Wednesday, August 14, 1996

Resurgent Rangers look to make history

By Associated Press

ARLINGTON - Only last week, the Texas Rangers appeared to be sliding toward one of the late-summer fades for which they've become known in Dallas Cowboys country.

Now it looks as though the unprecedented - a Rangers pennant race during football season - might actually be within reach.

Heck, if Texas keeps soaring, and Seattle keeps sliding, there may not even be a pennant race. The Rangers went into Tuesday night's action with a six-game lead over the Mariners, losers of nine of 10 at the time, in the AL West.

Texas has never been so high, so late in a season.

The Rangers, the only AL team never to have made the playoffs, also have never been in first place as many days as they have this summer - 131 as of Wednesday, including 116 in a row.

Texas has done it through pitching and defense, two tenets preached by general manager Doug Melvin and manager Johnny Oates.

Melvin brought together the pieces and Oates has put them together perfectly. Melvin may have added the final link last week when he acquired pitcher John Burkett in a trade with the Florida Marlins.

Burkett pitched a six-hit shutout Sunday in his debut. Ken Hill pitched a five-hitter Monday, giving Texas consecutive shutouts for the first time since Sept. 29-30, 1989. Ranger pitchers went into Tuesday night's game with 26 consecutive scoreless innings.

Things may seem fine and dandy now, but as recently as last week there was fear that the Texas summer was finally getting to the Rangers.

They lost two straight to Detroit, dropping them to 28-31 since June 1. The Mariners crept within 1-1/2 games, and cynics were sure it was the beginning of the end.

Oates feared it, too, so he went ballistic and threw an uncharacteristic locker-room tirade. As happened the last time Oates held a closed-door meeting, Texas responded with a victory.

Still, backup catcher David Valle feared there were still some kinks, so he called another meeting.
"The best baseball meeting I've ever been involved with," said leadoff hitter and center fielder Darryl Hamilton. "Valle was outstanding. He went down the row to each player, each coach, everyone, and asked, 'Are you willing to make a commitment to this team for the next seven weeks?'

"(Reliever Dennis Cook) said he was so fired up afterward, he wanted to wear his uniform back to the hotel and sleep in it."

Valle said he just did what he felt needed to be done.

"There were too many things going in too many different ways," he said. "In essence, we needed to be sure we were united for one purpose, single-minded.

"I can't speak for everyone else, but my mind had been straying toward personal things. I knew it wasn't right. I've been around long enough to know that if I was feeling that way, then others probably were, too."

Texas followed the consecutive meetings with a sweep of the Blue Jays in Toronto. It was the Rangers' first three-game winning streak since June 7-10 and the first three-game road win streak since May 25-26 and June 3.

The key, though, will be building enough of a buffer over the Mariners so that Seattle doesn't slay Texas when the teams go head-to-head for four games beginning Sept. 16.