Usually towards the end of the year, we always hear about how many players the Texas Rangers have used overall in any particular season. The Rangers are usually towards the high end of that list. Injuries, callups, usually make for a long list, and you tend to forget the guys who are here so quick that they don’t even have time for the proverbial “cup of coffee”. I’ve done this for the last several seasons (2017 will be the 10th season I’ve kept track of this), and it’s worked out pretty well. I’ve also gotten some positive feedback on it, so it’s become a permanent feature here.  If you’d like to see the final tallies for the other years I’ve done this, you can still see them with links at the bottom of the page.

Anyway, this post will get bumped whenever there is a player who is making his first appearance for the Texas Rangers in 2017.  I am going to count guys who get called up, but don’t play immediately (or sometimes don’t play at all), as they will be part of the 25 man roster officially. So here goes.

The most recent additions will be on the top of the list.

Total players in 2017: 43
Total pitchers used in 2017: 25
Total position players used in 2016: 19 (one position player pitched)
Total players making major league debut: 4

• #43 – Phil Gosselin – 8/19, replaces Carlos Gomez (placed on DL)
• #42 – Tyler Smith – 8/9, replaces Nick Martinez (optioned to AAA)
• #41 – Ricardo Rodríguez – 8/8, replaces Keone Kela (placed on DL)
• #40 – Clayton Blackburn – 7/31, replaces Jeremy Jeffress (traded to MIL)
• #39 – Jason Grilli – 7/3, replaces Dario Alvarez (optioned to AAA)
• #38 – Preston Claiborne – 6/22, replaces Jeremy Jeffress (10 day DL)
• #37 – Tanner Scheppers – 6/19, replaces Jared Hoying (optioned to AAA)
• #36 – Ernesto Frieri – 6/17, replaces Andrew Cashner (10 day DL)
• #35 – Tyson Ross – 6/16, replaces Dillon Gee (DFA)
• #34 – Adrian Beltre – 5/29, replaces Drew Robinson (optioned to AAA)
• #33 – Dillon Gee – 5/27, replaces AJ Griffin (10 day DL)
• #32 – Jared Hoying – 5/16, replaces Carlos Gomez (10 day DL)
• #31 – Austin Biben-Dirkx – 5/7, replaces Dario Alvarez (optioned to AAA)
• #30 – Pete Kozma – 5/1, replaces Jurickson Profar (optioned to AAA)
• #29 – Anthony Bass – 4/20, replaces Mike Hauschild (DFA)
• #28 – Keone Kela – 4/17, replaces Sam Dyson (10 day DL)
• #27 – Andrew Cashner – 4/15, replaces Nick Martinez (optioned to AAA)
• #26 – Nick Martinez – 4/12, replaces Drew Robinson (optioned to AAA)

#25 to #1 (no particular order): Dario Alvarez, Tony Barnette, Matt Bush, Alex Claudio, Yu Darvish, Sam Dyson, A.J. Griffin, Cole Hamels, Mike Hauschild, Jeremy Jeffress, Jose Leclerc, Martin Perez, Robinson Chirinos, Jonathan Lucroy, Elvis Andrus, Joey Gallo, Mike Napoli, Rougned Odor, Jurickson Profar, Drew Robinson, Shin-Soo Choo, Delino DeShields, Carlos Gomez, Nomar Mazara, Ryan Rua.

Players making their Making Major League Debut are bolded

Roster Notes:

• The number of position players and pitchers doesn’t sync up, because Brett Nicholas (backup catcher) pitched on July 26, 2017.
• Of the opening day 25 man roster, two players are making their Rangers AND major league debuts (Hauschild, Robinson)
• Previous years counts for major league debuts.. 2016 (1, Barnette), 2015 (6, DeShields, Kela, Klein, Rua, Smolinski, Verrett), 2014 (1, Seth Rosin), 2013 (2, Leury Garcia & Smokin’ Joe Ortiz), 2012 (2, Darvish & Ross), 2011 (1, Mason Tobin), none in 2010, 2009 (1, Elvis Andrus), and 2008 (1, Kaz Fukumori).
• 9 guys are on an Opening Day roster for the first time: Alvarez, Bush, Claudio, Gallo, Hauschild, Leclerc, Mazara, Profar, Robinson.

