The 1998 Texas Rangers season involved the Rangers finishing first in the American League West with a record of 88 wins and 74 losses. It was the team's second post-season appearance, the first having been in 1996, but the team was eliminated in a three-game sweep by the New York Yankees in the Division Series.
Offseason November 6, 1997: Jim Leyritz and Damon Buford were traded by the Rangers to the Boston Red Sox for Mark Brandenburg, Bill Haselman, and Aaron Sele.Jim Leyritz page at Baseball Reference November 20, 1997: Scott Sheldon was signed as a free agent by the Rangers.Scott Sheldon page at Baseball Reference December 7, 1997: Scott Bailes was signed as a free agent with the Texas Rangers. December 8, 1997: Kevin Elster was signed as a free agent with the Texas Rangers. December 9, 1997: Roberto Kelly was signed as a free agent by the Rangers.Roberto Kelly page at Baseball Reference December 15, 1997: Scott Podsednik was drafted by the Rangers from the Florida Marlins in the 1997 rule 5 draft.Scott Podsednik page at Baseball Reference December 23, 1997: Scott Cooper was signed as a free agent by the Rangers.Scott Cooper page at Baseball Reference March 14, 1998: Kevin Brown was traded by the Rangers to the Toronto Blue Jays for Tim Crabtree.Tim Crabtree page at Baseball Reference
Regular season During the season, Rick Helling became the final pitcher to win at least 20 games in one season for the Rangers during the 1990s.Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.99, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York,
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Notable transactions July 17, 1998: Todd Van Poppel and Warren Morris were traded by the Rangers to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Esteban Loaiza.Todd Van Poppel page at Baseball Reference July 31, 1998: Kevin Elster was released by the Texas Rangers. August 26, 1998: Greg Cadaret was selected off waivers by the Rangers from the Anaheim Angels.Greg Cadaret page at Baseball Reference
Roster 1998 Texas Rangers Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders
Other batters Manager
Coaches (Pitching) (Bench) (Bullpen) (Hitting) (First Base) (Third Base)
Player stats
Batting
Starters by position Note: Pos= Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; Avg. = Batting average; Slg. = Slugging Average; SB = Stolen bases Pos Player G AB R H HR RBI Avg. Slg. SB C Iván Rodríguez 145 579 88 186 21 91 .321 .5139 1B Will Clark 149 554 98 169 23 102 .305 .5071 2B Mark McLemore 126 461 79 114 5 53 .247 .31712 3B Fernando Tatís 95 330 41 89 3 32 .270 .4426 SS Kevin Elster 84 297 33 69 8 37 .232 .3540 LF Rusty Greer 155 598 107 183 16 108 .306 .4052 CF Tom Goodwin 154 520 102 151 2 33 .290 .33838 RF Juan González 154 606 110 193 45 157 .318 .6302 DH Lee Stevens 120 344 52 91 20 59 .265 .5120
Other batters Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI Luis Alicea 101 259 71 .274 6 83 Roberto Kelly 75 257 83 .323 16 46 86 186 55 .296 16 46 Royce Clayton 52 186 53 .285 5 24 Todd Zeile 52 180 47 .261 6 28 Domingo Cedeño 61 141 37 .262 2 21 Bill Haselman 40 105 33 .314 6 17 Warren Newson 10 21 4 .190 0 2 Scott Sheldon 7 16 2 .125 0 1 Milt Cuyler 7 6 3 .500 1 3 Chris Tremie 2 3 1 .333 0 0 Rob Sasser 1 1 0 .000 0 0
Pitching
Starting pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO Rick Helling 33 216.1 20 7 4.41 164 Aaron Sele 33 212.2 19 11 4.23 167 John Burkett 32 195.0 9 13 5.68 131 Darren Oliver 19 103.1 6 7 6.53 58 Esteban Loaiza 14 79.1 3 6 5.90 55 Bobby Witt 14 69.1 5 4 7.66 30 Todd Stottlemyre 10 60.1 5 4 4.33 57 Todd Van Poppel 4 19.1 1 2 8.84 10 Matt Perisho 2 5.0 0 2 27.00 2 Jonathan Johnson 1 4.1 0 0 8.31 3
Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G W L SV ERA SO John Wetteland 63 3 1 42 2.03 72 Eric Gunderson 68 0 3 0 5.19 41 Tim Crabtree 64 6 1 0 3.59 60 Danny Patterson 56 2 5 2 4.45 33 46 6 6 1 3.57 41 Scott Bailes 46 1 0 0 6.47 30 Al Levine 30 0 1 0 4.50 19 Greg Cadaret 11 0 0 0 4.70 5 Tony Fossas 10 1 0 0 0.00 7 Roger Pavlik 5 1 1 1 3.86 8 Julio Santana 3 0 0 0 8.44 1
New York Yankees vs. Texas Rangers
Game 1 September 29 at Yankee Stadium (New York Yankees) Team123456789RHETexas000000000050New York020000000260W: David Wells (1–0) L: Todd Stottlemyre (0–1) S: Mariano Rivera (1)
Game 2 September 30 at Yankee Stadium (New York Yankees) Team123456789RHETexas000010000150New York010200000380W: Andy Pettitte (1–0) L: Rick Helling (0–1) S: Mariano Rivera (2)HR: NYY – Shane Spencer, Scott Brosius
Game 3 October 2 at The Ballpark in Arlington (Texas Rangers) Team123456789RHENew York000004000491Texas000000000031W: David Cone (1–0) L: Aaron Sele (0–1) HR: NYY – Shane Spencer, Paul O'Neill
Awards and honors Juan González, AL MVP Juan González, Silver Slugger Award Iván Rodríguez, C, Gold Glove Iván Rodríguez, Silver Slugger Award All-Star Game
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Tulsa, GCL Rangers
References
1998 Texas Rangers team page at Baseball Reference 1998 Texas Rangers team page at www.baseball-almanac.com