Matched up against former Cy Young Award winner David Cone in front of a rowdy Yankee Stadium crowd, John Burkett held the Yanks to two runs in a gutsy complete-game victory over New York in the 1996 AL Division Series. Burkett's toughest moment came in the sixth, when the Yankees loaded the bases for Derek Jeter -- the AL Rookie of the Year -- who represented the tying run. Burkett buckled down, inducing Jeter to pop out to first baseman Will Clark, ending the inning. Burkett went on to allow just two Yankee baserunners over the final two innings, giving the Rangers their only win of the series.
Most Memorable Postseason Performer
Juan Gonzalez - 1996
FUN FACT
» The only other Ranger to hit a home run in the '96 Division Series was third baseman Dean Palmer, who launched a two-run shot off David Cone in the fourth inning of Game One.
The Yankees had little trouble taking out the Rangers in the 1996 Division Series, but it was Texas' Juan Gonzalez who evoked memories of New York's own "Mr. October." In just four games, Gonzalez duplicated Reggie Jackson's 1977 feat of five homers in a postseason series, becoming the only player to ever homer in four straight games during a single playoff series.
Most Memorable Pennant Race
1996: Just Made It
After being swept by the division rival Seattle Mariners in a key four-game series in mid-September, it seemed that the 1996 Rangers were in the midst of another late-season meltdown, just like the previous Ranger clubs that had wilted in Arlington's hot summer sun. But the Rangers refused to lose, winning key games against Anaheim down the stretch to finish the year as AL West champs with a 90-72 record -- and the first postseason berth in club history.
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