GABE KAPLER AGREES TO TERMS ON ONE-YEAR CONTRACT FOR 2000
FOR RELEASE: 4:30 p.m. (CST), Friday, February 25, 2000
The Texas Rangers announced today that outfielder Gabe Kapler has agreed to terms on a one-year contract for the 2000 season. No further terms were disclosed.
Kapler, 24, was acquired from the Detroit Tigers. In 1999, he batted .245 with 18 homers and 49 rbi in 130 games with Detroit in his first full big league season. Kapler ranked third among A.L. rookies in home runs. He is expected to be the Rangers’ starter in right field this season.
With the signing 29 of the 40 players on the major league roster are under contract for the 2000 season. (Later found out the contract was for $280,000)

Rangers closer John Wetteland, who amassed 295 of his 296 career saves during the 1990s, was named the Rolaids Relief Pitcher of the Decade, edging out Dennis Eckersley, who retired after the 1998 season. Wetteland, who pitched for Los Angeles, Montreal, the New York Yankees and the Rangers during the decade, finished with 793 points, 20 ahead of Eckersley. Randy Myers, who has pitched for five different teams during the decade, finished third.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Outfielder Scarborough Green, released by Texas last month to make room on the roster for pitcher Darren Oliver, agreed Friday to a minor league contract with the Rangers.
Green, 25, hit .308 in 18 games with the Rangers last season, and batted .248 in 104 games at Triple-A Oklahoma City.
In addition to Green, the other non-roster players invited to spring training are right-handers Matt Miller and R.A. Dickey; catchers Reed Secrist, Luis Taveras and B.J. Waszgis; infielders Edwin Diaz, Tom Evans, Carlos Pena and Jon Shave; and outfielders David Hulse, Jason McDonald and Pedro Valdes.
Pitchers and catchers report to spring training Feb. 20. The rest of the team reports Feb. 23.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Texas Rangers continued their tilt toward a left-handed rotation Wednesday, agreeing with Darren Oliver on a $19 million, three-year contract.
Oliver, traded to St. Louis by Texas two years ago for shortstop Royce Clayton, joins a rotation that already had added left-handers Kenny Rogers and Justin Thompson. [ From Joe: We also traded Fernando Tatis with Oliver for Clayton & Sottlemyre ]
Rogers was signed Dec. 29 and Thompson was acquired in the November trade that sent Juan Gonzalez to Detroit. Texas had only four games started by left-handers last season.
Oliver’s deal includes a $6 million signing bonus, with $1.5 million payable in each of the 2001 and 2002 seasons and the remaining $3 million in 2003.
He’ll make $3 million this year and $5 million each of the next two season.
Oliver was 9-9 with a 4.26 ERA in 30 starts for St. Louis last season.
Oliver, 29, came up through the Rangers’ organization, reaching the majors in 1993. At one point he was being groomed as a closer, but his future would be as a starter.
In parts of six seasons with Texas, Oliver was 41-27 with a 4.68 ERA. He struck out 365 and walked 269 in 580 2-3 innings.
ARLINGTON, TEXAS (TICKER) — Free agent lefthander Darren Oliver is headed back to the Texas Rangers.
Filling a need with the departure of Aaron Sele, the two-time defending American League Western Division champions today signed Oliver to a three-year contract. The Rangers have a news conference at 6 p.m. EST to make the official announcement.
Financial terms were not disclosed. Oliver earned $3.55 million with the St. Louis Cardinals last season.
Oliver, 29, spent parts of six years with the Rangers, posting a career-high 13 wins in 1997 before being shipped to the Cardinals on July 31, 1998 with third baseman Fernando Tatis for shortstop Royce Clayton and right-hander Todd Stottlemyre.
Oliver was second on the Cardinals in wins last season, going 9-9 with a 4.26 ERA in 35 games, including 30 starts. He allowed 197 hits over 196 1/3 innings with 74 walks and 119 strikeouts.
Sele signed a two-year contract with the Seattle Mariners on Monday after a previous deal with the Baltimore Orioles fell through. He won 37 games for the Rangers over the past two seasons, including a 18-9 record in 1999.

