers season

1998 Texas Rangers 1998 AL West Champions
Major league affiliations
American League (since 1961) Western Division (since 1972)
Location
The Ballpark in Arlington (since 1994) Arlington, Texas (since 1972)
1998 information
Owner(s)	Tom Hicks
Manager(s)	Johnny Oates
Local television	KXTX-TV KXAS-TV Fox Sports Southwest (Tom Grieve, Bill Jones)
Local radio	KRLD (Eric Nadel, Vince Cotroneo) KMRT (Luis Mayoral, Josue Perez)
Previous season     Next season

The 1998 Texas Rangers season involved the Rangers finishing 1st in the American League west with a record of 88 wins and 74 losses. It would be the team's second post-season appearance, but the team would be swept 3-0 by the New York Yankees.

Contents 1 Offseason 2 Regular season 2.1 Season standings 2.2 Notable transactions 2.3 Roster 3 Player stats 3.1 Batting 3.1.1 Starters by position 3.1.2 Other batters 3.2 Pitching 3.2.1 Starting pitchers 3.2.2 Other pitchers 3.2.3 Relief pitchers 4 New York Yankees vs. Texas Rangers 4.1 Game 1 4.2 Game 2 4.3 Game 3 5 Awards and honors 6 Farm system 7 References

Offseason

• November 6, 1997: Jim Leyritz and Damon Buford were traded by the Rangers to the Boston Red Sox for Mark Brandenburg, Bill Haselman, and Aaron Sele.^[1]
• November 20, 1997: Scott Sheldon was signed as a free agent by the Rangers.^[2]
• December 8, 1997: Kevin Elster was signed as a Free Agent with the Texas Rangers.^[3]
• December 9, 1997: Roberto Kelly was signed as a free agent by the Rangers.^[4]
• December 15, 1997: Scott Podsednik was drafted by the Rangers from the Florida Marlins in the 1997 rule 5 draft.^[5]
• December 23, 1997: Scott Cooper was signed as a free agent by the Rangers.^[6]
• March 14, 1998: Kevin Brown was traded by the Rangers to the Toronto Blue Jays for Tim Crabtree.^[7]

Regular season

During the season, Rick Helling would be the last pitcher to win at least 20 games in one season for the Rangers in the decade.^[8]

Season standings

AL West	W	L	Pct.	GB
Texas Rangers	88	74	.543	--
Anaheim Angels	85	77	.525	3
Seattle Mariners	76	85	.472	11½
Oakland Athletics	74	88	.457	14

Notable transactions

• July 17, 1998: Todd Van Poppel and Warren Morris were traded by the Rangers to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Esteban Loaiza.^[9]
• July 31, 1998: Kevin Elster was released by the Texas Rangers.^[3]
• August 26, 1998: Greg Cadaret was selected off waivers by the Rangers from the Anaheim Angels.^[10]

Roster

1998 Texas Rangers
Roster
Pitchers 58 Scott Bailes 33 John Burkett 36 Greg Cadaret 23 Tim Crabtree 49 Tony Fossas 53 Eric Gunderson 32 Rick Helling 31 Xavier Hernandez 50 Jonathan Johnson 43 Al Levine 28 Esteban Loaiza 28 Darren Oliver 56 Danny Patterson 59 Roger Pavlik 40 Matt Perisho 60 Julio Santana 30 Aaron Sele 44 Todd Stottlemyre 51 Todd Van Poppel 35 John Wetteland 36 Bobby Witt		Catchers 37 Bill Haselman  7 Iván Rodríguez Infielders 10 Luis Alicea  1 Domingo Cedeño 22 Will Clark 11,18 Royce Clayton 18 Kevin Elster  3 Mark McLemore  4 Scott Sheldon 9,11 Lee Stevens  4 Fernando Tatís 27 Todd Zeile		Outfielders 18 Milt Cuyler 19 Juan González 24 Tom Goodwin 29 Rusty Greer 39 Roberto Kelly 21 Warren Newson 16 Mike Simms Other batters 14 Rob Sasser 18 Chris Tremie		Manager 26 Johnny Oates Coaches 17 Dick Bosman (Pitching) 20 Bucky Dent (Bench) 25 Larry Hardy (Bullpen)  8 Rudy Jaramillo (Hitting) 12 Ed Napoleon (First Base)  5 Jerry Narron (Third Base)

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

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI

Other batters

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

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Simms, MikeMike Simms	86	186	55	.296	16	46

Pitching

Starting pitchers

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

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO

Other pitchers

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

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO

Relief pitchers

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

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Hernandez, XavierXavier Hernandez	46	6	6	1	3.57	41

