1977 Texas Rangers
LeagueAmerican League
DivisionWest
BallparkArlington Stadium
CityArlington, Texas
OwnersBradford G. Corbett
General managersDan O'Brien Sr. / Eddie Robinson
ManagersFrank Lucchesi, Eddie Stanky, Connie Ryan, Billy Hunter
TelevisionKXAS-TV
(Dick Risenhoover, Tom Vandergriff)
RadioWBAP
(Dick Risenhoover, Bill Merrill)
← 1976 Seasons 1978 →

The 1977 Texas Rangers season involved the Rangers finishing second in the American League West with a record of 94 wins and 68 losses. The 1977 Rangers were notable for having an American League record four managers in the same season. Frank Lucchesi began the season as the manager but team's board of directors decide to make a change after the Rangers entered June with a .500 record. Former Major League player and manager Eddie Stanky was introduced as the new manager on June 17 but changed his mind after one game and returned to his home in Alabama. Bench coach Connie Ryan served as the interim manager for six games before Billy Hunter was hired and led the team to a 60-33 record for the rest of the year.[1]

Offseason

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On December 10, 1976, shortstop Danny Thompson died of leukemia. Thompson had played in 64 games for the Rangers in 1976.

Notable transactions

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Regular season

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For one June day in 1977, Eddie Stanky was drawn back into the major leagues as manager of the Rangers.[10] After that day, he abruptly quit and left for Alabama, saying only that he was homesick.[11]

Season standings

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AL West
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Kansas City Royals 102 60 .630 — 55‍–‍26 47‍–‍34
Texas Rangers 94 68 .580 8 44‍–‍37 50‍–‍31
Chicago White Sox 90 72 .556 12 48‍–‍33 42‍–‍39
Minnesota Twins 84 77 .522 17½ 48‍–‍32 36‍–‍45
California Angels 74 88 .457 28 39‍–‍42 35‍–‍46
Seattle Mariners 64 98 .395 38 29‍–‍52 35‍–‍46
Oakland Athletics 63 98 .391 38½ 35‍–‍46 28‍–‍52

Record vs. opponents

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1977 American League record

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Team BAL BOS CAL CWS CLE DET KC MIL MIN NYY OAK SEA TEX TOR
Baltimore — 6–8 5–6 5–5 11–4 12–3 4–7 11–4 6–4 8–7 8–2 7–3 4–6 10–5
Boston 8–6 — 7–3 3–7 8–7 9–6 5–5 9–6 4–6 8–7 8–3 10–1 6–4 12–3
California 6–5 3–7 — 8–7 6–4 4–6 6–9 5–5 7–8 4–7 5–10 9–6 5–10 6–4
Chicago 5–5 7–3 7–8 — 6–4 4–6 8–7 6–5 10–5 3–7 10–5 10–5 6–9 8–3
Cleveland 4–11 7–8 4–6 4–6 — 8–7 3–7 11–4 2–9 3–12 7–3 7–3 2–9 9–5
Detroit 3–12 6–9 6–4 6–4 7–8 — 3–8 10–5 5–5 6–9 5–5 5–6 2–8 10–5
Kansas City 7–4 5–5 9–6 7–8 7–3 8–3 — 8–2 10–5 5–5 9–6 11–4 8–7 8–2
Milwaukee 4–11 6–9 5–5 5–6 4–11 5–10 2–8 — 3–8 8–7 5–5 7–3 5–5 8–7
Minnesota 4–6 6–4 8–7 5–10 9–2 5–5 5–10 8–3 — 2–8 8–6 7–8 8–7 9–1
New York 7–8 7–8 7–4 7–3 12–3 9–6 5–5 7–8 8–2 — 9–2 6–4 7–3 9–6
Oakland 2–8 3–8 10–5 5–10 3–7 5–5 6–9 5–5 6–8 2–9 — 7–8 2–13 7–3
Seattle 3–7 1–10 6–9 5–10 3–7 6–5 4–11 3–7 8–7 4–6 8–7 — 9–6 4–6
Texas 6–4 4–6 10–5 9–6 9–2 8–2 7–8 5–5 7–8 3–7 13–2 6–9 — 7–4
Toronto 5–10 3–12 4–6 3–8 5–9 5–10 2–8 7–8 1–9 6–9 3–7 6–4 4–7 —


Opening Day starters

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Notable transactions

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Roster

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1977 Texas Rangers
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Game log