Old Versions of this Page:

[ 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 ]

Congrats to Pudge, who was elected to the Hall of fame today.  He goes in with Jeff Bagwell & Tim Raines (plus Bud Selig & John Schuerholz).

Two catchers have reached the Hall of Fame on 1st ballot: Johnny Bench and Pudge Rodriguez.

Pudge is now the youngest member of the Hall of Fame.

No word as to what cap he will wear yet. We as Rangers fans expect it to be a Rangers cap, but the official word isn’t out yet. However, Pudge had this to say about the matter:

Only the HOF is “official”, but that post is darned close.

Here’s a couple of videos of him taking the call at home.

I have no words, best call ever! A dream that came true today! So thankful! Thank you thank you God bless you all #Pudge7HOF pic.twitter.com/Od0bNONZjv

— Ivan Pudge Rodriguez (@Pudge_Rodriguez) January 18, 2017

Gracias, Gracias, gracias, muchas gracias, es tan grande la emoción.... bendiciones a todos #Pudge7HOF pic.twitter.com/gGjTNJMFD4

— Ivan Pudge Rodriguez (@Pudge_Rodriguez) January 18, 2017

I saw Pudge play almost all of his career in Texas, including the back half of the 2009 season when he returned via trade.  Was an awesome player to watch, and steroids charges be damned.  I’m glad to see him going in.  Only the second catcher ever (Bench) to go in on the first ballot.   While I can’t make it to the ceremony, I’ll definitely be watching it.

And finally, some tweets from his teams congratulating him.

The Yankees did not congratulate him on his induction, but he was only a Yankee for about eight weeks.  The Astros didn’t, either – but then they had their own guy go in today, so that’s understandable.

Usually towards the end of the year, we always hear about how many players the Texas Rangers have used overall in any particular season. The Rangers are usually towards the high end of that list. Injuries, callups, usually make for a long list, and you tend to forget the guys who are here so quick that they don’t even have time for the proverbial “cup of coffee”. I’ve done this for the last seven seasons, and it’s worked out pretty well. I’ve also gotten some positive feedback on it, so it’s become a permanent feature here.  If you’d like to see the final tallies for the other years I’ve done this, you can still see them here:

[ 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 ]

Anyway, this post will get bumped whenever there is a player who is making his first appearance for the Texas Rangers in 2016.  I am going to count guys who get called up, but don’t play immediately (or sometimes don’t play at all), as they will be part of the 25 man roster officially. So here goes.

The most recent additions will be on the top of the list.

Total players in 2016: 52
Total pitchers used in 2016: 28 (29*)
Total position players used in 2016: 23
Total players making major league debut: 6

• #52 – Tanner Scheppers (9/6, September callup)
• #51 – Yohander Mendez (9/2, September callup)
• #50 – Carlos Gomez (8/25, replaces Drew Stubbs, who was designated for assignment)
• #49 – Jeremy Jeffress (8/3, replaces Hanser Alberto, who was optioned to AAA)
• #48 – Carlos Beltran (8/2, replaces Joey Gallo, who was optioned to AAA)
• #47 – Jonathan Lucroy (8/2, replaces Bobby Wilson, who was designated for assignment)
• #46 – Lucas Harrell (7/29, replaces Shawn Tolleson, who was optioned to AAA)
• #45 – Dario Alvarez (7/28, replaces Nick Martinez, who was optioned to AAA)
• #44 – Kyle Lohse (7/9 – replaces Nick Martinez, who was optioned to AA)
• #43 – Jose LeClerc (7/5 – replaces Michael Roth, who was designated for assignment)
• #42 – Michael Roth (7/3 – replaces Luke Jackson, who was optioned to AA)
• #41 – Chi Chi Gonzalez (6/27 – replaces Alex Cludio, who was optioned to AAA)
• #40 – Yu Darvish (5/28 – replaces Joey Gallo, who was optioned to AAA)
• #39 – Jurickson Profar (5/27 – replaces Shawn Tolleson who was placed on Family Medical Leave)
• #38 – Joey Gallo (5/23, replaces Drew Stubbs, who was placed on the DL)
• #37 – Jared Hoying (5/23, replaces Shin Soo-Choo, who was placed on DL)
• #36 – Luke Jackson (5/16, replaces Tom Wilhelsen, who was optioned to AAA)
• #35 – Matt Bush (5/13, replaces Delino DeShields Jr, who was optioned to AAA)
• #34 – Drew Stubbs (5/8, replaces Alex Claudio, who was optioned to AAA)
• #33 – Anthony Ranaudo (5/6, replaces Phil Klein, who was optioned to AAA)
• #32 – Bobby Wilson (5/4, replaces Brett Nicholas, who was optioned to AAA)
• #31 – Cesar Ramos (4/25, replaces Nick Martinez, who was optioned to AAA)
• #30 – Nick Martinez (4/16, replaces Andrew Faulkner, who was optioned to AAA)
• #29 – Alex Claudio (4/13, replaces Phil Klein, who was optioned to AAA)
• #28 – Nomar Mazara (4/10, replaces Shin-Soo Choo who was placed on the DL)
• #27 – Brett Nicholas (4/10, replaces Robinson Chirinos who was placed on DL)
• #26 – A.J. Griffin (4/8, replaces Justin Ruggiano who was designated for assignment)

