» June 1, 1995:
The California Angels select Nebraska OF Darin Erstad with the 1st pick in the amateur draft. He'll sign for a $1.6 bonus, the highest signing bonus to date. Picking next, the Padres take high school C Ben Davis, and the Mariners pick Jose Cruz, Jr. The Cubs follow with Texas high schooler Kerry Wood. The 5th pick, P Ariel Prieto, will debut with the A's on July 5. Picking 7th, the Rangers pass over Todd Helton to take P Jonathan Johnson. Picking next, Colorado takes Helton. The Brewers take future starting OF Geoff Jenkins in the first round, but the rest of their picks will be busts. Sean Casey goes to the Indians on round 2, and the Royals take Carlos Beltran on the same round. Gabe Kapler goes to the Tigers on the 57th round. The Mets strike out in the first round (18th) with SS Ryan Jaroncyk; picking in the same spot four years ago they took OF Al Shirley. » August 18, 1999: Tampa Bay defeats Detroit, 4-0, as Wilson Alvarez (6 innings) and Albie Lopez (3 innings) combine on a 1-hitter. OF Gabe Kapler's triple is the only Tiger hit.
» September 27, 1999: With each of the Tigers wearing the uniform numbers of all-time Detroit players at their position (OF Gabe Kapler, standing in for Ty Cobb, wears no number) the Tigers defeat the Royals, 8-2, in the last game ever played at Tiger Stadium. Rob Fick's grand slam in the 8th brings the capacity crowd of 43,356 to its feet. Luis Polonia and Karim Garcia also homer as Brian Moehler beats Jeff Suppan.
» November 2, 1999: The Rangers trade OF Juan Gonzalez, P Danny Patterson and C Gregg Zaun to the Tigers in exchange for pitchers Justin Thompson, Alan Webb and Francisco Cordero, OF Gabe Kapler, C Bill Haselman, and IF Frank Catalanotto.
» April 3, 2000:
The Rangers defeat the White Sox, 10-4, as OF Gabe Kapler becomes the first player to homer in his first two ABs as a Ranger. C Ivan Rodriguez also hits a pair of home runs for Texas before the largest regular-season crowd in the team's history.
» August 16, 2000:
The Rangers shut out the Yankees, 5-0, as P Brian Sikorski hurls scoreless ball into the 8th inning in his major league debut. Texas OF Gabe Kapler goes hitless in the game, ending his 28-game hitting streak. During the streak, Kapler batted .375 (42-for-112) and his average jumped from .241 to .289. The outfielder's streak is the 10th of at least 28 games in the A.L. since 1950.
» May 12, 2001:
Texas whips the White Sox, 166 as Alex Rodriguez hits a 1st inning home run, his 200th. He's the 5th youngest to reach the mark. He adds his 201st, a 3-run shot, in the 9th. Gabe Kapler and Ken Caminiti also homer.
» July 31, 2002:
The Rockies send OF Todd Hollandsworth and P Dennys Reyes to the Rangers for OF Gabe Kapler and IF Jason Romano.
» September 29, 2002: The D'Backs clinch the home field advantage with an 118 thumping of the Rockies. John Patterson is the winner over fellow rookie Stark (114). In the 2nd, Patterson is thrown out at 1B by RF Gabe Kapler 93, on an apparent hit, and serves up a home run to Juan Pierre, his first homer in 590 at bats. Pierre avoids matching Harold Reynolds, who went homerless in 1989. Curt Schilling, in his first relief appearance since 1992, tees up a 3run home run to Brant Butler in the 8th. Chad Moeller leads the Snakes with a 4for4 effort, including two homers and six RBIs.
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