1996 Texas Rangers season

1996  Texas Rangers
American League West champions
League	American League
Division	West
Ballpark	The Ballpark in Arlington
City	Arlington, Texas
Record	90–72 (.556)
Divisional place	1st
Owners	George W. Bush
General managers	Doug Melvin
Managers	Johnny Oates
Television	KXTX-TV 39 KXAS-TV 5 (Mark Holtz, Tom Grieve)
Radio	KRLD–AM 1080 (Eric Nadel, Brad Sham) KXEB–AM 910 (Luis Mayoral, Josue Perez)
←  1995 Seasons 1997  →

The 1996 Texas Rangers season was the 36th of the Texas Rangers franchise overall, their 25th in Arlington as the Rangers, and their 3rd season at The Ballpark in Arlington. The Rangers finished first in the American League West with a record of 90 wins and 72 losses. It would be the first postseason appearance for the Senators/Rangers in franchise history, taking 36 seasons to finally accomplish the feat. This remains the longest amount of time it has ever taken any North American professional sports franchise to make their first playoff appearance. The Rangers would win their first post-season game at Yankee Stadium against the New York Yankees, but would lose the last three games to lose the ALDS. The one postseason win would be the club's only post-season success until 2010.

Offseason

• October 8, 1995: Scott Podsednik was sent by the Rangers to the Florida Marlins to complete an earlier deal (the Rangers sent players to be named later to the Marlins for Bobby Witt, and sent Wilson Heredia to the Marlins on August 11) and made on August 8, 1995. ^[1]
• December 21, 1995: Ken Hill was signed as a free agent by the Rangers. ^[2]
• December 22, 1995: Mike Henneman was signed as a free agent by the Rangers. ^[3]
• January 16, 1996: Kevin Elster was signed as a free agent with the Texas Rangers. ^[4]

Regular season

Season standings

• v
• t
• e

AL West

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Texas Rangers	90	72	.556	—	50‍–‍31	40‍–‍41
Seattle Mariners	85	76	.528	4½	43‍–‍38	42‍–‍38
Oakland Athletics	78	84	.481	12	40‍–‍41	38‍–‍43
California Angels	70	91	.435	19½	43‍–‍38	27‍–‍53

Record vs. opponents

1996 American League record Source: MLB Standings Grid – 1996 v t e
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIL	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TEX	TOR
Baltimore	—	7–6	6–6	4–8	5–7	11–2	9–3	9–3	7–5	3–10	9–4	7–5	3–10–1	8–5
Boston	6–7	—	8–4	6–6	1–11	12–1	3–9	7–5	6–6	7–6	8–5	7–6	6–6	8–5
California	6–6	4–8	—	6–6	4–9	6–6	4–8	7–5	4–8	7–6	6–7	5–8	4–9	7–5
Chicago	8–4	6–6	6–6	—	5–8	10–3	7–6	6–7	6–7	6–7	5–7	5–7	8–4	7–5
Cleveland	7–5	11–1	9–4	8–5	—	12–0	7–6	7–6	10–3	3–9	6–6	8–4	4–8	7–5
Detroit	2–11	1–12	6–6	3–10	0–12	—	6–6	4–8	6–6	5–8	4–8	6–6	4–9	6–7
Kansas City	3–9	9–3	8–4	6–7	6–7	6–6	—	4–9	6–7	4–8	5–7	7–5	6–6	5–8
Milwaukee	3–9	5–7	5–7	7–6	6–7	8–4	9–4	—	9–4	6–6	7–5	4–9	6–7	5–7
Minnesota	5–7	6–6	8–4	7–6	3–10	6–6	7–6	4–9	—	5–7	6–7	6–6	7–5	8–5
New York	10–3	6–7	6–7	7–6	9–3	8–5	8–4	6–6	7–5	—	9–3	3–9	5–7	8–5
Oakland	4–9	5–8	7–6	7–5	6–6	8–4	7–5	5–7	7–6	3–9	—	8–5	7–6	4–8
Seattle	5–7	6–7	8–5	7–5	4–8	6–6	5–7	9–4	6–6	9–3	5–8	—	10–3	5–7
Texas	10–3–1	6–6	9–4	4–8	8–4	9–4	6–6	7–6	5–7	7–5	6–7	3–10	—	10–2
Toronto	5–8	5–8	5–7	5–7	5–7	7–6	8–5	7–5	5–8	5–8	8–4	7–5	2–10	—

