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On April 1st, 1982, the Rangers continued their streak of giving up young talent for players that would eventually turn out to be busts. On this date, the Rangers sent Ron Darling and Walt Terrell to the Mets for outfielder Lee Mazzilli. At the time of the trade, Terrell and Darling were both in the Rangers farm system and were considered decent pitching prospects. In fact, Darling was the Rangers first pick in the June 1981 draft. Mazzilli was a guy who had fallen far below all of the Mets expectations and was in the middle of back and shoulder problems. This trade didn’t make sense for the Rangers at the time, nor does it make any sense now.
Darling wouldn’t make his impact until 1984, when he would post a 12-9 record pitching along side rookie Dwight Gooden. Darling made the All-Star team 1985 and finished 16-6. He would also go on to throw two complete games in the 1986 World Series while posting a 1.53 ERA in his two starts. Darling spent a lot of the 1987 season on the DL and never quite looked the same again. Although, he did come back in 1988 and win 17 games, he didn’t seem like the same pitcher. Darling isn’t listed in any of the Mets record books but from 1984-1986, Darling went 43-21. During this same time period, the Rangers were in desperate need of pitching. Including 1986, when the finished in 2nd place, 5 games behind the Royals. Darling might have made a big difference on a pitching staff that finished 9th out of 14 teams in the AL.
Walt Terrell turned out to be a consistent, durable starter. Walt won 15 or more games three times in his career and pitched over 200 innings each year after 1984. Terrell was often the victim of poor offensive support, but he always gave his team everything that he had. Terrell thrived after he was traded to the Tigers. He posted a career 32-7 record at Tiger Stadium.
Early in his career, Mazzilli was being compared to the earlier New York centerfield trio of Mantle, Mays and Snider. Mazzilli was a Brooklyn native and was heavily promoted as not only a prospect, but as a sex symbol. His career was off to a decent start until he was moved to 1B in 1980. He struggled through the 1981 season, hitting only .228 while experiencing back and shoulder problems. After the trade to the Rangers, he spent only 4 months on the roster before being traded to the Yankees. During this 4 month stint with Texas, he spent 6 weeks on the DL with shoulder and wrist problems.
Now I understand that we are not talking about two of the greatest pitchers of all time here, but combined, they could have really made things different for the Rangers in 1986. Try to imagine a starting rotation that had Darling in place of Jose Guzman and his 15 losses. Imagine Walt Terrell pitching in place of Mike Mason who pitched in only 135 innings. The Rangers already had three decent pitchers in the rotation in Charlie Hough, Edwin Correa and Bobby Witt. Maybe Darling and Terrell help make up those 5 games? I do know that I would much rather have seen them try, rather than witness Mazzilli play only 58 games in a Ranger uniform.
Click here to see Ron Darling’s lifetime stats.
Click here to see Lee Mazzilli’s lifetime stats.
Remember the Rangers!
Jeremy Northrip
rangerhistory@hotmail.com
Note: I apologize for the length in time between articles. I took some time off, but plan on making this a regular thing throughout the season. I am going to submit my articles in separately from now on. In a few days, check back for the Player from the Rangers Past. Then a few days after that, I will follow up with the worst trade in Ranger history. Be sure to drop me a line if you have any ideas for a new topic.

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Ron Darling with the Expos & A’s:

Lee Mazzilli:

Pete Incaviglia will not be elected into the Hall of Fame any time soon, nor will he be remembered as one of the greatest Rangers to ever don a blue cap. One thing about “Inky” is for certain; every Ranger fan definitely has feelings for him. As a Ranger fan, you either loved him or you loathed him. It was amazing to me to see how fans reacted to “Inky’s” play. Two fans could be watching the same play and both fans see totally opposite things. Picture two fans witnessing “Inky” slam into the outfield wall while trying to make a catch. He falls backwards, and does two back somersaults. Inky is lying in a cloud of dust while the ball is rolling around on the grass. One fan calls “Inky” a worthless klutz while the other fan is praising Inky for his hustle. Either way, you can’t deny the mark that Pete Incaviglia left at Arlington Stadium.
Incaviglia was a story before he even played in his first game as a Ranger. He came out of college very highly touted after winning the 1985 Baseball Americas Player of the Year award while playing at Oklahoma State. The Montreal Expos drafted him in the 1st round, but he refused to play for them. Incaviglia actually demanded a trade to the Rangers. The Rangers were interested and traded 2 players to the Expos for Inky. He lived up to the hype during Spring Training in 1986. In a batting practice session, Pete actually hit a ball through the outfield wall…360 feet from home plate.
The Rangers were so impressed with Incaviglia, that he won a spot on the Opening Day roster, skipping the Minor Leagues entirely. He became one of the very few players in history to jump straight from college to the pros. He delivered too, hitting 30 homers in 1986, his rookie year. His defense left a lot to be desired and he swung at anything and everything, striking out 185 times in 1986. The Rangers wrote it off to the fact that Pete was a rookie and worked diligently with Inky in the off-season to try and improve these areas.
His strikeout totals did begin to fall, but they were just still too high. His BA slowly declined and his OF play was flat embarrassing at times. He never lost his power, but he was nothing more than a one-dimensional player. It was hard not to like Inky though. After watching him flail at a curveball in the dirt, he would go into the field and dive face first across the OF grass in an attempt to get to a fly ball. And who can forget Inky’s face first slide into the bag?
Eventually the Rangers had to let him go. Pete bounced around the league. He served time with the Tigers, Phillies, Astros, Orioles, and Phillies. His love of the game even took him to Japan and Mexico. His career should have ended in 1994 when he crashed into an OF wall while playing for the Phillies. He severely injured his shoulder, but he played through the pain for 4 more years until opting for surgery. His shoulder problems clearly were effecting his play. Pete will always be remembered as a Ranger, albeit good or bad. But one thing is certain, when he retired; he was tied for 8th place on the Rangers career HR list. He was, and still is, tied with fan favorite Toby Harrah with 124 dingers. No one can take that away from him.
Pete attempted a comeback in 1999 in Spring Training with the AZ Diamondbacks, but asked to be released before the season started, and retired for good. Here’s a story about that retirement.
Click here to see Pete’s lifetime stats.
Remember the Rangers!
Jeremy Northrip
rangerhistory@hotmail.com