Futility and instability defined the Texas Rangers in the 1970s and 1980s. Owner
Rob Short transferred the second incarnation of the
Washington Senators to Arlington,
Texas in 1972. The old tradition continued, though, as Texas lost 205 games in two
years. The first brought
Ted Williams's managerial career to an end. Brad Corbett,
who made his money in plastic pipes, acquired the Rangers in May 1974. Manager Billy
Martin led the team to second place that season, but had burned out by mid-1975.
In 1977, Corbett employed four different managers (counting
Eddie Stanky, who quit
after one day, and interim Connie Ryan). The fourth,
Billy Hunter, guided the club
to a Ranger-record 94 victories. But cash-poor Corbett all but dismantled the team,
and let young pitchers Dave Righetti and
Jim Clancy escape as well. Mediocrity was
the order under Eddie Chiles, who bought the Rangers in February 1980 and allowed
GM Eddie Robinson to deal two more young pitchers,
Walt Terrell and
Ron Darling,
for
Lee Mazzilli. In 1985 Bobby Valentine (the team's 13th manager in 15 seasons),
innovative pitching coach
Tom House, and the president-GM combo of Mike Stone and
Tom Grieve began a patient building plan. A devotion to scouting in Latin America
introduced young stars such as
Ruben Sierra. Chiles, fading in the oil bust, sold
out to a group led by George W. Bush, son of the president, in March 1989. Bush began
negotiations for a new stadium as neighboring Dallas opened a campaign to usurp the
team just as Arlington had from the nation's capital in 1972.
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