1975 RECAP
Record: 97-65, 2nd in AL West
I've said most of what I wanted to say about this year in the last post. Our rival Athletics went on to win the World Series, leaving Rangers fans to wonder what could have been. Mike Hargrove tailed off his torrid pace in the second half of the season, but Jay Johnstone was on fire to lead our team with 6.4 WAR. I expected his breakout season and will be looking to deal him while he's hot. Hargrove (.338) and Johnstone (.332) were #2 and #3 in AL batting average, while Johnstone (.884) was #2 in OPS. Lou Brock easily led the league with 100+ stolen bases.
Our pitching wasn't quite as good, with our Big 3 averaging "only" 5.4 WAR between them. Part of that I'm sure was my playing more bat-friendly players, which was definitely worth it in the balance. Nolan Ryan was injured for a bit too. I picked up Sparky Lyle at the deadline to be my closer, and he was a historical Ranger which I obviously look for.
In award news, our friend Bump Wills won Rookie of the Year! Definitely a good idea to call him up his first year available. Hopefully he can give us several good seasons in his short career. I also had Hargrove (1B), Johnstone (RF), and Brock (DH) win Silver Slugger. Johnstone also picked up a Gold Glove in RF to cap off his big year.
Notable Ins: Sparky Lyle (RP)
Notable Outs: Fritz Peterson (SP)
Rookie Class:
Billy Sample (2B),
Danny Darwin (SP)
Best Performers
Jay Johnstone (RF): 6.4 WAR
Fergie Jenkins (SP): 5.9 WAR
Gaylord Perry (SP): 5.7 WAR
Mike Hargrove (1B): 5.7 WAR
Nolan Ryan (SP): 4.6 WAR
Mickey Rivers (CF): 3.7 WAR
Bump Wills (2B): 3.5 WAR
Buddy Bell (3B): 3.0 WAR
World Series
Oakland Athletics defeat Philadelphia Phillies 4-1
MLB Awards
AL MVP: Bobby Grich (SS), BAL
NL MVP: Mike Schmidt (3B), PHI
AL Cy Young: Vida Blue (SP), OAK
NL Cy Young: Don Sutton (SP), LAD
AL Rookie of the Year:
Bump Wills (2B), TEX
Hall of Fame Inductees
N/A
Texas Rangers in the Hall of Fame Watch
Locks:
Fergie Jenkins,
Nolan Ryan,
Gaylord Perry*
Even Odds:
Buddy Bell,
Mike Hargrove
Longshots:
Jeff Burroughs,
Mickey Rivers
*:
Lock for Hall of Fame but could go in a different cap