The Census Bureau recruited Texas Rangers catcher Ivan Rodriguez and several other baseball stars in its campaign for a full count in next year’s national statistical survey (aka “The Census”). Network television, broadcast outlets in all 28 baseball markets and Sports Illustrated will run ads starting in February. In addition to the air time and the five SI pages, the bureau paid $150,000 for the baseball marketing package. Other players making the Census Bureau pitch include Derek Jeter of the NY Yankees and Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — After four years away, Kenny Rogers returned to the Texas Rangers on Wednesday, signing a $22.5 million, three-year contract.
“It’s not a secret that I wanted to come back,” said Rogers, who had his greatest success with the Rangers and played his first seven years with the team. “I want to try to go out and do the same thing I did the first time, and hope it will last longer than the three years.”
The Rangers went after the left-hander after the departures of pitchers Aaron Sele and John Burkett, who became free agents. Sele has refused the Rangers’ offer of salary arbitration and the team has pulled a four-year offer off the table.
Sele (33 starts) can negotiate with Texas through Jan. 8, but Burkett (25 starts) is ineligible to sign with the Rangers until May 1.
“We felt that our pitching staff the last few years has been all right-handed. Kenny was on that list, someone of quality we would like to pursue,” Rangers general manager Doug Melvin said.
Melvin said the deal with Rogers was finalized after no progress was being made in the negotiations with Sele.
“This came about for a fear I had about not having anybody,” Melvin said. “My fear was going about this and ending up with no starting pitcher.”
Texas hasn’t had a left-handed starter since trading Darren Oliver in July 1998, but now possibly has two with the addition of Rogers and 26-year-old Justin Thompson, acquired in the deal that sent Juan Gonzalez to Detroit.
Rogers has a career record of 114-78, the .594 winning percentage the second-highest among available free agent starting pitchers. He was a 39th-round draft pick of the Rangers in 1982, and broke into the majors seven years later.
On July 28, 1994, Rogers pitched one of only 14 perfect games in modern major league history, beating the Angels 4-0.
Rogers was 5-1 with a 4.03 ERA for the New York Mets in the final two months of last season after going 5-3 with a 4.30 ERA for the Oakland Athletics.
However, he ended the Mets’ season by walking Andruw Jones with the bases loaded in the 11th inning of Game 6 of the National League Championship Series, giving Atlanta a 10-9 win and a berth in the World Series.
“That’s the way it goes sometimes. People tend to forget that of my 12 starts we won 10 of them,” Rogers said.
Since Rogers left Texas after the 1995 season to sign a $20 million, four-year contract with the New York Yankees, the Rangers have won three division titles. But they’ve been swept in the opening round of the playoffs by the Yankees the past two seasons.
“I came to this team thinking that this team will be in the playoffs,” Rogers said. “I’ve never been adverse to failing and going out and trying again.”
After going 17-7 in 1995 with the Rangers, his record dropped to 12-8 and 6-7 in two years with the Yankees.
New York then traded him to Oakland and agreed to pay half of the $10 million remaining on his contract. Rogers went 16-8 with a 3.17 ERA in his one full season with the A’s.

