1979 Texas Rangers
[edit] Summary
The 1979 Texas Rangers finished with a record of 83-79. They scored 750 runs and belted 140 home runs to go along with a .278 batting average. Buddy Bell, Pat Putnam, and Richie Zisk were tied for the team lead in home runs with 18. The offense was powered by Buddy Bell, who led the team with 101 RBI, 200 hits. Bump Wills had a great year on the basepaths with 35 stolen bases.
The team allowed 698 runs and had a team ERA of 3.86. Steve Comer was the winningest pitcher, with 17 games won. Fergie Jenkins struck out 164 batters to lead the team. Jim Kern was the team's best fireman, with 29 saves.
[edit] Roster and Statistics
| Player Name | Pos | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | SB | OBP | SLG | OPS | AVG |
| Infielders | ||||||||||||
| Buddy Bell | 3B | 162 | 670 | 89 | 200 | 18 | 101 | 5 | .327 | .451 | .778 | .299 |
| Larvell Blanks | SS | 68 | 120 | 13 | 24 | 1 | 15 | 0 | .259 | .267 | .526 | .200 |
| Bert Campaneris | SS | 8 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .200 | .111 | .311 | .111 |
| Dave Chalk | SS | 9 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .250 | .250 | .500 | .250 |
| Gary Holle | 1B | 5 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .286 | .333 | .619 | .167 |
| Mike Jorgensen | 1B | 90 | 157 | 21 | 35 | 6 | 16 | 0 | .293 | .382 | .675 | .223 |
| Willie Montanez | 1B | 38 | 144 | 19 | 46 | 8 | 24 | 0 | .357 | .528 | .885 | .319 |
| Nelson Norman | SS | 147 | 343 | 36 | 76 | 0 | 21 | 4 | .260 | .265 | .525 | .222 |
| Pat Putnam | 1B | 139 | 426 | 57 | 118 | 18 | 64 | 1 | .319 | .458 | .777 | .277 |
| Eric Soderholm | 3B | 63 | 147 | 15 | 40 | 4 | 19 | 0 | .325 | .395 | .720 | .272 |
| Bump Wills | 2B | 146 | 543 | 90 | 148 | 5 | 46 | 35 | .340 | .350 | .690 | .273 |
| Outfielders | ||||||||||||
| Johnny Grubb | OF | 102 | 289 | 42 | 79 | 10 | 37 | 2 | .350 | .426 | .776 | .273 |
| Al Oliver | OF | 136 | 492 | 69 | 159 | 12 | 76 | 4 | .367 | .470 | .837 | .323 |
| Mickey Rivers | OF | 58 | 247 | 35 | 74 | 6 | 25 | 7 | .323 | .433 | .756 | .300 |
| Billy Sample | OF | 128 | 325 | 60 | 95 | 5 | 35 | 8 | .365 | .415 | .780 | .292 |
| LaRue Washington | OF | 25 | 18 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | .409 | .278 | .687 | .278 |
| Richie Zisk | OF | 144 | 503 | 69 | 132 | 18 | 64 | 1 | .336 | .416 | .752 | .262 |
| Catchers | ||||||||||||
| Greg Mahlberg | C | 7 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .211 | .294 | .505 | .118 |
| Dave Roberts | C | 44 | 84 | 12 | 22 | 3 | 14 | 1 | .319 | .417 | .736 | .262 |
| Jim Sundberg | C | 150 | 495 | 50 | 136 | 5 | 64 | 3 | .345 | .368 | .713 | .275 |
| Other | ||||||||||||
| John Ellis | DH | 111 | 316 | 33 | 90 | 12 | 61 | 2 | .318 | .437 | .755 | .285 |
| Oscar Gamble | DH | 64 | 161 | 27 | 54 | 8 | 32 | 2 | .458 | .522 | .980 | .335 |
| Gary Gray | DH | 16 | 42 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .273 | .238 | .511 | .238 |
| Team Totals | - | - | 5562 | 750 | 1549 | 140 | 718 | 79 | .330 | .409 | .739 | .278 |
| Player Name | G | GS | IP | W | L | Win % | SV | SO | BB | ERA | WHIP | |||
| Pitchers | ||||||||||||||