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Regular season

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1977 regular season game log: 94–68 (Home: 44–37; Away: 50–31)
April: 10–8 (Home: 2–6; Away: 8–2)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
1 April 7 @ Orioles
2 April 9 @ Orioles
3 April 10 @ Orioles
— April 15 Orioles Postponed (Rain) (Makeup date: April 17)
— April 16 Orioles Postponed (Rain) (Makeup date: July 12)
6 April 17
(1)		 Orioles
7 April 17
(2)		 Orioles
11 April 21 Twins
12 April 22 Twins
13 April 23 Twins
14 April 24 Twins
15 April 26 @ Royals
16 April 27 @ Royals
17 April 29 @ White Sox
18 April 30 @ White Sox
May: 11–13 (Home: 6–7; Away: 5–6)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
19 May 1 @ White Sox
20 May 3 @ Tigers
— May 4 @ Tigers Postponed (Rain) (Makeup date: August 5)
21 May 6 Royals
22 May 7 Royals
23 May 8 Royals
24 May 9 White Sox
25 May 10 White Sox
26 May 11 White Sox
27 May 12 @ Royals
28 May 13 @ Royals
29 May 14 @ Royals
30 May 15 @ Royals
31 May 17 Tigers
32 May 18 Tigers
36 May 25
(1)		 @ Yankees L 2–3 Patterson (1–1) Blyleven (4–5) Lyle (7) 2:35 — 19–17 L1
37 May 25
(2)		 @ Yankees W 1–0 Perry (4–4) Torrez (5–3) — 2:23 19,693 20–17 W1
June: 14–16 (Home: 6–7; Away: 8–9)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
43 June 1 Red Sox
44 June 2 Red Sox
48 June 6 Yankees L 2–9 Hunter (2–3) Alexander (6–3) — 2:24 21,978 24–24 L1
49 June 7 Yankees W 7–3 Lindblad (2–3) Figueroa (7–4) — 2:40 18,075 25–24 W1
50 June 8 White Sox
51 June 9 White Sox
— June 10 @ Red Sox Postponed (Rain) (Makeup date: June 12)
— June 11 @ Red Sox Postponed (Rain) (Makeup date: August 25)
52 June 12
(1)		 @ Red Sox
53 June 12
(2)		 @ Red Sox
61 June 20 @ Twins
62 June 21 @ Twins
63 June 22 @ Twins
64 June 23 @ Twins
July: 19–8 (Home: 11–6; Away: 8–2)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
77 July 4 Royals
78 July 5 Royals
84 July 12 Orioles
85 July 13 Orioles
86 July 14 Orioles
48th All-Star Game in Bronx, New York
91 July 22 @ Orioles
92 July 23 @ Orioles
97 July 29 Tigers
98 July 30 Tigers
99 July 31 Tigers
August: 19–13 (Home: 8–6; Away: 11–7)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
100 August 1 @ White Sox
101 August 2 @ White Sox
102 August 3 @ White Sox
103 August 4 @ White Sox
104 August 5
(1)		 @ Tigers
105 August 5
(2)		 @ Tigers
106 August 6 @ Tigers
107 August 7 @ Tigers
110 August 10 Royals
111 August 11 Royals
112 August 12 White Sox
113 August 13 White Sox
114 August 14 White Sox
119 August 19 Yankees L 1–8 Torrez (14–10) Moret (2–1) — 2:15 31,159 68–51 L1
120 August 20 Yankees L 2–6 Tidrow (8–4) Perry (10–10) Lyle (19) 2:35 34,004 68–52 L2
121 August 21 Yankees L 1–2 Guidry (10–6) Alexander (13–8) Lyle (20) 2:26 27,004 68–53 L3
124 August 24
(1)		 @ Red Sox
125 August 24
(2)		 @ Red Sox
126 August 25 @ Red Sox
127 August 26 @ Yankees L 5–6 Clay (2–3) Moret (2–2) Lyle (21) 2:38 29,000 71–56 L2
128 August 27 @ Yankees W 8–2 Blyleven (12–11) Torrez (15–11) — 2:37 33,179 72–56 W1
129 August 28 @ Yankees L 0–1 Guidry (11–6) Ellis (7–11) — 1:56 37,714 72–57 L1
130 August 30 @ Royals
131 August 31 @ Royals
September: 19–10 (Home: 9–5; Away: 10–5)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
132 September 2 Red Sox
133 September 3 Red Sox
134 September 4 Red Sox
135 September 5 @ Twins
136 September 6 @ Twins
137 September 7 @ Twins
146 September 16 Twins
147 September 17 Twins
148 September 18
(1)		 Twins
149 September 18
(2)		 Twins
October: 2–0 (Home: 2–0; Away: 0–0)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement
Bold = Rangers team member

