» June 3, 1985: The Brewers select University of North Carolina catcher B.J. Surhoff with the first pick in what will prove to be an extremely fruitful free-agent draft. Surhoff was the catcher for the U.S. Olympic Team last summer, and fellow Olympians Will Clark (Mississippi State), Bobby Witt (University of Oklahoma), and Barry Larkin (University of Michigan) are drafted 2nd, 3rd, and 4th by the Giants, Rangers, and Reds, respectively. The Cubs get a good one in the 24th round: Mark Grace while the White Sox take Randy Velarde on the 18th round. The Brewers take Phil Clark with the 18th pick of the first round, following his brother Isaiah Clark who was a 1st round pick last year. Neither will play in the ML, but brother Jerald Clark, who goes to the Padres on the 12th round today, will make it. The Tigers pick a winner in the 22nd round with John Smoltz, then trade him in 1987.
» April 18, 1986: Despite allowing no hits—and only three fair balls hit—and striking out 10 in five innings, Texas rookie Bobby Witt is lifted in a game in Milwaukee. Why? Witt also walks 8, and throws four wild pitches, allowing two runs. Texas rallies for three runs in the 9th to win 7–5.
» August 6, 1986: In a wild game that features a ML-record three grand slams, Texas scores seven runs in the final two innings to beat Baltimore 13–11. Toby Harrah's grand slam in the 2nd gives the Rangers a 5–0 lead, but Baltimore rallies for nine runs in the 4th, thanks to grand slams by Larry Sheets and Jim Dwyer, the 5th time in ML history a team has hit two grand slams in one inning. Bobby Witt and Jeff Russell serve up the gopher balls.
» September 20, 1986:
Texas rookie Kevin Brown, the Rangers top pick in the June draft, registers his first professional win, beating the Oakland A's, 9–5. Earlier in the year, teammate Bobby Witt also won his first pro game in the majors. The first Ranger to do it was David Clyde in 1973.
» August 2, 1987:
Rangers pitcher Bobby Witt ties the major-league record by striking out four consecutive Orioles in the 2nd inning of a 5–2 win. Witt finishes the game with 11 strikeouts.
» April 12, 1988:
Rangers pitcher Bobby Witt ties the American League record by committing four balks in a 4–1 loss to the Tigers.
» September 1, 1990:
Bobby Witt allows 10 walks against Oakland in seven innings, the 2nd Ranger in a four days to hand out 10 walks. Before this season, the last pitcher to hand out 10 walks was Andy Hassler, in 1974. Witt also has 10 strikeouts and wins, 3–2, for his 10th victory in a row.
» September 11, 1990: New York beats Texas 5–4 to snap pitcher Bobby Witt's personal 12-game winning streak. The Yanks score two in both the 7th and 8th innings to come from behind. Dave Righetti saves his 31st.
» August 15, 1992:
Texas P Bobby Witt walks 10 Tigers in 4 2/3 innings, as Detroit strolls past the Rangers, 10-3. No one has walked this many in this few innings: Randy Johnson walked 10 on May 1 of this year and Witt passed 10 on September 1, 1990.
» August 31, 1992: The A’s trade OF Jose Canseco to the Rangers in exchange for OF Ruben Sierra and P Jeff Russell and Bobby Witt.
» June 23, 1994: Oakland P Bobby Witt narrowly misses hurling a perfect game, defeating KC on a 4-0, 1-hitter. Umpire Gary Cederstrom calls Greg Gagne safe on a close play at 1st in the 6th inning, for the Royals only hit, but TV replays show that Gagne was out. The play went 1B Troy Neel to Witt covering. Witt fans 14 and does not walk a batter in his masterpiece.
» June 28, 1994: Oakland P Bobby Witt follows up his 1-hit shutout over the Royals with a 2-hit whitewashing of the Angels, winning by a score of 3-0.
» July 3, 1994:
Athletics P Bobby Witt hurls his 3rd consecutive shutout, defeating the Red Sox, 10-0 on a 6-hitter.
» August 8, 1995:
The Rangers acquire P Bobby Witt from the Marlins in exchange for two players to be named.
» June 30, 1997:
The Rangers top the Dodgers 3–2 behind Bobby Witt. Witt allows five hits in eight innings and becomes the first AL pitcher since Roric Harrison in 1972 to hit a home run.
» June 22, 1998:
The Rangers send P Bobby Witt to the Cardinals in exchange for a player to be named and cash.
» May 1, 1999: Detroit hurler Brian Moehler is ejected in the 7th inning for having a piece of sandpaper on his thumb against the Devil Rays. Two batters later, Randy Winn's sacrifice fly gives Tampa Bay the 4–3 win for Bobby Witt. Moehler will receive a 10-game suspension for his actions. Roberto Hernandez gets the save for the Devil Rays. It is the 200th of his career, making him the 1st Latin pitcher to reach the mark.