1989 Texas Rangers season

The Texas Rangers 1989 season involved the Rangers finishing fourth in the American League West with a record of 83 wins and 79 losses.

Offseason

• October 11, 1988: Guy Hoffman was released by the Rangers.^[1]
• December 5, 1988: Paul Kilgus, Mitch Williams, Curtis Wilkerson, Steve Wilson, Luis Benitez (minors) and Pablo Delgado (minors) were traded by the Rangers to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for Rafael Palmeiro and Drew Hall.^[2]
• December 6, 1988: Pete O'Brien, Oddibe McDowell, and Jerry Browne were traded by the Rangers to the Cleveland Indians for Julio Franco.^[3]
• December 7, 1988: Nolan Ryan was signed as a free agent by the Rangers.^[4]
• January 6, 1989: Cecilio Guante was signed as a free agent by the Rangers.^[5]
• January 6, 1989: Jim Sundberg was signed as a free agent by the Rangers.^[6]
• January 23, 1989: Rick Leach was signed as a free agent by the Rangers.^[7]

Regular season

• June 16, 1989: Sammy Sosa made his major league debut in a game against the New York Yankees.^[8] 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, Ryan became the first pitcher ever to record 5,000 career strikeouts. He struck out Rickey Henderson in the fifth inning to break the 5,000 barrier.^[9]
• Rubén Sierra 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

Notable transactions

• July 29, 1989: Sammy Sosa, Wilson Alvarez, and Scott Fletcher were traded by the Rangers to the Chicago White Sox for Harold Baines and Fred Manrique.^[8]

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

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Other pitchers

Relief pitchers

Awards and honors

• Julio Franco, Silver Slugger Award, 1989
• Jeff Russell, Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award1989
• Nolan Ryan, American League Leader Strikeouts (301)
• Rubén Sierra, Silver Slugger Award, 1989
• Rubén Sierra, American League Leader, Triples (14)
• Rubén Sierra, American League Leader, RBI (119)
• Rubén Sierra, American League Leader, Total Bases (344)

All-Star Game

• Julio Franco, Second Baseman, Starter
• Rubén Sierra, Outfield, Starter
• Nolan Ryan, Pitcher, Reserve
• Jeff Russell, Relief Pithcer, Reserve

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Charlotte

References

1. ^ Guy Hoffman page at Baseball Reference
2. ^ Paul Kilgus page at Baseball Reference
3. ^ Julio Franco page at Baseball Reference
4. ^ Nolan Ryan page at Baseball Reference
5. ^ Cecilio Guante page at Baseball Reference
6. ^ Jim Sundberg page at Baseball Reference
7. ^ Rick Leach page at Baseball Reference
8. ^ ^{a b} Sammy Sosa page at Baseball Reference
9. ^ The Nolan Ryan Express | The Strikeout King | smackbomb.com/nolanryan

• 1989 Texas Rangers team page at Baseball Reference
• 1989 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. 

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