This Date In Royals History--1984 Edition: February 28
A look at the Texas Rangers
With a few days left before the first spring training games, we continue to check out the Royals’ AL West competitors. Kansas City finished second in the division in 1983, two games ahead of the next team up in this series, the Texas Rangers.
Since moving from Washington, D.C., to the Metroplex after the 1971 season, the Rangers had enjoyed a few good seasons, but were mostly bad to mediocre. The 1983 version leaned toward the latter with a 77-85 record; interestingly, their Pythagorean record was the reverse, which would have easily been the second-best mark in the division.
Texas had a solid offensive core, with third baseman Buddy Bell, left fielder Billy Sample, and right fielder Larry Parrish, and promising youngsters in center fielder George Wright and first baseman Pete O’Brien. Oddly, the Rangers’ big offseason move was a trade for another outfielder, acquiring Gary Ward from Minnesota for two pitchers. One other notable trade they made came when they sent longtime catcher Jim Sundberg, coming off the worst season of his career, to Milwaukee for a younger backstop named Ned Yost.
The Rangers actually had the best ERA in the American League in 1983. But a late-season trade of starter Rick Honeycutt and the deal for Ward had removed two starters and a relief pitcher from the mix. Texas still had knuckleball specialist Charlie Hough, plus veteran lefty Frank Tanana and a solid third starter in Danny Darwin. The hope was that Dave Stewart, acquired in the Honeycutt deal, could step up. The bullpen situation was a little more unsettled, with several players battling for jobs. Texas did return their top two save-getters, Odell Jones (10) and Dave Tobik (nine). Dave Schmidt, who had missed the 1983 season after elbow surgery, was also in the mix, as was prospect (and Kansas City native) Tom Henke.
For manager Doug Rader (fun fact: Rader and legendary Royals broadcaster Denny Matthews were teammates on the baseball team at Illinois Wesleyan University) the main question was easily whether the offense could improve.
Today’s birthdays: Jim Wohlford (1951), Brian Bannister (1981), Tug Hulett (1983), Aroldis Chapman (1988)
I didn't realize Sundberg and Yost were traded for each other. That's a good trivia question I'll have to remember. And I'll always remember Tom Henke for making glasses cool. Well, maybe not cool. That word probably doesn't feel comfortable next to Henke. But if he could punch out MLB bats wearing them, it made a young me feel better about wearing them.