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TEXAS RANGERS PRESS RELEASE:
RANGERS SIGN KENNY ROGERS TO THREE YEAR CONTRACT
FOR RELEASE: 4:00 p.m. (CST), Wednesday, December 29, 1999
The Texas Rangers announced today that free agent pitcher Kenny Rogers has agreed to a three-year $22.5 million contract extending through the 2002 season. No further terms were disclosed.
With a career record of 114-78, Rogers had the second-highest winning percentage (.594) among available free agent starting pitchers this year. He also has the seventh highest winning percentage in major league baseball among active lefthanders with at least 100 decisions. Over the last five years, he ranks ninth among lefties in innings pitched (966.0), is 11th in wins (61), is 12th in strikeouts (574) and is 13th with a 4.07 era (437 er/966 ip). He has now recorded 18 consecutive home wins in a span of 39 appearances (34 starts) with his last home loss coming in a relief outing with the Yankees on June 28, 1997 vs. Cleveland.
Rogers, 35, returns to Texas after four seasons away from the team. The lefthander began the 1999 season with Oakland where he was 5-3 with a 4.30 era (57 er/119.1 ip) before a trade on July 23 sent him to the New York Mets in exchange for minor leaguers Terrence Long and Leoner Vasquez. He was 5-1 with a 4.03 era (34 er/76.0 ip) as the Mets went 10-2 overall in his 12 starts with the team. The Mets did not offer Rogers arbitration after the season, meaning the Rangers do not owe the team any compensation for today’s signing.
A 39th round draft pick of the Rangers in 1982, Rogers broke into the major leagues in 1989 and pitched with Texas until 1995. His career record with the Rangers is 70-51 with a 3.88 era (407 er/943.1 ip) and 680 strikeouts. Initially a reliever, he appeared in 73 games during his rookie season which ranked third in the American League. He followed that in 1990 by ranking third in the A.L. in relief wins (9), a mark that still stands as a Rangers’ record for the most ever by a lefthanded reliever. After leading the A.L. and tying for the Major League lead with 81 appearances in 1992, Rogers became a full-time starter in 1993. He finished first on the Rangers in wins that year (16) and ranked second on the club in starts (33), complete games (5) and strikeouts (140). The 1994 campaign again saw him top the team in victories (16) as he finished among A.L. leaders in complete games (6), shutouts (2) and wins. On July 28, 1994, he retired all 27 California Angels batters he faced to become the first-ever A.L. lefthander to record a perfect game. The performance was the 11th regular season perfect game in the majors since 1900. Rogers’ 1995 season with Texas saw him finish fourth in the A.L. in wins (17-7), fifth in era (3.38) and sixth in winning percentage (.708)
In 1996, Rogers was a member of the New York Yankees’ World Series Championship club, posting a combined 18-15 record with a 5.11 era (184 er/324.0 ip) in his two years with the team. After a November 1997 trade sent him to Oakland, Rogers led the A’s, and ranked among American League leaders, in wins (16-8), starts (34), complete games (7), era (3.17), innings (238.2) and strikeouts (138) in the 1998 season.
With today’s move, the Rangers have 40 players on their major league roster.

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Completing a unique double, Rafael Palmeiro of the Texas Rangers became the first Gold Glove winner to win the American League’s outstanding designated hitter award in the same season.
Palmeiro, voted a Gold Glove by managers and coaches despite playing just 28 games at the position, received 78 of 84 first-place votes for the DH award, voted on by reporters, broadcasters and team public relations directors.
John Jaha of the Oakland Athletics was second, followed by Edgar Martinez of the Seattle Mariners.
Palmeiro hit 37 of his 47 homers as a designated hitter, the most ever by a DH, topping the 35 by Oakland’s Dave Kingman, both in 1984 and 1986.
In 128 games as a DH, Palmeiro hit .321 with 115 RBI. Overall, he batted .324 with 148 RBI.

