What do you think is the greatest regular season moment in Texas Rangers franchise history? You’ve got the chance to cast your vote with The Dallas Morning News’ bracket of the Rangers’ 16 greatest regular season moments.
Starting on Wednesday, July 23, the voting will open at 6 a.m. and will close on Sunday, July 27 at 11:50 p.m. Each round of voting will go from Wednesday to Sunday until a champion is crowned on Aug. 27. The winners each week will be announced on that week’s episode of the SportsDay Rangers podcast.
By voting, you also are entering yourself into a contest to win incredible Rangers prizes each week! For this week’s vote, remember when the Rangers won it all in 2023? You can win a signed copy of one of the The News’ three covers from the morning after the Rangers clinched their first World Series championship, signed by Jonah Heim and Josh Sborz, or Marcus Semien or Travis Jankowski and Dane Dunning!
See the full voting schedule below.
Rangers
– Round of 16: July 23-July 27
– Quarterfinals: July 30-Aug. 3
– Semifinals: Aug. 6-Aug. 10
– Finals: Aug. 13-Aug.20
– Announcement: Aug. 27
Without further ado, you can cast your vote below! In case you want your memory refreshed or just want a walk down Memory Lane, you can see the 16 moments we seeded for the bracket below, accompanied with a brief description, links back to The News’ coverage of the moment and a video.
Having trouble accessing the voting window? Tap here to try this link!
No. 1 Kenny Rogers’ perfect game, 1994
Rogers threw the only perfect game in franchise history in 1994, blanking the California Angels in a 98-pitch effort. It was the 12th perfect game in baseball’s modern era (since 1900) and is one of just 24 perfect games in baseball history.
“I still can’t believe it,” Rogers told The News that day. “I was just trying to get back in the dugout and give us a chance to hit.”
He struck out eight batters and the perfect game was famously preserved by an outstanding catch by Rusty Greer in the ninth inning. See Greer’s iconic catch and Rogers’ final out below.
No. 2 Rangers clinch first AL West title, 1996
On Sept. 27, 1996, the Rangers clinched their first division title in franchise history in unique, awkward fashion. While the Rangers were in an extra innings affair with the Angels, the Athletics eliminated the Mariners and secured Texas’ first division title.
The twist? Before smartphones, fans and players didn’t know that Seattle had lost until the outfield scoreboard revealed the final score. The crowd erupted, but the players showed no emotion. The Rangers eventually lost 4-3 in 15 innings, and after some handshakes in the dugout, fireworks were set off, the banner was unfurled and the celebration began in Arlington.
No. 3 Nolan Ryan notches 5,000th career strikeout, 1989
On Aug. 22, 1989, Ryan added another item to his ridiculously long list of records, becoming the first pitcher to reach 5,000 career strikeouts.
Ryan sent the old Arlington Stadium into a frenzy when he struck out Oakland’s Rickey Henderson with a 96 mph fastball on a 3-2 pitch to notch his 5,000th career punchout. He finished the outing with 13 strikeouts and to this day is the only member of the 5,000 strikeout club with 5,714 of them to his name.
“I was very nervous,” Ryan told The News after the game. “Coming down here today, I drove by the ballpark and had to turn around and come back.”
No. 4 Josh Hamilton’s four-home run game, 2012
During Hamilton’s incredible tenure with the Rangers that included an AL MVP in 2010, arguably the most impressive feat of his career was when he became the 14th player in major league history to hit four home runs in a game on May 8, 2012.
He went 5-for-5 with four homers, a double and drove in eight runs, set the AL record for total bases and tied the MLB record for most extra base hits in a game.
“The greatest individual performance, I’ve ever seen,” Michael Young told The News after the Rangers’ 10-3 win. “Josh is the most talented player in the game. When somebody does something like this it’s always shocking, but he’s one of the few guys you know are capable of actually doing it.”
12 years ago, Josh Hamilton blasted FOUR home runs and went 5-for-5 against the Orioles! 😳
Hamilton’s stats following this game (27 G):
.406 AVG
14 HR
36 RBI
1.298 OPS pic.twitter.com/fwet8uvUa9
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) May 8, 2024
No. 5 Nolan Ryan’s seventh no-hitter, 1991
The 44-year-old Ryan threw his seventh and final no-hitter at the old Arlington Stadium, extending his record for most no-hitters in a career (no one else has thrown more than four).