Notable transactions

• April 13, 1996: Jack Voigt was signed as a free agent by the Rangers. ^[5]
• June 4, 1996: Travis Hafner was drafted by the Rangers in the 31st round of the 1996 Major League Baseball draft. Player signed June 2, 1997. ^[6]
• July 31, 1996: Mark Brandenburg and Kerry Lacy were traded by the Rangers to the Boston Red Sox for Mike Stanton and a player to be named later. The Red Sox completed the deal by sending Dwayne Hosey to the Rangers on November 4. ^[7]

Roster

1996 Texas Rangers
Roster
Pitchers 48 José Alberro 51 Mark Brandenburg 33 John Burkett 42 Dennis Cook 46 Kevin Gross 32 Rick Helling 39 Mike Henneman 37 Gil Heredia 44 Ken Hill 28 Darren Oliver 46 Danny Patterson 59 Roger Pavlik 40 Jeff Russell 32 Mike Stanton 52 Ed Vosberg 27 Matt Whiteside 36 Bobby Witt		Catchers  6 Kevin Brown  7 Iván Rodríguez 10 Dave Valle Infielders 22 Will Clark 18 Kevin Elster 23 Benji Gil 88 Rene Gonzales  3 Mark McLemore 16 Dean Palmer 11 Lee Stevens  1 Kurt Stillwell 15 Mickey Tettleton 24 Craig Worthington		Outfielders  2 Damon Buford 30 Rikkert Faneyte 14 Lou Frazier 19 Juan González 29 Rusty Greer  4 Darryl Hamilton 21 Warren Newson 24 Jack Voigt Other batters  9 Luis Ortiz		Manager 26 Johnny Oates Coaches 17 Dick Bosman (pitching) 20 Bucky Dent (bench) 25 Larry Hardy (bullpen)  8 Rudy Jaramillo (hitting) 12 Ed Napoleon (first base)  5 Jerry Narron (third base)

Game log

Game log

Legend
Rangers Win	Rangers Loss	Game Postponed	Clinched playoff spot	Clinched Division
Bold denotes an Rangers pitcher