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA (TICKER) — Chad Curtis, who hit the game-winning home run in Game Three of the 1999 World Series and caught the final out to conclude the New York Yankees’ four-game sweep of the Atlanta Braves, today was traded to the Texas Rangers.
In exchange for Curtis, the Yankees received minor league righthanders Sam Marsonek and Brandon Knight.
A platoon player with the Yankees, Curtis is expected to be used in a backup role in Texas behind Rusty Greer, Ruben Mateo and Gabe Kapler.
“This gives us versatility and depth in the outfield,” Rangers general manager Doug Melvin said. “It’s nice to bring in a person that has a few championship rings.”
Curtis has been with the Yankees since 1997 and hit .262 with five homers and 24 RBI in 96 games last season. In his first World Series start, he hit a pair of homers, including a 10th-inning blast off Mike Remlinger that gave New York a 6-5 victory. The following night, he capped a 4-1 win by catching a fly ball hit by Keith Lockhart.
The departure of Curtis reduces the crowded left field situation in New York that already includes Ricky Ledee and Shane Spencer. At one point last season he clashed with Derek Jeter, taking the star shortstop to task for engaging in a friendly conversation with Alex Rodriguez of Seattle during a brawl with the Mariners.
In trading Curtis, the Yankees obtain more flexibility on a payroll that reached $92 million last season. Curtis has two years remaining on a contract that will pay him $1.9 million next season. The Yankees recently bought out the contract of designated hitter Chili Davis for $800,000 and have not made an effort to re-sign free agents Joe Girardi and Luis Sojo.
Originally selected by California in the 1989 draft, Curtis is a career .265 hitter with with 90 homers and 403 RBI for the Angels, Detroit, Cleveland and the Yankees.
Melvin was interested in adding a veteran player to his lineup after losing outfielder Juan Gonzalez via trade and third baseman Todd Zeile to free agency.
“We came here (to the winter meetings) trying to get a third baseman and a fourth outfielder,” Melvin said.
The Rangers hoped to re-sign Zeile, but he signed with the New York Mets on Saturday.
Marsonek, 21, was 3-9 in 15 games for Charlotte of the Class-A Florida State League last season.
Knight, 24, was 9-8 with a 4.91 ERA in 27 games at Oklahoma of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League.

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — After finding their new first baseman, the New York Mets kept trying to land some really big names.
“We have several larger deals that we’re still thinking about and contemplating,” Mets general manager Steve Phillips said Sunday, a day after agreeing to an $18 million, three-year contract with Todd Zeile. “For the most part, you know what it will be, but nobody’s got to the point where they have the courage to say, `Let’s do it.”’
Phillips said the Mets’ meeting with the Seattle Mariners regarding Ken Griffey Jr. had gone well Saturday.
“I think it was a positive meeting. Nothing’s imminent,” Phillips said. “What that means and where it goes is impossible to read right now.”
What he does know is that he has a first baseman who’s topped 90 RBIs in each of the last four seasons — and who has played just 76 games at first base in his entire major league career.
“In our view, that transition will not be a difficult one for him,” Phillips said. “He’s done it in the past.”
Zeile, one of baseball’s most durable players, appeared in 5,582 2-3 innings the past four years, the most in the majors. Houston’s Craig Biggio was second at 5,538 1-3.
Zeile has averaged 95 RBIs in that span, 18th in the majors, and also averaged 30 doubles and 25 homers. But — and it’s a big but — he’s played third base for the most part.
“This time, it’s a matter of choice,” he said. “I can play third base in a number of different cities, or I could weigh the chance to play in New York with a chance to win and voluntarily make the choice.”
After all, he played an entirely different position when he broke in.
“I caught from the time I was 8 years old until my second year in the big leagues,” he said.
Zeile, 34, had been offered $16 million for three years to return to the Texas Rangers and agonized over the decision. It was made easier when his option to purchase a house in Texas expired Nov. 15.
He even talked with Mets catcher Mike Piazza about where to play — the two were traded together to Florida by Los Angeles in 1998.
On Saturday evening, Zeile went with his wife, 1984 Olympic gymnastics gold medalist Julianne McNamara, and his agents to El Torito, a Mexican restaurant near the winter meetings hotel. While munching on chips, he made his choice.
“This was a very, very difficult decision for me to make,” Zeile said. “The Texas Rangers’ organization has been nothing but great to me in the time I was there. This was something that came rather late in the game for me as far as I was concerned.”
Zeile, according to agent Seth Levinson, examined the situations of the Mets and Rangers before making his pick. While the Rangers have been in the playoffs in three of the last four years, they’ve been eliminated in the first round by the New York Yankees all three times. The Mets advanced to the NL championship series last season before losing 4-2 to Atlanta.
“Todd said, `Let’s make this real simple. I have three years left in the game: Which team do I have a better chance of winning a World Series with?”’ Levinson said.
Earlier in the evening, Rangers general manager Doug Melvin thought he had an agreement with Zeile on a $16 million, three-year contract (roughly equivalent to the Mets’ deal because Texas doesn’t have state income tax). The Rangers even offered a no-trade clause.
“I thought we had him in the morning,” Melvin said. “It got down to where I gave everything they asked for. I guess we did it too late. He said he thought we took too long. I told him we had a lot of things going on. We were reluctant to go three years.”
Zeile, who hit .293 this year with 24 homers and 98 RBIs, originally asked for a four-year contract. Texas countered with two years and an option.
The agreement with New York calls for a $2.5 million signing bonus, $3.5 million next year and $6 million in each of the final two seasons. The Mets had not made much contact with his agents until Olerud signed a $20 million, three-year contract with Seattle last Monday. New York began an intense pursuit the following day.
“Earlier on in the offseason, I didn’t think the Mets were a realistic possibility,” Zeile said.
Zeile, who also has played for St. Louis, the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia and Baltimore, is 6-foot-1, four inches shorter than Olerud. But with Robin Ventura at third, Rey Ordonez at shortstop and Edgardo Alfonzo at second, the Mets made just 68 errors last season, a major league record.
“The infield I’m surrounded with,” Zeile said, “is the best in the game.”