New York Yankees vs. Texas Rangers

Game 1

September 29 at Yankee Stadium (New York Yankees)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Texas	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
New York	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	6	0
W: David Wells (1-0)   L: Todd Stottlemyre (0-1)  S: Mariano Rivera (1)

Game 2

September 30 at Yankee Stadium (New York Yankees)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Texas	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	5	0
New York	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	3	8	0
W: Andy Pettitte (1-0)   L: Rick Helling (0-1)    S: Mariano Rivera (2)
HR: NYY – Shane Spencer, Scott Brosius

Game 3

October 2 at The Ballpark in Arlington (Texas Rangers)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	4	9	1
Texas	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	1
W: David Cone (1-0)   L: Aaron Sele (0-1)
HR: NYY – Shane Spencer, Paul O'Neill

Awards and honors

• Juan González, AL MVP
• Juan González, Silver Slugger Award
• Iván Rodríguez, C, Gold Glove
• Iván Rodríguez, Silver Slugger Award

All-Star Game

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Oklahoma RedHawks	Pacific Coast League	Greg Biagini
AA	Tulsa Drillers	Texas League	Bobby Jones
A	Charlotte Rangers	Florida State League	Jim Byrd
A	Savannah Sand Gnats	South Atlantic League	Paul Carey
Rookie	Pulaski Rangers	Appalachian League	Bruce Crabbe
Rookie	GCL Rangers	Gulf Coast League	Darryl Kennedy

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Tulsa, GCL Rangers

References

1. ^ Jim Leyritz page at Baseball Reference
2. ^ Scott Sheldon page at Baseball Reference
3. ^ ^{a b} http://www.baseball-reference.com/e/elsteke01.shtml
4. ^ Roberto Kelly page at Baseball Reference
5. ^ Scott Podsednik page at Baseball Reference
6. ^ Scott Cooper page at Baseball Reference
7. ^ Tim Crabtree page at Baseball Reference
8. ^ Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.99, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, NY, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
9. ^ Todd Van Poppel page at Baseball Reference
10. ^ Greg Cadaret page at Baseball Reference

• 1998 Texas Rangers team page at Baseball Reference
• 1998 Texas Rangers team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (3rd ed.). Durham, N.C.: Baseball America. ISBN 978-1-932391-17-6. 

1998 MLB season by team AL East Baltimore • Boston • New York • Tampa Bay • Toronto AL Central Chicago • Cleveland • Detroit • Kansas City • Minnesota AL West Anaheim • Oakland • Seattle • Texas NL East Atlanta • Florida • Montréal • New York • Philadelphia NL Central Chicago • Cincinnati • Houston • Milwaukee • Pittsburgh • St. Louis NL West Arizona • Colorado • Los Angeles • San Diego • San Francisco 1998 All-Star Game • 1998 World Series

Texas Rangers Formerly the Washington Senators • Based in Arlington, Texas (Dallas–Ft. Worth) The Franchise Expansion Draft • History • Seasons • Team Records • No-hitters • Awards & League Leaders • Broadcasters • Owners and executives • Managers • Players • Roster • Captain • First-round draft picks • Washington Senators • Continental League Ballparks Griffith Stadium • RFK Stadium • Arlington Stadium • Rangers Ballpark in Arlington Spring Training: Pompano Beach Municipal Park • Ranger Stadium • Surprise Stadium Retired Numbers 26 • 34 • 42 Key Personnel CEO: Nolan Ryan • General Manager: Jon Daniels • Manager: Ron Washington • Team Captain: Michael Young Texas Rangers Hall of Fame Buddy Bell • Rusty Greer • Tom Grieve • Toby Harrah • Mark Holtz • Charlie Hough • Ferguson Jenkins • Johnny Oates • Kenny Rogers • Nolan Ryan • Rubén Sierra • Jim Sundberg • Tom Vandergriff • John Wetteland Division Titles Western: 1996 • 1998 • 1999 • 2010 • 2011 • Wild Card: none American League Championships 2010 • 2011 Rivalries Houston Astros Minors AAA: Round Rock Express | AA: Frisco RoughRiders | A: Myrtle Beach Pelicans • Hickory Crawdads • Spokane Indians | Rookie: AZL Rangers • DSL Rangers   Seasons (52) 1960s 1960 • 1961 • 1962 • 1963 • 1964 • 1965 • 1966 • 1967 • 1968 • 1969 1970s 1970 • 1971 • 1972 • 1973 • 1974 • 1975 • 1976 • 1977 • 1978 • 1979 1980s 1980 • 1981 • 1982 • 1983 • 1984 • 1985 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 1990s 1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 2000s 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 2010s 2010 • 2011 • 2012

Preceded by Seattle Mariners 1997

AL West Championship Season 1998

Succeeded by Texas Rangers 1999