1996 regular season game log: 90–72 (Home: 50–31; Away: 40–41) [8]
April: 16–10 (Home: 11–4; Away: 5–6) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak 1 April 1 Red Sox 5–3 Hill (1–0) Clemens Vosberg (1) 40,484 1–0 2 April 3 Red Sox 7–2 Pavlik (1–0) Gordon — 24,483 2–0 3 April 4 Red Sox 13–2 Gross (1–0) Wakefield — 18,086 3–0 — April 5 7:05p.m. CST Yankees Postponed (rain); Makeup: April 7 4 April 6 7:37p.m. CST Yankees W4–2 Witt (1–0) Key (0–1) Henneman (1) 2:48 35,510 4–0 W4 5 (1) April 7 3:05p.m. CDT Yankees W7–2 Hill (2–0) Gooden (0–1) — 2:57 — 5–0 W5 6 (2) April 7 7:05p.m. CDT Yankees W4–1 Pavlik (2–0) Howe (0–1) Vosberg (2) 2:52 36,248 6–0 W6 7 April 9 @ White Sox 3–2 Gross (2–0) Thomas Henneman (2) 34,750 7–0 8 April 11 @ White Sox 5–8 (11) Thomas Henneman (0–1) — 16,685 7–1 9 April 12 @ Yankees L 3–4 Cone Hill (2–1) Wetteland 2:51 20,238 7–2 L2 10 April 13 @ Yankees W 10–6 Pavlik (3–0) Gooden Vosberg (3) 3:32 19,603 8–2 W1 11 April 14 @ Yankees L 3–12 Pettitte Gross (2–1) — 3:00 20,181 8–3 L1 12 April 15 Athletics 3–8 Mohler Heredia (0–1) — 19,312 8–4 13 April 16 Athletics 5–3 Witt (2–0) Johns Henneman (3) 20,948 9–4 14 April 17 Athletics 12–1 Hill (3–1) Reyes — 24,120 10–4 15 April 19 Orioles 26–7 Cook (1–0) Mercker Vosberg (4) 41,184 11–4 16 April 20 Orioles 8–3 Gross (3–1) Haynes — 45,358 12–4 17 April 21 Orioles 9–6 Oliver (1–0) Wells — 39,456 13–4 18 April 22 White Sox 4–12 Fernandez Witt (2–1) Karchner 22,348 13–5 19 April 23 White Sox 5–6 Baldwin Hill (3–2) Hernandez 29,123 13–6 20 April 24 @ Red Sox 9–11 Stanton Heredia (0–2) Slocumb 19,217 13–7 21 April 25 @ Red Sox 3–8 Wakefield Gross (3–2) — 20,350 13–8 22 April 26 @ Orioles 5–4 Brandenburg (1–0) Wells Henneman (4) 44,022 14–8 23 April 27 @ Orioles 4–2 Witt (3–1) Erickson Vosberg (5) 47,311 15–8 24 April 28 @ Orioles 5–4 (10) Heredia (1–2) McDowell Henneman (5) 47,327 16–8 25 April 29 @ Orioles 7–8 Haynes Helling (0–1) Myers 41,503 16–9 26 April 30 Mariners 0–8 Bosio Gross (3–3) — 27,272 16–10
May: 18–9 (Home: 11–3; Away: 7–6) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak 27 May 1 Mariners 5–4 Russell (1–0) Jackson Henneman (6) 31,775 17–10 28 May 2 @ Tigers 2–5 Lira Witt (3–2) Williams 7,416 17–11 29 May 3 @ Tigers 11–0 Hill (4–2) Keagle — 9,079 18–11 30 May 4 @ Tigers 3–1 Pavlik (4–0) Gohr — 10,734 19–11 31 May 5 @ Tigers 3–2 Gross (4–3) Lima Henneman (7) 12,337 20–11 32 May 7 Blue Jays 5–1 Oliver (2–0) Guzman — 23,005 21–11 33 May 8 Blue Jays 4–2 Witt (4–2) Hanson Henneman (8) 20,694 22–11 34 May 9 Blue Jays 2–5 Quantrill Hill (4–3) Timlin 34,451 22–12 35 May 10 Tigers 6–2 Pavlik (5–0) Lima Henneman (9) 31,426 23–12 36 May 11 Tigers 11–7 Gross (5–3) Aldred — 42,732 24–12 37 May 12 Tigers 3–5 Lira Oliver (2–1) Myers 35,677 24–13 38 May 13 Royals 7–6 Cook (2–0) Montgomery Henneman (10) 22,981 25–13 39 May 14 Royals 10–0 Hill (5–3) Gubicza — 28,999 26–13 40 May 15 Royals 