1999 Texas Rangers season

1999  Texas Rangers
American League West champions
League	American League
Division	West
Ballpark	The Ballpark in Arlington
City	Arlington, Texas
Record	95–67 (.586)
Divisional place	1st
Owners	Tom Hicks
General managers	Doug Melvin
Managers	Johnny Oates
Television	KXTX-TV KXAS-TV Fox Sports Southwest (Tom Grieve, Bill Jones)
Radio	KRLD (Eric Nadel, Vince Cotroneo ) KESS-FM (Luis Mayoral, Josue Perez)
←  1998 Seasons 2000  →

The 1999 Texas Rangers season was the 39th of the Texas Rangers franchise overall, their 28th in Arlington as the Rangers, and their 6th season at The Ballpark in Arlington. The Rangers finished first in the American League West with a record of 95 wins and 67 losses, registering the best winning percentage (.586) in franchise history until 2011.

Winning their third division title in four years, the Rangers repeated their 1998 postseason performance, again being swept by the New York Yankees in three games. This was the Rangers' last postseason appearance until 2010.

Offseason

• December 10, 1998: Mark Clark was signed as a free agent by the Rangers. ^[1]
• December 23, 1998: Gregg Zaun was sent to the Rangers by the Florida Marlins as part of a conditional deal. ^[2]
• March 30, 1999: Rafael Bournigal was signed as a free agent by the Rangers. ^[3]

Regular season

Opening day starters

• Iván Rodríguez, C
• Lee Stevens, 1B
• Luis Alicea, 2B
• Todd Zeile, 3B
• Royce Clayton, SS
• Rusty Greer, LF
• Tom Goodwin, CF
• Juan González, RF
• Rafael Palmeiro, DH
• Rick Helling, RHP

Source:

Season standings

• v
• t
• e

AL West

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Texas Rangers	95	67	.586	—	51‍–‍30	44‍–‍37
Oakland Athletics	87	75	.537	8	52‍–‍29	35‍–‍46
Seattle Mariners	79	83	.488	16	43‍–‍38	36‍–‍45
Anaheim Angels	70	92	.432	25	37‍–‍44	33‍–‍48

Record vs. opponents

1999 American League record Source: MLB Standings Grid – 1999 v t e
Team	ANA	BAL	BOS	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TB	TEX	TOR	NL
Anaheim	—	3–9	1–9	5–5	1–9	5–5	7–5	6–4	6–4	8–4	6–6	7–5	6–6	3–9	6–12
Baltimore	9–3	—	5–7	7–3	1–9	5–5	6–4	8–1	4–9	5–7	5–5	5–7	6–6	1–11	11–7
Boston	9–1	7–5	—	7–5	8–4	7–5	8–2	6–4	8–4	4–6	7–3	4–9	4–5	9–3	6–12
Chicago	5–5	3–7	5–7	—	3–9	7–5	6–6	8–3–1	5–7	3–7	4–8	6–4	5–5	6–4	9–9
Cleveland	9–1	9–1	4–8	9–3	—	8–5	7–5	9–3	3–7	10–2	7–3	5–4	3–7	5–7	9–9
Detroit	5–5	5–5	5–7	5–7	5–8	—	7–4	6–6	5–7	4–6	3–7	4–5	5–5	2–10	8–10
Kansas City	5–7	4–6	2–8	6–6	5–7	4–7	—	5–8	5–4	6–6	7–5	2–8	4–6	3–7	6–12
Minnesota	4–6	1–8	4–6	3–8–1	3–9	6–6	8–5	—	4–6	7–5	4–8	5–5	0–12	4–6	10–7
New York	4–6	9–4	4–8	7–5	7–3	7–5	4–5	6–4	—	6–4	9–1	8–4	8–4	10–2	9–9
Oakland	4–8	7–5	6–4	7–3	2–10	6–4	6–6	5–7	4–6	—	6–6	9–1	5–7	8–2	12–6
Seattle	6–6	5–5	3–7	8–4	3–7	7–3	5–7	8–4	1–9	6–6	—	8–4	5–8	7–2	7–11
Tampa Bay	5–7	7–5	9–4	4–6	4–5	5–4	8–2	5–5	4–8	1–9	4–8	—	4–8	5–8	4–14
Texas	6–6	6–6	5–4	5–5	7–3	5–5	6–4	12–0	4–8	7–5	8–5	8–4	—	6–4	10–8
Toronto	9–3	11–1	3–9	4–6	7–5	10–2	7–3	6–4	2–10	2–8	2–7	8–5	4–6	—	9–9

Notable transactions

• April 27, 1999: Rafael Bournigal was purchased from the Rangers by the Seattle Mariners. ^[3]
• June 2, 1999: 1999 Major League Baseball draft
  • Hank Blalock was drafted by the Rangers in the 3rd round. Player signed June 4, 1999. ^[4]
  • Aaron Harang was drafted by the Rangers in the 6th round. Player signed June 7, 1999. ^[5]