Player stats

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= Indicates team leader

Batting

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Starters by position

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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
C Jim Sundberg 149 453 132 .291 6 65
1B Mike Hargrove 153 525 160 .305 18 69
2B Bump Wills 152 541 155 .287 9 62
3B Toby Harrah 159 539 142 .263 27 87
SS Bert Campaneris 150 552 140 .254 5 46
LF Claudell Washington 129 521 148 .284 12 68
CF Juan Beníquez 123 424 114 .269 10 50
RF Dave May 120 340 82 .241 7 42
DH Willie Horton 139 519 150 .289 15 75

Other batters

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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
Ken Henderson 75 244 63 .258 5 23
Tom Grieve 79 236 53 .225 7 30
John Ellis 49 119 28 .235 4 15
Kurt Bevacqua 39 96 32 .333 5 28
Sandy Alomar Sr. 69 83 22 .265 1 11
Bill Fahey 37 68 15 .221 0 5
Keith Smith 23 67 16 .239 2 6
Jim Mason 36 55 12 .218 1 7
Ed Kirkpatrick 20 48 9 .188 0 3
Lew Beasley 25 32 7 .219 0 3
Jim Fregosi 13 28 7 .250 1 5
Pat Putnam 11 26 8 .308 0 3
Roy Howell 7 17 0 .000 0 0
Eddie Miller 17 6 2 .333 0 1
Gary Gray 1 2 0 .000 0 0

Pitching

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Starting pitchers

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

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Gaylord Perry 34 238.0 15 12 3.37 177
Doyle Alexander 34 237.0 17 11 3.65 82
Bert Blyleven 30 234.2 14 12 2.72 182
Dock Ellis 23 167.1 10 6 2.90 90
Tommy Boggs 6 27.1 0 3 5.93 15

Other pitchers

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

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Nelson Briles 28 108.1 6 4 4.24 57
Roger Moret 18 72.1 3 3 3.73 39
Len Barker 15 47.1 4 1 2.66 51
Mike Marshall 12 35.2 2 2 4.04 18
Jim Umbarger 3 13.0 1 1 5.54 5
John Poloni 2 7.0 1 0 6.43 5

Relief pitchers

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

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Adrian Devine 56 11 6 15 3.58 67
Paul Lindblad 42 4 5 4 4.20 46
Darold Knowles 42 5 2 4 3.22 14
Steve Hargan 6 1 0 0 8.76 10
Mike Wallace 5 0 0 0 7.56 2
Bobby Cuellar 4 0 0 0 1.35 3
Mike Bacsik 2 0 0 0 19.29 1

Awards and honors

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All-Stars

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All-Star Game

Other team leaders

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Farm system

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Level Team League Manager
AAA Tucson Toros Pacific Coast League Rich Donnelly
AA Tulsa Drillers Texas League Marty Martínez
A Asheville Tourists Western Carolinas League Wayne Terwilliger
Rookie GCL Rangers Gulf Coast League Joe Klein

Notes

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  1. ^ "'Won' and done: Remembering Eddie Stanky". MLB.com. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  2. ^ Bert Campaneris page at Baseball Reference
  3. ^ Doyle Alexander page at Baseball Reference
  4. ^ a b Carl Morton page at Baseball Reference
  5. ^ Dave Criscione page at Baseball Reference
  6. ^ Dave Righetti page at Baseball Reference
  7. ^ Fritz Peterson page at Baseball Reference
  8. ^ Darold Knowles page at Baseball Reference
  9. ^ Alomar traded to Rangers
  10. ^ Eddie Stanky named new Ranger manager
  11. ^ Durso, Joseph (June 7, 1999). "Eddie Stanky, 83, Spark Plug On 3 Pennant-Winning Teams". The New York Times. Retrieved April 20, 2010.
  12. ^ Willie Horton page at Baseball Reference
  13. ^ Mike Marshall page at Baseball Reference
  14. ^ Jim Mason page at Baseball Reference
  15. ^ Dave Moates page at Baseball Reference
  16. ^ John Butcher page at Baseball Reference
  17. ^ Dock Ellis page at Baseball Reference
  18. ^ Jim Fregosi page at Baseball Reference

References

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