With all that is going on in the world and the lack of agreement in baseball, I thought it might be fun to take a look back in time. Today I want to spotlight the 2002 Texas Rangers team and what should have happened instead of what did happen.
John Hart was the Rangers GM after being hired in 2001 and making a quick name for himself with a giant splash by signing Alex Rodriguez to a massive $250 million contract. The team was loaded from top to bottom including the bench with some of the best hitters in the league, at least on paper, so expectations were very high. Consider the roster:
C Pudge Rodriguez
1B Rafael Palmeiro
2B Michael Young
SS A-Rod
3B Herbert Perry and Mike Lamb
LF Kevin Mench
CF Ruben Rivera/Carl Crawford
RF Juan Gonzalez
DH/OF Rusty Greer
Bench: Frank Catalanotto, Gabe Kapler, Hank Blalock, and a host of others
Going into the season as was always the case throughout the 1990’s and most years with the organization, the concern was pitching. However, the Rangers had what looked on paper to be a stellar rotation comprised of Kenny Rogers, Ismael Valdez, Chan Ho Park, Dave Burba, Rob Bell and Joaquin Benoit. It was a good mix of established veterans and youngsters looking to improve. The bullpen had Hideki Irabu as the closer with Todd Van Poppel, Jay Powell, Francisco Cordero and Juan Alvarez.
Although that year the team did bring in some other names such as Colby Lewis, Doug Davis and veteran Rich Rodriguez among many others due to various injuries during the season.
That lineup should have produced a lot of wins, but sadly the team lost 90 games while winning only 72. Jerry Narron the manager took the blame, probably unfairly for that season, because the fact is that there were too many “personalities” in the locker room. In fact, this team just did not like each other very much, and while Narron took the blame, John Hart the GM was responsible for signing a bunch of interesting character players that had already been rejected by other organizations within the league.
This was at the height of the steroid era when it was well known that the Texas Rangers were the pinnacle of usage, “allegedly”. Later allegations were made that Palmeiro, Gonzalez, A-Rod and others were all using regularly. Although during the season Gonzalez back finally gave out after playing in only 70 games. This would be the final season to see Pudge until he returned briefly in 2009. The team had publicly stated that signing him to a long term contract was a bad business decision, because catchers did not last that long. However, Pudge proved the organization wrong as he went on to World Series appearances, MVP titles, and several Gold Gloves until he officially retired in 2011, all while playing for Miami, Detroit, the Yankees, Astros, and finally with the Nationals, instead of with the Texas Rangers.
John Hart made another dumb decision that season by bringing in a heralded reliever but highly controversial pitcher, John Rocker. Rocker, was sensational when playing with the Braves, but had made some controversial racial comments that followed him and probably ruined his career, although his inability to throw strikes was the biggest cause of his end. I have no doubt his brain was off kilter somewhere which was a contributing factor.
Carl Crawford was another player added who was known for causing clubhouse turmoil, and that proved true for the Rangers too.
Injuries plagued the team and I still wonder how much of that was mental breakdowns and frustration and how much was legitimate. The fact is Chan Ho Park was a bust, the young pitchers never developed and only Kenny Rogers was consistent finishing 13-8 with a 3.84 ERA and 210 innings of work and earning a Gold Gove for a pitcher. The entire pitching staff otherwise was a complete package of misery with the only other bright spots of Valdez and his 3.93 ERA but only 146 innings as a starter, and Cordero with a 1.79 ERA looked to be an emerging pitcher. The team ERA was a whopping 5.15!
The only offensive players who managed to make it through most of the season uninjured or MIA, were Palmeiro, Young, and A-Rod who hit 57 homers, finished 2nd in MVP voting, the teams only All-Star, he won a Gold Glove, and Silver Slugger award.
While recent Rangers teams have been known for their outstanding locker room and team play, this team of 2002 was the exact opposite of that. The characters and talent on that team clearly showed they had everything needed to win 90 games and go a long way, but all those personalities just did not mesh. Instead the team finished dead last in the AL West and almost the entire team was gone by 2003. The team was also filled with some serious payroll for the time too. The team did manage one record book accomplishment by hitting home runs in 27 consecutive games which took until 2019 to be broken by the Yankees.
The 2002 season was weird with the Angels having less talent on paper but solid pitching causing them to win the division and win the world series, with Mike Scioscia earning coach of the year. It was also weird because the 2002 All-Star game ended in a tie for the first time as fans chanted the Bad News Bears mantra in “Let Them Play”.
The 2002 Rangers definitely underachieved, did not get along well, and had the wrong type of manager to deal with that group. Then again, I don’t really know in all of history a manager that could have saved that team. The quote on the article by Rangers beat writer T.R. Sullivan on all time Texas Ranges manager’s bears noting: “Jerry Narron: He deserves a medal for managing the 2002 rogues’ gallery of players. For pure personality disorder, that team retired the trophy”.
What I can say is that a bad baseball team that is completely dysfunctional is better than no baseball at all! I suppose that is the real topic of discussion today, but frankly I would rather discuss the history of this wonderful game!