Roster

1999 Texas Rangers
Roster
Pitchers 33 John Burkett 54 Mark Clark 23 Tim Crabtree 46 Doug Davis 13 Jeff Fassero 38,40 Ryan Glynn 53 Eric Gunderson 32 Rick Helling 50 Jonathan Johnson 52 Dan Kolb 37 Corey Lee 28 Esteban Loaiza 36 Mike Morgan 51 Mike Munoz 56 Danny Patterson 40 Matt Perisho 30 Aaron Sele 43 Mike Venafro 35 John Wetteland 59 Jeff Zimmerman		Catchers  7 Iván Rodríguez  6 Gregg Zaun Infielders 10 Luis Alicea 11 Royce Clayton 44 Kelly Dransfeldt  3 Mark McLemore 25 Rafael Palmeiro 15 Jon Shave  4 Scott Sheldon 16 Mike Simms  9 Lee Stevens 27 Todd Zeile		Outfielders 19 Juan González 24 Tom Goodwin 41 Scarborough Green 29 Rusty Greer 39 Roberto Kelly 21,38 Rubén Mateo		Manager 26 Johnny Oates Coaches 17 Dick Bosman (Pitching) 20 Bucky Dent (Bench) 48 Larry Hardy (Bullpen)  8 Rudy Jaramillo (Hitting) 12 Ed Napoleon (First Base)  5 Jerry Narron (Third Base)

Game log

Regular season

1999 regular season game log: 95–67 (Home: 51–30; Away: 44–37)
April: 13–10 (Home: 5–6; Away: 8–4) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak
May: 17–10 (Home: 9–5; Away: 8–5) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak
June: 15–13 (Home: 5–3; Away: 10–10) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak
July: 16–9 (Home: 9–4; Away: 7–5) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak 70th All-Star Game in Boston, Massachusetts
August: 18–12 (Home: 11–6; Away: 7–6) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak
September: 16–10 (Home: 12–6; Away: 4–4) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak
October: 0–3 (Home: 0–0; Away: 0–3) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak
Legend:       = Win       = Loss       = Postponement Bold = Rangers team member

Postseason Game log

1999 Postseason game log: 0–3 (Home: 0–1; Away: 0–2)
AL Division Series: vs. New York Yankees 0–3 (Home: 0–1; Away: 0–2) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Series Box/ Streak
Legend:       = Win       = Postponement Bold = Rangers team member

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

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C	Iván Rodríguez	144	600	199	.332	35	113
1B	Lee Stevens	146	517	146	.282	24	81
2B	Mark McLemore	144	566	155	.274	6	45
SS	Royce Clayton	133	465	134	.288	14	52
3B	Todd Zeile	156	588	172	.293	24	98
LF	Rusty Greer	147	556	167	.300	20	101
CF	Tom Goodwin	109	405	105	.259	3	33
RF	Juan González	144	562	183	.326	39	128
DH	Rafael Palmeiro	158	565	183	.324	47	148

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
Roberto Kelly	87	290	87	.300	8	37
Luis Alicea	68	164	33	.201	3	17
Rubén Mateo	32	122	29	.238	5	18
Greg Zaun	43	93	23	.247	1	12
Jon Shave	43	73	21	.288	0	9
Kelly Dransfeldt	16	53	10	.189	1	5
Scarborough Green	18	13	4	.308	0	0
Mike Simms	4	2	1	.500	0	0
Scott Sheldon	2	1	0	.000	0	0

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
Rick Helling	35	219.1	13	11	4.84	131
Aaron Sele	33	205.0	18	9	4.79	186
John Burkett	30	147.1	9	8	5.62	96
Mike Morgan	34	140.0	13	10	6.24	61
Mark Clark	15	74.1	3	7	8.60	44

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
Esteban Loaiza	30	120.1	9	5	4.56	77
Ryan Glynn	13	54.2	2	4	7.24	39
Jeff Fassero	7	17.1	1	0	5.71	13
Matt Perisho	4	10.1	0	0	2.61	17

Relief pitchers

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

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
John Wetteland	62	4	4	43	3.68	60
Tim Crabtree	68	5	1	0	3.46	54
Jeff Zimmerman	65	9	3	3	2.36	67
Mike Venafro	65	3	2	0	3.29	37
Mike Munoz	56	2	1	1	3.93	27
Danny Patterson	53	2	0	0	5.67	43
Danny Kolb	16	2	1	0	4.65	15
Eric Gunderson	11	0	0	0	7.20	6
Doug Davis	2	0	0	0	33.75	3
Jonathan Johnson	1	0	0	0	15.00	3
Corey Lee	1	0	1	0	27.00	0

ALDS

Main article: 1999 American League Division Series

• Game 1 @ Yankee Stadium: Yankees 8, Rangers 0
• Game 2 @ Yankee Stadium: Yankees 3, Rangers 1
• Game 3 @ The Ballpark in Arlington: Yankees 3, Rangers 0

Awards and honors

• Rafael Palmeiro, 1B, AL Gold Glove
• Rafael Palmeiro, 1B, Silver Slugger Award
• Iván Rodríguez, AL MVP
• Iván Rodríguez, C, Gold Glove
• Iván Rodríguez, Silver Slugger Award

All-Star Game

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Oklahoma RedHawks	Pacific Coast League	Greg Biagini
AA	Tulsa Drillers	Texas League	Bobby Jones
A	Charlotte Rangers	Florida State League	Jim Byrd
A	Savannah Sand Gnats	South Atlantic League	Paul Carey
Rookie	Pulaski Rangers	Appalachian League	Bruce Crabbe
Rookie	GCL Rangers	Gulf Coast League	Darryl Kennedy

References

1. Mark Clark page at Baseball Reference
2. Gregg Zaun page at Baseball Reference
3. Rafael Bournigal page at Baseball Reference
4. Hank Blalock page at Baseball Reference
5. Aaron Harang page at Baseball Reference

• 1999 Texas Rangers team page at Baseball Reference
• 1999 Texas Rangers team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
• 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.