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.