#25 to #1: Tony Barnette, Jake Diekman, Sam Dyson, Andrew Faulkner, Cole Hamels, Derek Holland, Keone Kela, Phil Klein, Colby Lewis, Martin Perez, Shawn Tolleson, Tom Wilhelmsen, Robinson Chirinos, Bryan Holaday, Hanser Alberto, Elvis Andrus, Adrian Beltre, Ian Desmond, Prince Fielder, Mitch Moreland, Rougned Odor, Shin-Soo Choo, Delino DeShields, Ryan Rua, Justin Ruggiano.

Players making their Making Major League Debut are bolded

Roster Notes:

• * Bryan Holaday pitched in a game on Jul 2, and Jared Hoying pitched in a game on Jul 7.  The Rangers don’t  count position players pitching as a “pitcher used”.
• Of the opening day 25 man roster, six are making their Rangers debuts (Barnette, Faulkner, Wilhelmsen, Holaday, Desmond, Ruggiano) and only one of THOSE is making a major league debut (Barnette)
• Previous years counts for major league debuts.. 2015 (6, DeShields, Kela, Klein, Rua, Smolinski, Verrett), 2014 (Seth Rosin), 2013 (Leury Garcia & Smokin’ Joe Ortiz), 2012 (Darvish & Ross), one in 2011 (Mason Tobin), none in 2010, one in 2009 (Elvis Andrus), and one in 2008 (Kaz Fukumori).

I have a Twitter account for this website, but it’s pretty disused since I stopped doing daily game updates a couple of seasons ago.  Still, I use Twitter A LOT.  Both personally and professionally.   Tonight I started a list of “Texas Rangers  News” accounts.   It’s basically anyone who is Texas Rangers specific (or really close to it), all together in one feed.

If you use Twitter, feel free to subscribe to the list.   It is available here:  https://twitter.com/JoeSiegler/lists/texas-rangers-news/

The people I have on there as I said are folks who run pretty much all Rangers news.  I’m not putting everyone who covers Rangrers news there.  Two examples are TV people like Newy Scruggs and Anthony Andro.   My logic for Scruggs is that he’s obligated to cover tons of things, and while he does occasionally post about the Rangers, he’s more a “generic Sports news” account.   Same goes for Anthony Andro.  He used to be only Rangers, but after he switched gears to FSSW a couple of years ago, he posts about everything.

I think I’ve covered all the big ones (and a couple you might not have thought of).   If you can think of someone I don’t have on here, and who you think SHOULD be, please, by all means.  Let me know who you think I should add.

NOTE: I have a Dallas Morning News feed on here because they have a Twitter specific Rangers feed.  The Ft Worth Star Telegram doesn’t have one, but I followed their Rangers beat writers, too.

You can view a live version of the tweet in this news post below.  :)

Usually towards the end of the year, we always hear about how many players the Texas Rangers have used overall in any particular season. The Rangers are usually towards the high end of that list. Injuries, callups, usually make for a long list, and you tend to forget the guys who are here so quick that they don’t even have time for the proverbial “cup of coffee”. I’ve done this for the last seven seasons, and it’s worked out pretty well. I’ve also gotten some positive feedback on it, so it’s become a permanent feature here.  If you’d like to see the final tallies for the other years I’ve done this, you can still see them here: [ 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 ] Anyway, this post will get bumped whenever there is a player who is making his first appearance for the Texas Rangers in 2014.  I am going to count guys who get called up, but don’t play immediately (or sometimes don’t play at all), as they will be part of the 25 man roster officially. So here goes.

