Harrell Edmond Chiles * Born May 11, 1910 in Itasca, TX USA * Died August 22, 1993 in Fort Worth, TX USA Until he bought the Rangers from Brad Corbett in 1980, Harrell Edmonds Chiles was little known outside the Southwest, but in the oil patch he was something of a folk hero. That was…
Texas third baseman Adrian Beltre collects his 3000th hit when he doubles in the fourth inning in the Rangers’ 10-6 loss to the Orioles at Globe Life Park in Arlington. The twenty-year veteran, who has also spent time with the Dodgers, Mariners, and the Red Sox, is the first-ever Dominican-born player to reach the coveted milestone.
Prince Fielder hits his 300th career home run when he goes deep to right field off Mark Buehrle in the first inning of the Rangers’ 12-2 loss to Toronto at the Rogers Centre. TheTexas Ranger first baseman’s milestone round- makes him and his dad, Cecil (319), only the second son-father combo to hit 300-plus homers, joining Barry and Bobby Bonds.
In a major coup, the Yankees grab American League stolen bases leader Jacoby Ellsbury from their rivals the Red Sox, signing him to a seven-year deal worth $153 million. The Sox lose another starter from last year’s Championship team, C Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who moves to the Marlins for $21 million over three years, but replace him with veteran backstop A.J. Pierzynski, plucked from the Rangers on a one-year deal. The other big signing is reliever Joe Nathan, who moves to the Tigers on a two-year contract.
In a one-game tiebreaker to determine the AL’s second wild-card team, Rays’ ace David Price allows just seven hits en route to a complete-game 5-2 victory over the Rangers in Arlington. Tampa Bay will take on the Indians for the Wild Card spot in the playoffs, and Texas, after winning its last seven contests of the regular 162-game season, will miss the postseason for the first time since 2009.
The Athletics crown an improbable playoff run by defeating the Rangers, 4 – 3, securing at least a wild card spot in the American League. They can still win the AL West crown if they defeat the Rangers in their last three games. The Athletics had traded away two All-Star starters during the off-season, then lost their only three experienced starting pitchers – Bartolo Colon, Brandon McCarthy and Brett Anderson – during the season, going with an all-rookie starting rotation during an 8-4 run that clinched the playoff slot.
The Baltimore Orioles become the first team in American League history to lead off the game with three consecutive homers, as Ryan Flaherty, J.J. Hardy and Nick Markakis go deep to open the bottom of the 1st; it has been done three times in the National League. The last team to homer in its first three at-bats was the Milwaukee Brewers on September 9, 2007. Hardy also was the middle man in that spree. Colby Lewis, who surrenders the three longs balls, exits with an unusual pitching line: 7 innings pitched, 5 hits – all home runs – one walk and 12 strikeouts. Adam Jones and Wilson Betemit also homer off Lewis, the latter following the lone walk, issued to Matt Wieters. Baltimore wins, 6 – 5, with Wei-Yin Chen getting the win over Lewis.
The Rangers bang out 6 homers in crushing the Red Sox, 18 – 3, at Fenway Park. Josh Hamilton hits the most spectacular of the long balls, a 469-foot shot into the right field bleachers which lands a dozen rows shy of the longest homer hit at Fenway, by Ted Williams on June 9, 1946. Mike Napoli hits a pair of two-run homers, while Adrian Beltre, Nelson Cruz and Michael Young complete the fireworks. Jon Lester is charged with the loss, giving up 7 runs in 2 innings, and Mark Melancon gives up 6 runs without recording an out to bring his season ERA to 49.50. Colby Lewis is the beneficiary of the offensive outburst.
2012 – The Rangers sign Japanese P Yu Darvish to a 6-year, $60 million deal. Combined with the record $51.7 million posting fee, Texas will shell almost $112 million to secure the services of Darvish.