He shut down the Blue Jays in a 3-0 win to the tune of 16 strikeouts and two walks. Ryan was so dominant that he only allowed four balls to be hit out of the infield.
“This was the furthest thing from my mind,” Ryan said after the game. “When I woke up, I had more aches and pains. I physically had a bad day. Old age.”
No. 6 Adrian Beltre’s 3,000th hit, 2017
Beltre etched his name in baseball history at Globe Life Park on July 30, 2017 when he lined a pitch into the left field corner for a double and his 3,000th career hit.
He became the 31st player in league history, first player from the Dominican Republic and second Latino player to reach the milestone. His three children immediately ran onto the field, ran past him all the way to the outfield wall to reveal a sign honoring Beltre.
“When I hit the ball, I was on a cloud,” Beltre told The News after the game. “I was running thinking ‘I can’t believe it I did it. It’s done.’ It was a cool moment.”
No. 7 Josh Hamilton’s historic Home Run Derby, 2008
While Josh Hamilton didn’t win the Home Run Derby on July 14, 2008, he delivered one of the most memorable performances in All-Star history that night at the old Yankee Stadium.
He blasted a single round record 28 home runs in the first round of what became the most-watched Home Run Derby ever. Three balls went more than 500 feet, with the longest one going 518 feet.
“I got chills,” he said afterward.
On This Date: 10 years ago, Josh Hamilton broke the Home Run Derby.
Will anyone come close to his record this year? Find out Monday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. pic.twitter.com/AIcDpYDoqO
— ESPN (@espn) July 15, 2018
No. 8 Nolan Ryan fights Robin Ventura, 1993
On Aug. 4, 1993, one of the wildest baseball brawls transpired at Arlington Stadium when White Sox third baseman Robin Ventura charged the mound after being hit by a pitch from Nolan Ryan.
The benches emptied, but before the players could get to Ryan and Ventura, the 46-year-old Ryan put 26-year-old Ventura in a headlock and whacked him with six uppercuts. Ryan remained in the game and earned the win after rallying the Rangers to a 5-2 win.
“I wasn’t expecting it,” Ryan said of Ventura’s charge. “Self-preservation is all that goes through your mind when something like that happens.”
No. 9 Rougned Odor punches Jose Bautista, 2016
On May 15, 2016, Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor delivered one of the cleanest punches in major league history to Jose Bautista’s jaw, sparking a benches-clearing brawl between the Rangers and Blue Jays.
Tensions stemming from Bautista’s emphatic bat flip in the 2015 ALDS against the Rangers finally boiled over in the Rangers’ eventual 7-6 win over Toronto. Bautista was hit by a pitch in the eighth inning, putting him on first base. Toronto then rolled a ground ball to third base, which was turned to Odor at second base in an attempt at a double play.
Bautista slid right into Odor, which Odor took exception to and responded with a massive right cross to the jaw that lives on in Rangers history.
No. 10 The franchise’s first game in Texas, 1972
A crowd of 20,105 filled up Arlington Stadium on April 21, 1972 for the first major league game in North Texas history.
The Texas Rangers topped the California Angels 7-6 in the franchise’s first home game since moving to Texas. The team’s first hit in Texas came in the first inning when Frank Howard blasted a home run off Clyde Wright.
“It was a great beginning,” then-Rangers owner Bob Short said. “I think we’ve found a home.”
Shot April 21, 1972 – Opening day of the Texas Rangers baseball team brought many fans to Arlington Stadium.(JACK BEERS – staff photographer)No. 11 Gary Matthews Jr.’s iconic catch, 2006
In what is known most remarkable individual play in franchise history, Gary Matthews Jr. defied gravity on July 1, 2006 at Globe Life Park (then called Ameriquest Field).
Houston’s Mike Lamb crushed a fastball to center and Matthews turned, sprinted to the wall, leaped above the fence and made an over-the-shoulder catch.
“That was disgusting,” Astros manager Phil Garner told The News. “I didn’t think he had a chance at it. I thought he was jumping for the heck of it. That was a fantastic play, one of the best I’ve ever seen.”