| Doyle Alexander | 23 | 18 | 113.3 | 5 | 7 | .417 | 0 | 50 | 69 | 4.45 | 1.615 | |||
| Brian Allard | 7 | 4 | 33.3 | 1 | 3 | .250 | 0 | 14 | 13 | 4.32 | 1.471 | |||
| Bob Babcock | 4 | 0 | 5.3 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 1.12 | 2.642 | |||
| Steve Comer | 36 | 36 | 242.3 | 17 | 12 | .586 | 0 | 86 | 84 | 3.68 | 1.296 | |||
| Danny Darwin | 20 | 6 | 78 | 4 | 4 | .500 | 0 | 58 | 30 | 4.04 | 1.026 | |||
| Dock Ellis | 10 | 9 | 46.7 | 1 | 5 | .167 | 0 | 10 | 16 | 5.98 | 1.713 | |||
| Ed Farmer | 11 | 2 | 33 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 25 | 19 | 4.36 | 1.485 | |||
| Jerry Gleaton | 5 | 2 | 9.7 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6.52 | 1.753 | |||
| Fergie Jenkins | 37 | 37 | 259 | 16 | 14 | .533 | 0 | 164 | 81 | 4.07 | 1.286 | |||
| John Henry Johnson | 17 | 12 | 82.3 | 2 | 6 | .250 | 0 | 46 | 36 | 4.92 | 1.397 | |||
| Jim Kern | 71 | 0 | 143 | 13 | 5 | .722 | 29 | 136 | 62 | 1.57 | 1.126 | |||
| Sparky Lyle | 67 | 0 | 95 | 5 | 8 | .385 | 13 | 48 | 28 | 3.13 | 1.116 | |||
| Jon Matlack | 13 | 13 | 85 | 5 | 4 | .556 | 0 | 35 | 15 | 4.13 | 1.329 | |||
| Larry McCall | 2 | 1 | 8.3 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2.16 | 1.205 | |||
| Doc Medich | 29 | 19 | 149 | 10 | 7 | .588 | 0 | 58 | 49 | 4.17 | 1.376 | |||
| Dave Rajsich | 27 | 3 | 53.7 | 1 | 3 | .250 | 0 | 32 | 18 | 3.52 | 1.378 | |||
| Team Totals | 379 | 162 | 1436.9 | 83 | 79 | .512 | 42 | 773 | 532 | 3.86 | 1.324 | |||
[edit] Batting Leaders
| Category | ||
| Games | Buddy Bell | 162 |
| At Bats | Buddy Bell | 670 |
| Plate Appearances (approx.) | Buddy Bell | 720 |
| Batting Average | Al Oliver | .323 |
| On-Base % | Al Oliver | .367 |
| Slugging % | Al Oliver | .470 |
| OPS | Al Oliver | .837 |
| Runs | Bump Wills | 90 |
| Hits | Buddy Bell | 200 |
| Total Bases | Buddy Bell | 302 |
| Doubles | Buddy Bell | 42 |
| Triples | Al Oliver and Jim Sundberg | 4 |
| Home Runs | Buddy Bell, Pat Putnam, and Richie Zisk | 18 |
| RBI | Buddy Bell | 101 |
| Walks | Richie Zisk | 57 |
| Strikeouts | Richie Zisk | 75 |
| Stolen Bases | Bump Wills | 35 |
| Caught Stealing | Bump Wills | 11 |
| Sacrifice Hits | Nelson Norman | 18 |
| Sacrifice Flies | Buddy Bell | 10 |
| Grounded into Double Plays | Jim Sundberg | 17 |
[edit] Pitching Leaders
| Category | ||
| Wins | Steve Comer | 17 |
| Losses | Fergie Jenkins | 14 |
| Saves | Jim Kern | 29 |
| Won-Loss % | Jim Kern | .722 |
| ERA | Steve Comer | 3.68 |
| WHIP | Fergie Jenkins | 1.286 |
| Innings Pitched | Fergie Jenkins | 259 |
| Games | Jim Kern | 71 |
| Games Started | Fergie Jenkins | 37 |
| Strikeouts | Fergie Jenkins | 164 |
| Complete Games | Fergie Jenkins | 10 |
| Shutouts | Fergie Jenkins | 3 |
| Batters Faced | Fergie Jenkins | 1089 |
| Earned Runs Allowed | Fergie Jenkins | 117 |
| Hits Allowed | Fergie Jenkins | 252 |
| Walks Allowed | Steve Comer | 84 |
| Home Runs Allowed | Fergie Jenkins | 40 |
| Doubles Allowed | Steve Comer | 50 |
| Triples Allowed | Steve Comer and Fergie Jenkins | 8 |
| Wild Pitches | Steve Comer | 7 |
| Hit Batsmen | Steve Comer | 8 |
| Double Plays Induced | Fergie Jenkins | 22 |