1–3 Haney Pavlik (5–1) Montgomery 26,881 26–14 41 May 17 @ Indians 10–12 Embree Heredia (1–3) Mesa 41,225 26–15 42 May 18 @ Indians 6–3 Oliver (3–1) Anderson Henneman (11) 40,973 27–15 43 May 19 @ Indians 5–8 Nagy Witt (4–3) Mesa 43,299 27–16 44 May 21 @ Twins 3–4 Milchin Henneman (0–2) — 12,323 27–17 45 May 22 @ Twins 6–5 Pavlik (6–1) Parra Henneman (12) 17,955 28–17 46 May 23 @ Royals 2–4 Appier Oliver (3–2) Montgomery 15,612 28–18 47 May 24 @ Royals 0–8 Gubicza Witt (4–4) — 13,696 28–19 48 May 25 @ Royals 2–1 Helling (1–1) Haney Henneman (13) 23,668 29–19 49 May 26 @ Royals 6–4 Hill (6–3) Linton Henneman (14) 22,665 30–19 50 May 27 Indians 3–2 Pavlik (7–1) McDowell — 46,521 31–19 51 May 28 Indians 11–3 Oliver (4–2) Hershiser — 35,727 32–19 52 May 29 Indians 5–4 Cook (3–0) Tavarez Henneman (15) 35,893 33–19 53 May 31 Twins 7–2 Hill (7–3) Rodriguez — 32,861 34–19
June: 14–13 (Home: 9–5; Away: 5–8) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak 54 June 1 Twins 5–9 Milchin Henneman (0–3) — 43,413 34–20 55 June 2 Twins 5–6 Guardado Russell (1–1) — 33,809 34–21 56 June 3 @ Brewers 9–6 Witt (5–4) Sparks Henneman (16) 9,748 35–21 57 June 4 @ Brewers 2–6 Bones Gross (5–4) — 10,685 35–22 58 June 5 @ Brewers 4–6 McDonald Hill (7–4) Fetters 11,276 35–23 59 June 7 Blue Jays 10–7 Pavlik (8–1) Janzen Henneman (17) 40,046 36–23 60 June 8 Blue Jays 2–0 Oliver (5–2) Guzman — 43,439 37–23 61 June 9 Blue Jays 8–6 Witt (6–4) Hanson Henneman (18) 41,605 38–23 62 June 10 Brewers 8–3 Gross (6–4) Givens — 43,275 39–23 63 June 11 Brewers 4–14 McDonald Hill (7–5) Garcia 33,519 39–24 64 June 12 Brewers 13–6 Pavlik (9–1) Miranda — 34,842 40–24 65 June 13 @ Red Sox 7–8 (10) Slocumb Henneman (0–4) — 32,645 40–25 66 June 14 @ Red Sox 3–4 Stanton Witt (6–5) — 29,689 40–26 67 June 15 @ Red Sox 13–3 Gross (7–4) Wakefield — 33,186 41–26 68 June 16 @ Red Sox 9–10 Hudson Henneman (0–5) — 30,461 41–27 69 June 17 @ Orioles 1–1 (6) — 45,581 41–27 70 June 18 @ Orioles 7–0 Oliver (6–2) Mercker — 47,318 42–27 71 June 19 @ Orioles 3–2 Witt (7–5) Mussina Russell (1) 45,581 43–27 72 June 20 @ Orioles 2–3 Wells Gross (7–5) Myers 21,748 43–28 73 June 21 Red Sox 14–4 Hill (8–5) Minchey — 40,726 44–28 74 June 22 Red Sox 8–2 Pavlik (10–1) Wakefield — 46,444 45–28 75 June 23 Red Sox 4–6 Stanton Cook (3–1) Slocumb 39,399 45–29 76 June 24 Orioles 3–8 Mussina Witt (7–6) — 39,701 45–30 77 June 25 Orioles 5–2 Gross (8–5) Wells Henneman (19) 41,685 46–30 78 June 26 Orioles 6–5 Cook (4–1) Orosco Henneman (20) 38,984 47–30 79 June 28 @ Mariners 8–19 Carmona Pavlik (10–2) — 34,413 47–31 80 June 29 @ Mariners 9–5 Oliver (7–2) Meacham — 37,556 48–31 81 June 30 @ Mariners 3–4 Hitchcock Witt (7–7) Charlton 33,392 48–32
