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Uniform Numbers

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As we get closer to the fun starting again on Thursday with pitchers and catchers, I’ve been working behind the scenes on my site to get some things done. Not terribly obvious to you, but this one might be.
One of the features on my site that I don’t think I’ve seen on any other Rangers site is a history of Rangers uniform numbers. I’ve got all the Texas Rangers years covered, and some Senators years, too. I’ve been keeping up with all the changes for the last 5 years or so as that’s when I started tracking it. Information going backwards is not as complete, but still pretty accurate. What I mean by that is guys who were up for just one game or something in say 1977 aren’t likely to be in here. I do have info for the numbers in the Senators years, but I haven’t found the time to put that stuff in there. Hopefully soon.
Anyway, I’ve gone through and updated it for 2008 based on the published spring training rosters that are out and about. A couple of minor things which I don’t have an answer for:

  • Our new third base coach this year is Matt Walbeck. The official Rangers site doesn’t list a number for him, so if you know what his number is, please tell me.
  • It’s been in several papers that old schoolers like Mark McLemore, Rusty Greer, Steve Buchele and others will be in spring training to coach the current players – possibly even in uniform. If anyone has seen assignments for these guys, let me know.
  • If anyone has numbers for some of the other guys who are in uniform (bullpen catcher, some of the other folks in the dugout who aren’t on the field coaches), let me know that, too.

Thanks, and I hope you get a kick out of my uniform number section of the site.

A thought about Pudge

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Now that Nolan Ryan is our president, I wonder how plausible this might be..
In a couple of years, Pudge Rodriguez will likely be on the back end of his career. He’s still pretty darned good now. Not the Pudge of the mid/late 90’s, but he’s still a great catcher. Of all the former Ranger players from the championship teams that went and played somewhere else, Pudge is probably still the most beloved.
Juan Gonzalez is in the Cardinals system trying to hang on, most have retired, but Pudge is still pretty active. He turns 37 after the 2008 season, so I wonder.. When he’s no longer a frontline catcher, I wonder if the Rangers will bring him back to be the backup catcher/part time DH. Nolan caught Pudge back in the day, and I wonder if that might spark something on either side for a career ending reunion.
Other Ranger players have done that kind of thing at the back ends of their career. Jim Sundberg came back in 88/89 to finish off his career after spending a few years in Kansas City and Chicago. Jeff Russell came back in 95/96 after a couple of seasons in Oakland, Boston, & Cleveland. So it could happen.
I was at Pudge’s final game as a Ranger. It was quite the love fest, and when he’s returned with Florida and Detroit, he’s always warmly welcomed by the fans.
Wouldn’t surprise me.

Digital Ian Kinsler

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It’s February 7th, and it means we’re about four weeks away from the annual release of this year’s crop of baseball videogames. I’m an old school gamer, and I’ve been playing baseball games on just about every platform there has been since my first system in 1977 (the Atari 2600).

Anyway, since we’re in the buildup for the new games, we’re getting the usual bunch of screenshots and all that. Saw this one today, and thought I’d pass it on. It’s from MLB 2k8, and shows Ian Kinsler at bat at the Ballpark.

2K’s “MLB 2k8” is the latest entry in their series (which started back a few years ago when it was World Series Baseball, and going further back than that on the Sega Genesis). One of the things that has plagued the 2K series has been the player models. That’s supposed to be Ian Kinsler, and it sorta looks like him, but not exactly. 2K is the exclusive “third party” baseball game maker. That means that Sony can make one for the Playstation, and Microsoft can make one themselves for the Xbox 360 (likewise Nintendo for the Wii), but nobody outside the console maker can make a MLB baseball game other than 2K. With that in place, you’d think they’d do a better job of getting the players right. The last couple of entries in this series have been a little more “miss” than “hit”, so I’m hoping they rebound in this latest edition.

This year I have a Playstation 3, and will be checking out Sony’s “MLB 08 The Show” game. Everything I’ve read about that makes me think it might dethrone 2K’s game as the best baseball game around.

I wrote about this a bit when MLB 2k7 game out last year, and I’m bringing back a screenshot that I used then from the baseball game from Atari for the 2600 in the 70’s. We’re a long LONG way from that.

Fantasy Baseball

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Yahoo’s fantasy baseball is open again. I’ll be running the usual league I do, but someone posed this question to me..
What about doing a paid league? Where folks had to pay to play? Yahoo has a pay league which has more in the way of stats, and all that. If the league was made up of folks who paid, we’d be likely to keep the league together towards the end.
I’ll still have a free league whatever I do, but is there enough interest in putting together a paid league?
The league costs $125 to buy the whole league, which would be not too bad if we spread it out amongst everyone who joined. Is there enough interest from those of you who regularly play in the leagues I put together?
Please let me know.

Galarraga traded

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  • OF Michael Hernandez acquired via trade from Detroit Tigers for P Armando Galarraga [ Link ]

Baseball Cheerleaders Pt 2

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Back in November, I wrote about cheerleaders in baseball. As a red blooded normal American male, I find them nice to look at, but as a baseball fan, meh. Like crying, they don’t really belong in baseball, do they?

When I last wrote about this, it seems that when there are cheerleaders, it’s in Latin ball mostly. Turns out that’s not an exclusive thing south of the United States. I saw an article today talking about the cheerleaders for the Florida Marlins, The Mermaids. Heh. Given the community in the Miami area, it makes sense I suppose, but I can’t say I recall seeing them on TV. Not that I see a lot of Marlins home games, but you’d think they’d turn up somewhere.

What do you think of the concept of cheerleaders in baseball? A lot is written at places who write a lot better than I about what “baseball has become”. The game itself sometimes seems like a sideshow to all the other “stuff” that is going on in and around the park. A lot of teams have faux cheerleaders already – ushers that dance, groundscrew that dance, and the Rangers version of that, the “somethingorother six shooters” – girls that play games with the crowd, shoot t-shirts into the stands etc. They’re “fakey” cheerleaders.

When I was in Florida in March 2007 for spring training, the Phillies had Hooters girls (in full regalia) as ball girls. Ball girls are a bit different than an actual cheerleader, though. Makes you wonder at what point some major team will take the leap from all these “almost” cheerleaders to actual cheerleaders. I mean besides the Marlins.

Or heck, with JerryLand being built next door to our little ol’ ballpark, I wonder if we’ll be seeing the Cowboys cheerleaders at games now. I mean if you go to a Rangers game, which of these two pictures would you rather see live in person? It’s a harder question than you think. :)

It could be worse, though. It could still be “Rootin’ Tootin’ Ranger”. :)

Armando Galarraga to go to the Tigers

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According to this story on Monday evening, Armando Galarraga, who was the last part of the Soriano trade we still had a piece of, was being traded to the Detroit Tigers.
According to the story, we would receive outfield prospect Michael Hernandez. I don’t know much about this kid, that’s more Jamey’s bag, but given this was towards the back end of the designated for assignment period, it’s probably not a prospect that would get most Rangers fans jumping up and down.
I’m sure Jamey will have more on this one shortly.

Johnny Oates

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Was looking through some pictures I’ve collected, and ran across this one of Johnny Oates. It always makes me laugh. Looks like an overly enthusiastic call to the bullpen. :)