No. 12 David Clyde’s debut, 1973
In what was the franchise’s first truly seismic moment afer moving to Texas, David Clyde’s debut stands tall in Rangers history.
After being taken with the No. 1 pick in the 1973 MLB draft on June 5, he made his major league debut three weeks later on June 27, 1973. He took the mound at Arlington Stadium just 36 days after his 18th birthday. To make it even crazier, he made his Rangers debut just 20 days after throwing his last pitch for Houston’s Westchester High. In his senior year, he set 14 season and career national records, at least two of which still stand: 29 shutouts and 842 strikeouts.
He didn’t disappoint, allowing just one hit in five innings and earned the win in the Rangers’ 4-3 win over Minnesota. His career flamed out quickly due to injuries and because the Rangers didn’t prioritize his development enough, but his debut is one of the most important moments in the franchise’s history.
Eighteen-year-old David Clyde, first round draft pick for the Texas Rangers, throws the first pitch of his Major League career; here he is going against Jim Terrell of the Minnesota Twins, June 27, 1973, Arlington, Tex. Clyde walked the first two batters he met and then came back and struck out the next three, coming out of the inning safely.(Charles Bennett / Associated Press)No. 13 Rangers score 30 runs vs. Orioles, 2007
The Rangers own the modern-day record for runs scored in a game thanks to their 30-run explosion on August 22, 2007 in Baltimore against the Orioles in the first game of a doubleheader.
To top that, Texas trailed 3-0 and responded with 30 unanswered runs. The Rangers racked up their 30 runs on 29 hits and all their scoring happened in just four of the nine innings. They played five in the fourth inning, nine in the sixth inning, 10 in the eighth inning and six in the ninth inning. Texas blasted six home runs, two of which were grand slams.
“It’s ridiculous,” Rangers catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia told The News afterward. “We were just shaking our heads. I don’t know if it’s karma or what. But you’ve had two bad games in a row against two great pitchers, so you feel kind of bad for the third guy. They weren’t doing anything wrong. Everybody in our lineup was just hitting.”
No. 14 Bengie Molina’s cycle at Fenway Park, 2010
On July 16, 2010, Molina put together the fifth and most improbable cycle in franchise (and quite possibly major league) history.
Fresh off being acquired from the Giants, the Rangers catcher (listed at 5-foot-11, 225 pounds at the time) hit for the cycle at Fenway Park against the Red Sox in remarkable fashion. He singled in the second inning, doubled in the fourth and blasted a grand slam in the fifth inning of the Rangers’ 8-4 win over the Red Sox.
Then in the eighth inning, he sent a ball into the deepest part of Fenway Park and got the bounce he needed to leg out the triple despite tweaking his right quadriceps rounding first base.
“It makes you happy for the guy who’s probably the slowest guy in the world, who’s been criticized for speed his whole career,” Molina said to The News of his first career cycle.
No. 15 Nolan Ryan’s sixth no-hitter, 1990
Ryan threw his sixth career no-hitter (and first of two he would throw in a Rangers uniform) on June 11, 1990 against the Oakland Athletics. Dealing with an aching back, the 43-year-old Ryan became the oldest pitcher in baseball history to throw a no-hitter and was the first to throw no-hitters for three different teams.
In the outing against Oakland, he racked up 14 strikeouts and walked just two batters. On top of that, all 14 strikeouts were swinging. The Rangers players carried Ryan off the field on their shoulders after the game. Even the Oakland fans were chanting his name by the end of Rangers’ 5-0 win.
“This has a special place right up there with the fifth one because it came so late in my career,” Ryan told The News after the game. “It means something because the whole team was so emotionally involved.”
No. 16 First game at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington
On April 11, 1994, the Rangers hosted their first Opening Day at The Ballpark in Arlington, known as one of the grandest days in franchise history.
World renown pianist Van Cliburn performed the National Anthem along with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra in front of 46,056 fans just before Texas fell to Milwaukee 4-3.
“There is a moment in time that marks us as a community,” Arlington Mayor Richard Greene told The News. “That moment is ours and the day is today. This is about more than a game, more than baseball, more than taking out the bunting for a World Series played here. This gives our community a sense of identity and all the pride that the building of a great facility can give a community.”
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