2005 Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers were supposed to fold in 2004 with the departure of Alex Rodriguez, but they won 18 more games without him in 2004 than they did with him in 2003. This year they will once again show their tenacious side, as they battle the Anaheim Angels and the Oakland Athletics for the American League's West Division title. For that reason, tickets to see the Rangers at the Ballpark in Arlington are at a premium this year.

Futility and instability defined the Texas Rangers in the 1970s and 1980s. Owner Rob Short transferred the second incarnation of the Washington Senators to Arlington, Texas in 1972. The old tradition continued, though, as Texas lost 205 games in two years.That weak showing brought the managerial career of Hall of Famer Ted Williams' to an end. Brad Corbett, who made his money in plastic pipes, acquired the Rangers in May 1974. Manager Billy Martin led the team to second place that season but had burned out by mid-1975. In 1977, Corbett employed four different managers (counting Eddie Stanky, who quit after one day, and interim Connie Ryan). The fourth, Billy Hunter, guided the club to a Ranger-record 94 victories. But cash-poor Corbett all but dismantled the team and let young pitchers Dave Righetti and Jim Clancy escape as well. Mediocrity was the order under Eddie Chiles, who bought the Rangers in February 1980 and allowed GM Eddie Robinson to deal two more young pitchers, Walt Terrell and Ron Darling, for Lee Mazzilli.

In 1985 Bobby Valentine (the team's 13th manager in 15 seasons), innovative pitching coach Tom House, and the president-GM combo of Mike Stone and Tom Grieve began a patient building plan. A devotion to scouting in Latin America introduced young stars such as Ruben Sierra. Chiles, fading in the oil bust, sold out to a group in March 1989. Future Texas governor George W. Bush began negotiations for a new stadium as neighboring Dallas opened a campaign to usurp the team just as Arlington had from the nation's capital in 1972.

The Rangers have won four division titles, but they still have not won an American League pennant or appeared in a World Series. President George W. Bush, during his campaign, joked that his worst mistake in life was trading Sammy Sosa to the White Sox when he was leading the team's front office.

On April 6, 1989, Nolan Ryan started with the Rangers against the Detroit Tigers. The talk that Ryan had begun to act more like a 42 year old than a kid with a blazing fastball only made the man push harder. He had missed the last part of the previous season with a hamstring injury and still seemed to be suffering, though he kept on with his rigorous training rituals and exercises.

His first start in the American League in 9 years came on April 12 against the Brewers. He took a no-hitter into the 8th inning and racked up 15 strikeouts. The rest of his years with the Rangers seem almost unreal: 2 more no-hitters, 2 more seasons leading the league in strikeouts, and reaching the 300 win and 5000 strikeout plateau - something never before done in history.

On September 15, 1996, the Texas Rangers retired Nolan's jersey, number 34. It was a fitting end to the most amazing career in sports history, capped off by his induction into the Hall of Fame, on his first ballot, on Jan 5, 1999.