The most recent additions will be on the top of the list.

Total players in 2015: 57
Total pitchers used in 2015: 31*
Total position players used in 2014: 27
Total players making major league debut: 9

Luke Jackson was optioned back to AAA without actually pitching, so it’s debatable if he counts on the list.  I count it.  :)

• #57 – Drew Stubbs (9/1 – Replacing Roman Mendez, who was DFA)
• #56 – Luke Jackson (9/1 – Replacing Alex Claudio, who was placed on 60 day DL)
• #55 – Andrew Faulkner (8/28 – Replacing Nick Martinez, who was optioned to AAA)
• #54 – Will Venable (8/20 – Replacing Josh Hamilton, who was placed on the DL)
• #53 – Mike Napoli (8/8 – Replacing Ryan Rua, who was optioned to AAA)
• #52 – Ryan Strausborger (8/4 – Replacing Leonys Martin, who was optioned to AAA)
• #51 – Cole Hamels (8/1 – Replacing Robinson Chirinos, who was placed on the DL)
• #50 – Sam Dyson (8/1 – Replacing Keone Kela, who was optioned to AA)
• #49 – Bobby Wilson (7/31 – Replacing Tomas Telis, who was traded to MIA)
• #48 – Jake Deikman (7/31 – Replacing Matt Harrison, who was traded to PHI)
• #47 – Chris Gimenez (7/31 – Replacing Jon Edwards, who was optioned to AAA)
• #46 – Tomas Telis (7/17 – Replacing Carlos Corporan, who was placed on the DL)
• #45 – Matt Harrison (7/4 – Replacing Neftali Feliz, who was DFA)
• #44 – Michael Choice (6/24 – Replacing Alex Claudio, who was optioned to AAA)
• #43 – Spencer Patton (6/7 – Replacing Ross Ohlendorf, who was placed on the DL)
• #42 – Joey Gallo (6/2 – Replacing Alex Claudio, who was optioned to AAA)
• #41 – Chi Chi Gonzalez (5/30 – Replacing Thomas Field, who was DFA)
• #40 – Hanser Alberto (5/28 – Replacing Phil Klein, who was optioned to AAA)
• #39 – Josh Hamilton (5/25 – Replacing Neftali Feliz, who was placed on DL)
• #38 – Ross Ohlendorf (5/17 – Replacing Kyuji Fujikama, who was DFA)
• #37 – Kyuji Fujikawa (5/14 – Replacing Spencer Patton, who was optioned to AAA)
• #36 – Sam Freeman (5/13 – Replacing Stolmy Pimentel, who was DFA)
• #35 – Thomas Field (5/11 – Replacing Rougned Odor, who was optioned to AAA)
• #34 – Spencer Patton (5/4 – Replacing Roman Mendez, who was optioned to AAA)
• #33 – Kyle Blanks (4/29 – Replacing Mitch Moreland, who was placed on the DL)
• #32 – Alex Claudio (4/27 – Replacing Tanner Scheppers, who was optioned to AAA)
• #31 – Wandy Rodriguez (4/24 – Replacing Logan Verrett, who was designated for assignment)
• #30 – Tanner Scheppers (4/17 – Replacing Anthony Ranaudo, who was optioned to AAA)
• #29 – Anthony Ranaudo (4/15 – Replacing Phil Klein, who was optioned to AAA)
• #28 – Stolmy Pimentel (4/12 – Replacing Jon Edwards who was optioned to AAA)
• #27 – Carlos Peguero (4/11 – Replacing Ryan Rua who was placed on the DL)
• #26 – Jon Edwards (4/11 – Replacing Derek Holland who was placed on the 60 day DL)

#25 to #1: Anthony Bass, Ross Detwiler, Neftali Feliz, Yovani Gallardo, Derek Holland, Keone Kela, Phil Klein, Colby Lewis, Nick Martinez, Roman Mendez, Shawn Tolleson, Logan Verrett, Robinson Chirinos, Carlos Corporan, Elvis Andrus, Adrian Beltre, Prince Fielder, Mitch Moreland, Rougned Odor, Adam Rosales, Shin-Soo Choo, Delino DeShields, Leonys Martin, Ryan Rua, Jake Smolinski.  (the original 25 is not in any particular order)