July: 13–14 (Home: 6–7; Away: 7–7) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak 82 July 1 @ Angels 8–6 Gross (9–5) Langston Henneman (21) 19,754 49–32 83 July 2 @ Angels 5–6 James Henneman (0–6) — 19,055 49–33 84 July 3 @ Angels 8–1 Pavlik (11–2) Finley — 45,979 50–33 85 July 4 Mariners 5–9 Carmona Henneman (0–7) — 46,668 50–34 86 July 5 Mariners 3–6 Hitchcock Witt (7–8) — 46,397 50–35 87 July 6 Mariners 5–9 Wagner Gross (9–6) — 46,458 50–36 88 July 7 Mariners 8–3 Hill (9–5) Wells — 36,933 51–36 — July 9 7:30 p.m. CDT 67th All-Star Game in Philadelphia, PA 89 July 11 @ Athletics 3–8 Chouinard Oliver (7–3) — 13,437 51–37 90 July 12 @ Athletics 8–4 (10) Russell (2–1) Taylor — 12,074 52–37 91 July 13 @ Athletics 8–1 Pavlik (12–2) Wengert — 16,792 53–37 92 July 14 @ Athletics 1–9 Johns Gross (9–7) — 20,704 53–38 93 July 15 Angels 7–10 Schmidt Brandenburg (1–1) Percival 45,655 53–39 94 July 16 Angels 6–2 Oliver (8–3) Abbott Russell (2) 34,680 54–39 95 July 17 Angels 7–3 Hill (10–5) Finley — 44,220 55–39 96 July 18 Athletics 4–5 (11) Reyes Brandenburg (1–2) Van Poppel 28,585 55–40 97 July 19 Athletics 6–9 Reyes Helling (1–2) Taylor 37,455 55–41 98 July 20 Athletics 8–4 Witt (8–8) Van Poppel — 46,052 56–41 99 July 21 Athletics 8–11 Groom Brandenburg (1–3) Mohler 36,039 56–42 100 July 22 @ Yankees W 6–1 Hill (11–5) Rogers — 2:42 30,767 57–42 W1 101 July 23 @ Yankees L 0–6 Gooden Pavlik (12–3) — 2:39 22,814 57–43 L1 102 July 24 @ Yankees L 2–4 Pettitte Alberro (0–1) Wetteland 2:36 35,308 57–44 L2 103 July 25 @ White Sox 4–3 (12) Russell (3–1) Keyser Henneman (22) 19,524 58–44 104 July 26 @ White Sox 2–6 Alvarez Oliver (8–4) — 21,398 58–45 105 July 27 @ White Sox 6–4 (10) Heredia (2–3) Simas Vosberg (6) 22,629 59–45 106 July 28 @ White Sox 1–5 Fernandez Pavlik (12–4) — 20,902 59–46 107 July 30 7:06p.m. CDT Yankees W15–2 Witt (9–8) Pettitte (15–6) — 2:37 39,637 60–46 W1 108 July 31 6:35p.m. CDT Yankees W9–2 Oliver (9–4) Key (8–8) — 3:03 30,645 61–46 W2
August: 16–12 (Home: 8–5; Away: 8–7) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak 109 August 1 7:35p.m. CDT Yankees L5–6 Rogers (8–5) Hill (11–6) Wetteland (37) 3:01 34,855 61–47 L1 110 August 2 White Sox 0–9 Fernandez Pavlik (12–5) — 36,299 61–48 111 August 3 White Sox 9–11 Hernandez Russell (3–2) — 46,481 61–49 112 August 4 White Sox 9–5 Witt (10–8) Baldwin — 32,854 62–49 113 August 5 White Sox 5–15 Alvarez Oliver (9–5) — 29,973 62–50 114 August 6 @ Tigers 4–2 Hill (12–6) Lira Henneman (23) 10,931 63–50 115 August 7 @ Tigers 2–4 Cummings Pavlik (12–6) Myers 10,297 63–51 116 August 8 @ Tigers 2–3 Olivares Heredia (2–4) — 10,995 63–52 117 August 9 @ Blue Jays 5–4 Witt (11–8) Quantrill Henneman (24) 33,535 64–52 118 August 10 @ Blue Jays 12–1 Oliver (10–5) Guzman — 34,109 65–52 119 August 11 @ Blue Jays 6–0 Burkett (1–0) Hanson — 32,162 66–52 120 August 12 Tigers 7–0 Hill (13–6) Williams — 25,210 67–52 121 August 13 Tigers 6–2 Pavlik (13–6) Olivares — 31,331 68–52 122 August 14 Tigers 5–4 Witt (12–8) Van Poppel Henneman (25) 33,942 69–52 123 August 16 Royals 5–3 Burkett (2–0) Haney