TEXAS RANGERS ANNOUNCE UNIFORM CHANGES FOR 2000
FOR RELEASE: 3:00 p.m. (CST), Wednesday, December 8, 1999

The Texas Rangers introduced a series of uniform changes for the 2000 season this afternoon at The Ballpark in Arlington.

The road uniform has undergone significant change with a darker shade of gray and blue replacing red as the dominant trim color. The Rangers will also wear blue road caps in 2000.

In addition, the team will introduce an all-blue alternate jersey for next season that can be worn either home or away. The Rangers will also have an alternate blue cap for both home and road use.

The primary home uniforms with red trim and caps will remain the same. All three jerseys as well as the batting practice jersey will feature a State of Texas flag patch on the left shoulder and a 1999 A.L. West Division champs patch on the left shoulder. The Rangers will also switch from red to black shoes both home and road. The team also introduced a new batting practice jersey.

This marks the first time that Texas has made a uniform change since 1994, the first year the club played at The Ballpark in Arlington. It will be the sixth different home uniform and the eighth different road outfit that the club has won since 1972. It also marks the first time that the Rangers have ever had different color caps for home and road as well as the first alternate cap in club history.
Highlights and features of the new uniforms:

• Road Uniform: Jersey is gray with blue piping on sleeves. “TEXAS” in blue block lettering with red, white, and gray outline is on front of jersey. Player’s name and number in blue block lettering with red and white outline is on back of jersey. Jersey has button down front. Pants are gray with blue piping down each leg.
• Alternate Jersey: Jersey is navy blue with white piping on sleeves. “TEXAS” in white and gray beveled lettering with blue and red outline is on front of jersey. Player’s name and number in white block lettering with blue and red outline is on back of jersey. Jersey has button down front.
• Road Cap: Solid blue with white “T” outlined in blue and red on front. Red button on top. Alternate Cap: Solid blue with red “T” outlined in blue and white on front. Red button on top.
• Accessories: The Rangers will have blue stirrups, belts, sleeves, batting helmets, and catching equipment on the road with red accessories remaining for home.
• Shoes: Black both home and road.
• Home and Road Batting Practice Jersey: Jersey is navy blue with ‘RANGERS” in white and gray block lettering with blue and red outline is on front of jersey. Player’s number in white block lettering with blue and red outline is on back of jersey. Jersey has button down front.

Rangers’ players modeled the uniforms this afternoon. Pitcher Tim Crabtree wore the home uniform, first baseman Rafael Palmeiro modeled the road uniform, and outfielder Rusty Greer sported the alternate jersey and cap with the road pants.
The uniforms were designed in a joint effort by the Rangers and Major League Baseball. The new Rangers road and alternate caps as well as new replica jerseys will go on sale today at the Grand Slam Gift Shop at The Ballpark in Arlington. Authentic road and alternate jerseys are on order and expected to be available in the next week to ten days.