Players making their Making Major League Debut are bolded

Roster Notes:

• Luke Jackson was originally called up August 7th, and stayed for a few days but didn’t play.
• * – The number of players does not match position players & pitchers added together, as we’ve had one position player pitch this season (Adam Rosales)
• Only 8 players on starting 25 were on the roster last year.
• Of the group of 9 Texas players that are on an Opening Day roster for the first time, 6 are rookies (DeShields, Kela, Klein, Rua, Smolinski, Verrett), 3 are seeking ML debuts (DeShields, Kela, Verrett), and 2 are Rule 5 Draft picks (DeShields, Verrett)
• Apparently the Rangers don’t officially count guys who are called up and sent down without actually playing – but I do.
• In 2015, the Rangers have 3 in the original opening day 25 that are making their major league debuts).  The previous years’ counts in that regard were one in 2014 ( (Seth Rosin), 2013 (Leury Garcia & Smokin’ Joe Ortiz), 2012 (Darvish & Ross), one in 2011 (Mason Tobin), none in 2010, one in 2009 (Elvis Andrus), and one in 2008 (Kaz Fukumori).
• This will mark just the 3rd time in Rangers history that 3 players with no previous major league service time have opened the season with the club: 1974 (Mike Cubbage, Mike Hargrove, Jim Sundberg) and 1986 (Pete Incaviglia, Mitch Williams, Bobby Witt).
• This is the 1st time Texas has ever started a year with 2 players selected in the previous December’s Rule 5 Draft, the 1st in the majors since Milwaukee in 2003.

Usually towards the end of the year, we always hear about how many players the Texas Rangers have used overall in any particular season. The Rangers are usually towards the high end of that list. Injuries, callups, usually make for a long list, and you tend to forget the guys who are here so quick that they don’t even have time for the proverbial “cup of coffee”. I’ve done this for the last five seasons, and it’s worked out pretty well. I’ve also gotten some positive feedback on it, so it’s become a permanent feature here.  If you’d like to see the final tallies for the other years I’ve done this, you can still see them here: [ 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 ] Anyway, this post will get bumped whenever there is a player who is making his first appearance for the Texas Rangers in 2014.  I am going to count guys who get called up, but don’t play immediately (or sometimes don’t play at all), as they will be part of the 25 man roster officially. So here goes.

The most recent additions will be on the top of the list.

Total players in 2014: 64
Total pitchers used in 2014: 40 *
Total position players used in 2014: 27 *
Total players making major league debut: 17