Henneman (26) 32,053 70–52 124 August 17 Royals 1–4 Belcher Hill (13–7) — 41,855 70–53 125 August 18 Royals 10–3 Gross (10–7) Appier — 30,480 71–53 126 August 19 @ Indians 10–3 Pavlik (14–6) McDowell — 42,393 72–53 127 August 20 @ Indians 4–10 Lopez Witt (12–9) — 42,370 72–54 128 August 21 @ Indians 10–8 (10) Vosberg (1–0) Tavarez — 42,345 73–54 129 August 22 @ Twins 11–2 Hill (14–7) Robertson — 17,342 74–54 130 August 23 @ Twins 2–9 Aguilera Oliver (10–6) — 16,166 74–55 131 August 24 @ Twins 5–6 Rodriguez Pavlik (14–7) Trombley 16,648 74–56 132 August 25 @ Twins 13–2 Witt (13–9) Miller — 14,818 75–56 133 August 27 @ Royals 3–4 (10) Montgomery Russell (3–3) — 12,907 75–57 134 August 28 @ Royals 3–4 (12) Huisman Gross (10–8) — 12,695 75–58 135 August 30 Indians 5–3 Pavlik (15–7) Ogea Russell (3) 40,383 76–58 136 August 31 Indians 6–3 Oliver (11–6) McDowell Vosberg (7) 46,319 77–58
September: 13–14 (Home: 5–7; Away: 8–7) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak 137 September 1 Indians 2–8 Nagy Burkett (2–1) — 46,084 77–59 138 September 2 Twins 4–6 Aguilera Hill (14–8) Guardado 24,786 77–60 139 September 3 Twins 9–7 Witt (14–9) Rodriguez Henneman (27) 28,401 78–60 140 September 4 Twins 6–7 Robertson Heredia (2–5) Trombley 29,744 78–61 141 September 6 @ Brewers 7–3 Burkett (3–1) Eldred — 16,714 79–61 142 September 7 @ Brewers 2–1 Hill (15–8) McDonald Henneman (28) 19,110 80–61 143 September 8 @ Brewers 7–1 Witt (15–9) Florie — 17,542 81–61 144 September 9 @ Blue Jays 4–3 Gross (11–8) Hentgen Henneman (29) 25,825 82–61 145 September 10 @ Blue Jays 11–8 Oliver (12–6) Williams Henneman (30) 26,286 83–61 146 September 11 @ Blue Jays 3–8 Andujar Vosberg (1–1) — 27,262 83–62 147 September 12 Brewers 4–15 McDonald Hill (15–9) — 41,303 83–63 148 September 13 Brewers 3–6 D'Amico Witt (15–10) Fetters 39,235 83–64 149 September 14 Brewers 6–8 Karl Pavlik (15–8) Fetters 45,901 83–65 150 September 15 Brewers 6–2 Oliver (13–6) Garcia Vosberg (8) 45,941 84–65 151 September 16 @ Mariners 0–6 Moyer Burkett (3–2) — 50,544 84–66 152 September 17 @ Mariners 2–5 Mulholland Hill (15–10) Ayala 32,279 84–67 153 September 18 @ Mariners 2–5 Hitchcock Witt (15–11) Charlton 35,162 84–68 154 September 19 @ Mariners 6–7 Davis Cook (4–2) Charlton 39,769 84–69 155 September 20 @ Angels 5–6 (10) McElroy Stanton (0–1) — 18,860 84–70 156 September 21 @ Angels 7–1 Burkett (4–2) Abbott — 24,104 85–70 157 September 22 @ Angels 4–1 Hill (16–10) Dickson — 17,522 86–70 158 September 23 @ Athletics 3–5 Wasdin Witt (15–12) Taylor 10,164 86–71 159 September 24 @ Athletics 7–3 Cook (5–2) Small — 9,694 87–71 160 September 26 Angels 6–5 Burkett (5–2) Abbott Henneman (31) 33,895 88–71 161 September 27 Angels 3–4 (15) Harris Whiteside (0–1) Gohr 46,764 88–72 162 September 28 Angels 4–3 Oliver (14–6) Finley Heredia (1) 45,651 89–72 163 September 29 Angels 4–3 Witt (16–12) Springer — 45,434 90–72

