The Texas Rangers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Divisional Series and advanced one step closer to the American League pennant. This is a far cry from where the team was 40 years ago. In 1971 they weren’t in Texas and not even close to being pennant contenders.
In 1971, the Rangers were known as the Washington Senators and in their final season in the Nation’s Capitol before moving to Texas. The team was managed by Ted Williams and playing in the six-team American League East. Their home was Robert F. Kennedy Stadium.
The Senators were one of the worst teams in baseball. They were perennial cellar dwellers and not a big draw at the gate. 1971 wasn’t much better as the team finished fifth in the East with a 63-96 record and only 655,156 fans attended their games. With players and fans focused on the team’s impending move the Senators seemed more like lame ducks waiting for their term to end than a franchise looking ahead to bigger and better things.
Williams was in his third season as manager of the club. He had led them to an 86-76 record in 1969 the last winning record in Senators history. But the team had gone back to their old ways finishing 33 games under .500 in 1971.
Washington had very little talent. The team’s best hitter by far was outfielder Frank Howard. The former All-Star batted .279 with 26 home runs and 83 runs batted in. The only hitter who was close in average was third baseman Dave Nelson who batted .280 in 85 games. First baseman Don Mincher was the only other Senator to hit 10 or more home runs. He hit 10 on the nose. No one besides Howard had 50 RBI.
On the mound Washington wasn’t much better. In 1968 Denny McClain won 31 games for the Detroit Tigers. In 1971 he won 10 and lost 22 for the Senators. Right hander Dick Bosman led the team in wins with 12. He lost 16 games as well.
The Senators played their last game in Washington before 14,460 fans on September 30, 1971 against the New York Yankees. As the game came to an end television station channel nine kept scrolling how many outs were left in Washington, but the countdown was never completed.
The fans stormed the field in the top of the ninth and, though ahead 7-5 at the time, Washington had to forfeit the game.
It seemed as though the fans were saying, ‘Do you really think we’d let you leave town as winners?’
If the 2011 Texas Rangers season ends with people rushing onto the field it will be for much happier reasons.