• #64 – Guilder Rodriguez (Sep 7, replacing Yu Darvish, who was placed on the 60 day DL)
• #63 – Spencer Patton (Sep 4, was a Sep callup)
• #62 – Lisalverto Bonilla (Sep 2, was a Sep callup)
• #61 – Michael Kirkman (Sep 2, was a Sep callup)
• #60 – Derek Holland (Aug 30, replaced Robbie Ross, who was optioned to AAA)
• #59 – Ryan Rua (Aug 29, replaced Jim Adduci, who was placed on the DL)
• #58 – Tomas Telis (Aug 25, replaced Shin-Soo Choo, who was placed on the DL)
• #57 – Jon Edwards (Aug 15, replaced Robbie Ross, who was optioned to AAA)
• #56 – Alex Claudio (Aug 13, replaced Yu Darvish, who was placed on the DL)
• #55 – Mike Carp (Aug 4, replaced Chris Gimenez, who was placed on paternity list)
• #54 – Phil Klein (Aug 1, replaced Ryan Feierabend, who was designated for assignment)
• #53 – Jerome Williams (Jul 25, replaced Jake Smolinski, who was placed on the DL)
• #52 – Nate Adcock (Jul 24, replaced Joaquim Soria who was traded to DET)
• #51 – Geovany Soto (Jul 17, replaced Carlos Pena, who was designated for assignment)
• #50 – Ryan Feierabend (Jul 13, replaced Aaron Poreda, who was optioned to AAA)
• #49 – Matt West (Jul 10, replaced Phil Irwin, who was optioned to AAA)
• #48 – Phil Irwin (Jul 8, replaced Nick Martinez, who was placed on the DL)
• #47 – Roman Mendez (Jul 7, replaced Michael Choice, who was optioned to AAA)
• #46 – Jake Smolinski (Jul 7, replaced Donnie Murphy, who was designated for assignment)
• #45 – Neftali Feliz (Jul 4, replaced Ben Rowen, who was optioned to AAA)
• #44 – Adam Rosales (Jun 30, replaced Luis Sardinas who was optioned to AAA)
• #43 – Carlos Pena (Jun 24 – replaced Brad Snyder, who was designated for assignment)
• #42 – Ben Rowen (Jun 11 – replaced Tanner Scheppers, who was placed on the DL)
• #41 – Brad Snyder (Jun 10 – replaced Mitch Moreland, who was placed on the DL)
• #40 – Miles Mikolas (May 14 – replaced Matt Harrison, who was placed on the DL)
• #39 – Nick Tepesch (May 14 – replaced Martin Perez, who was placed on the DL)
• #38 – Justin Germano (May 8 – replaced Scott Baker, who was designated for assignment)
• #37 – Rougned Odor (May 8 – replaced Josh Wilson, who was designated for assignment)
• #36 – Scott Baker (May 7 – replaced Daniel Robertson, who was optioned to AAA)
• #35 – Matt Harrison (Apr 27 – replaced Luis Sardinas who was optioned to AAA)
• #34 – Daniel Robertson (Apr 23 – replaced Pedro Figueroa, who went to DL)
• #33 – Luis Sardinas (Apr 19 – replaced Jim Adduci, who went to DL)
• #32 – Aaron Poreda (Apr 18 – replaced Tanner Scheppers, who went to DL)
• #31 – Colby Lewis (Apr 14 – replaced Daniel McCutchen, who was designated for assignment)
• #30 – Hector Noesi (Apr 13 – replaced Adrian Beltre, who went to DL)
• #29 – Kevin Kouzmanoff (Apr 9 – replaced Seth Rosin, who was designated for assignment)
• #28 – Yu Darvish (Apr 6 – replaced Nick Martinez, who was sent to AA)
• #27 – Nick Martinez (Apr 5 – replaced Daniel McCutchen, who was sent to AA)
• #26 – Daniel McCutchen (Apr 1 – replaced Chris Gimenez, who was designated for assignment)

#25 to #1: Neal Cotts, Pedro Figueroa, Jason Frasor, Alexi Ogando, Martin Perez, Seth Rosin, Robbie Ross, Jr., Joe Saunders, Tanner Scheppers, Joakim Soria, Shawn Tolleson, J.P. Arencibia, Robinson Chirinos, Chris Gimenez, Elvis Andrus, Adrian Beltre, Prince Fielder, Donnie Murphy, Josh Wilson, Jim Adduci, Michael Choice, Shin-Soo Choo, Leonys Martin, Mitch Moreland, Alex Rios.  (the original 25 is not in any particular order)

Players making their Making Major League Debut are bolded

Roster Notes:

• * The total number of pitchers/position players do not add up because Mitch Moreland (May 6), Chris Gimenez (Jul 10), & J.P. Arencebia (Aug 13) all pitched an inning and count as both a position player and as a pitcher.
• Apparently the Rangers don’t officially count guys who are called up and sent down without actually playing (Miles Mikolas) – but I do.
• In 2014, the Rangers have just one in the original opening day 25 that were making their major league debuts (Seth Rosin).  The previous years’ counts in that regard were two in 2013 (Leury Garcia & Smokin’ Joe Ortiz), 2012 (Darvish & Ross), one in 2011 (Mason Tobin), none in 2010, one in 2009 (Elvis Andrus), and one in 2008 (Kaz Fukumori).
• We have 11 players making their debut as Texas Rangers: Pedro Figueroa, Seth Rosin, Joe Saunders, Shawn Tolleson, J.P. Arencibia, Chris Gimenez, Prince Fielder, Donnie Murphy, Josh Wilson, Michael Choice, Shin-Soo Choo.  

Hopefully this South Korean signing goes better than the last one we had.   That guy wore #61, though.

We officially announced Choo yesterday, and I’ve always liked him.   Was one of those guys I always said “I’d love to that THAT guy”, but never figured we would.  Much in the same way I always wanted Vlad Guerrero.  Player I enjoyed watching playing for others.

We are paying for him, of that there’s no doubt.  But the new TV contract money kicks in after the 2014 season.  You always figured we’d do stuff like this what that extra TV contract money.   This, and Prince Fielder are players that I think we have due to the influx of new cash from the TV contract.