Detailed records

American League Opponent Home Away Total Pct. Runs scored Runs allowed AL East New York Yankees 5–1 2–4 7–5 .583 68 48 5–1 2–4 7–5 .583 68 48 AL Central 0–0 0–0 0–0 – 0 0 AL West Texas Rangers — — — — — — 0–0 0–0 0–0 – 0 0 Postseason Game log Legend Rangers Win Rangers Loss Bold denotes an Rangers pitcher 1996 Postseason game log: 1–3 (Home: 0–2; Away: 1–1) AL Division Series vs. New York Yankees 1–3 (Home: 0–2; Away: 1–1) [9] # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Series Box/ Streak 1 October 1 7:15p.m. CDT @ Yankees W6–2 Burkett (1–0) Cone (0–1) — 2:50 57,205 TEX 1–0 W1 2 October 2 7:05p.m. CDT @ Yankees L4–5(12) Boehringer (1–0) Stanton (0–1) — 4:25 57,156 Tied 1–1 L1 3 October 4 7:07p.m. CDT Yankees L2–3 Nelson (1–0) Oliver (0–1) Wetteland (1) 3:09 50,860 NYY 2–1 L2 4 October 5 12:08p.m. CDT Yankees L4–6 Weathers (1–0) Pavlik (0–1) Wetteland (2) 3:57 50,066 NYY 3–1 L3 Player stats = Indicates team leader 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 Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI C Iván Rodríguez 153 649 192 .300 19 86 1B Will Clark 117 436 124 .284 13 72 2B Mark McLemore 147 517 150 .290 5 46 SS Kevin Elster 157 515 130 .252 24 99 3B Dean Palmer 154 582 163 .280 38 107 LF Rusty Greer 139 542 180 .332 18 100 CF Darryl Hamilton 148 627 184 .293 6 51 RF Juan González 134 541 170 .314 47 144 DH Mickey Tettleton 143 491 121 .246 24 83 Other batters 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 Warren Newson 91 235 60 .255 10 31 Damon Buford 90 145 41 .283 6 20 Rene Gonzales 51 92 20 .217 2 5 Dave Valle 42 86 26 .302 3 17 Lee Stevens 27 78 18 .231 3 12 Kurt Stillwell 46 77 21 .273 1 4 Lou Frazier 30 50 13 .260 0 5 Craig Worthington 13 19 3 .158 1 4 Jack Voigt 5 9 1 .111 0 0 Luis Ortiz 3 7 2 .286 1 1 Rikkert Faneyte 8 5 1 .200 0 1 Benji Gil 7 5 2 .400 0 1 Kevin Brown 3 4 0 .000 0 1 Pitching Starting pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO Ken Hill 35 250.2 16 10 3.63 170 Roger Pavlik 34 201.0 15 8 5.19 127 Bobby Witt 33 199.2 16 12 5.41 157 Darren Oliver 30 173.2 14 6 4.66 112 Kevin Gross 28 129.1 11 8 5.22 78 John Burkett 10 68.2 5 2 4.06 47 Other pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO Rick Helling 6 20.1 1 2 7.52 16 José Alberro 5 9.1 0 1 5.79 2 Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G W L SV ERA SO Mike Henneman 49 0 7 31 5.79 34 Dennis Cook 60 5 2 0 4.09 64 Jeff Russell 55 3 3 3 3.38 23 Ed Vosberg 52 1 1 8 3.27 32 Gil Heredia 44 2 5 1 5.89 43 Mark Brandenburg 26 1 3 0 3.21 37 Mike Stanton 22 0 1 0 3.22 14 Matt Whiteside 14 0 1 0 6.68 15 Danny Patterson 7 0 0 0 0.00 5 ALDS Main article: 1996 American League Division Series Game 1, October 1 Yankee Stadium, The Bronx, New York Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Texas 0 0 0 5 0 1 0 0 0 6 8 0 New York 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 10 0 WP: John Burkett (1-0)   LP: David Cone (0-1) Home runs: Tex: Juan González (1), Dean Palmer (1) NYY: None Game 2, October 2 Yankee Stadium, The Bronx, New York Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 R H E Texas 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 8 1 New York 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 5 8 0 WP: Brian Boehringer (1-0)   LP: Mike Stanton (0-1) Home runs: Tex: Juan González (2, 3) NYY: Cecil Fielder (1) Game 3, October 4 The Ballpark in Arlington, Arlington, Texas Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E New York 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 7 1 Texas 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 6 1 WP: Jeff Nelson (1-0)   LP: Darren Oliver (0-1)   Sv: John Wetteland (1) Home runs: NYY: Bernie Williams (1) Tex: Juan González (4) Game 4, October 5 The Ballpark in Arlington, Arlington, Texas Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E New York 0 0 0 3 1 0 1 0 1 6 12 1 Texas 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 9 0 WP: David Weathers (1-0)   LP: Roger Pavlik (0-1)   Sv: John Wetteland (2) Home runs: NYY: Bernie Williams (2, 3) Tex: Juan González (5) Awards and honors Kevin Elster, Comeback Player of The Year Juan González, AL MVP Juan González, Silver Slugger Award Johnny Oates, AL Managers of the Year (was co-manager with Joe Torre) Iván Rodríguez, C, Gold Glove Iván Rodríguez, Silver Slugger Award All-Star Game Notes Scott Podsednik at Baseball Reference Ken Hill at Baseball Reference Mike Henneman at Baseball Reference "Kevin Elster Stats". Jack Voigt at Baseball Reference Travis Hafner at Baseball Reference Mike Stanton at Baseball Reference "1996 Texas Rangers Schedule & Results". Baseball Reference . Retrieved August 15, 2025. "1996 American League Division Series". Baseball Reference . Retrieved August 15, 2025. Farm system See also: Minor League Baseball Level Team League Manager AAA Oklahoma City 89ers American Association Greg Biagini AA Tulsa Drillers Texas League Bobby Jones A Charlotte Rangers Florida State League Butch Wynegar A Charleston RiverDogs South Atlantic League Gary Allenson A-Short Season Hudson Valley Renegades New York–Penn League Bump Wills Rookie GCL Rangers Gulf Coast League Jim Byrd LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Oklahoma City Hudson Valley affiliation shared with Tampa Bay Devil Rays References 1996 Texas Rangers at Baseball Reference 1996 Texas Rangers at Baseball Almanac Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (3rd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN   978-1-932391-17-6.