Choo’s salary:

2014:  $14M
2015:  $14M
2016:  $20M
2017:  $20M
2018:  $20M
2019:  $21M
2020:  $21M

Apparently the first couple of years have some dollars moved off until later.  I’ve read where it was to create “team flexibility” early on.  I think it’s to offload it for the new TV money.   He does get a partial no trade clause, although in what capacity, I’m not sure.

One thing I’ll say I’m hopeful for.  When Chan Ho Park first came to Texas, the first couple of months before he started stinking up the joint, he’d come out, and the Koreans would be all over his games.  When Park would get a strikeout, they’d all start dancing and hootin’ and hollerin, blowing their horns and all that.  Was a very fun atmosphere.  I hope Choo brings that back, as I really missed that once Park started being bad.

I’ve been getting an itch to write again, so I probably will have more to say soon.  Don’t think I’ll return to daily updates again, but I have wanted to say more.

Usually towards the end of the year, we always hear about how many players the Texas Rangers have used overall in any particular season. The Rangers are usually towards the high end of that list. Injuries, callups, usually make for a long list, and you tend to forget the guys who are here so quick that they don’t even have time for the proverbial “cup of coffee”.

I’ve done this for the last five seasons, and it’s worked out pretty well. I’ve also gotten some positive feedback on it, so it’s become a permanent feature here.  If you’d like to see the final tallies for the other years I’ve done this, you can still see them here: [ 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 ]

Anyway, this post will get bumped whenever there is a player who is making his first appearance for the Texas Rangers in 2013.  I am going to count guys who get called up, but don’t play immediately (or sometimes don’t play at all), as they will be part of the 25 man roster officially. So here goes. The most recent additions will be on the top of the list. The original opening day 25 man roster is not in any particular order. [Read more…]

Saw tonight that FOX posted their national 2013 TV schedule, so I decided to check out ESPN as well, and come up with a list of  games the Rangers are scheduled to play.  Now, national coverage being what it is means it can change.  If the Rangers get super hot, the schedule will get changed around, and we might get a few more later in the season.  But for now, here’s the 2013 national coverage schedule for FOX & ESPN.  These times are all Central.

Sun Mar 31 @ 7:05 – Rangers @ Astros – ESPN
Sat Apr 06 @ 2:30 – Angels @ Rangers – FOX
Sun Apr 07 @ 7:05 – Angels @ Rangers – ESPN
Sun May 19 @ 7:05 – Tigers @ Rangers – ESPN
Sat Jun 22 @ 6:00 – Rangers @ Cardinals – FOX
Sat Jun 29 @ 6:00 – Reds @ Rangers – FOX
Sat Jul 06 @ 6:00 – Astros @ Rangers – FOX
Sat Jul 13 @ 6:00 – Rangers @ Tigers – FOX
Sat Aug 03 @ 6:30 – Rangers @ A’s – FOX
Sat Sep 14 @ 11:30 – A’s @ Rangers – FOX

Sep 14th is an 11:30AM game? That doesn’t happen here. What else is happening that day?   Anyone have any ideas?

I’ve been doing this site for some time now (2013 will be my 15th season for this site), and in all that time, there’s been two things I’ve done on my site that no other Rangers fan site has attempted.  Perhaps because I already did them – or nobody wanted to wade through all the info needed to put them together (“Eh, Joe’s already done that – good enough”).  One of them is my history of uniform numbers.  It starts back in 1961 with the Senators years and runs to current.  I’ve been doing this part of the site for the last 5-6 years or so (forget when I started it actually).  Because of that, uniform numbers in the most recent years are pretty darned accurate insofar as guys who are up for just 2-3 games, never to be seen again.  In years past, I have guys who wore the major numbers, but the small fiddly changes like that aren’t always listed (because that info’s realy hard to find).    I’ve taken pride in my uniform number archives, and it’s gotten me a reputation as the uniform number guy.   When he was still with the Rangers, I know Victor Rojas mentioned my site as a source of that a few times, and it must have stuck, because last year I got a question from the great Eric Nadel about some fiddly bit in the past with uniform numbers – I was honored.   Even Anthony Andro knows me as that, as I’ve asked him a boatloat of times about uniform numbers.  :) [Read more…]