Arlington, Texas—The Texas Rangers have several special pre-game presentations planned for the upcoming homestand, which begins on Monday, June 20 at Globe Life Park in Arlington.
As previously announced, the 1996 Rangers, the first playoff team in franchise history, will be honored prior to the game on Tuesday, June 21, when Texas hosts the Cincinnati Reds at 7:05 p.m. The 1996 Rangers finished the regular season with a 90-72 record to win the American League West Division by 4.5 games.
Over 20 players and coaches, along with team President Tom Schieffer, General Manager Doug Melvin, and Gloria Oates, wife of the late Rangers Hall of Fame manager Johnny Oates, have committed to attend the June 21 game. The group also includes three players of the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame, OF Rusty Greer, C Ivan Rodriguez, and RHP Jeff Russell as well as RHP Mark Brandenburg, OF Damon Buford, RHP John Burkett, 1B Will Clark, INF Rene Gonzales, RHP Mike Henneman, RHP Ken Hill, 2B Mark McLemore, OF Warren Newson, LHP Darren Oliver, 3B Dean Palmer, DH, Mickey Tettleton, C Dave Valle, LHP Ed Vosberg, RHP Bobby Witt, and coaches Larry Hardy, Rudy Jaramillo, and Jerry Narron.
In addition, the Rangers announced today that the team will honor outfielder David Murphy prior to the opener of the Boston series on Friday, June 24 (7:05 p.m.). Murphy, who retired in April after a 10-year major league career, will also throw the ceremonial first pitch as part of Baylor University Night. Murphy played three seasons at Baylor and began his pro career with the Red Sox before his trade to Texas in July 2007.
He batted .275 with 85 homers and 362 RBI in 826 games with the Rangers from 2007-13. Murphy’s 783 games from 2008-13 were second only to Ian Kinsler (816) among Texas players. He was the team’s Rookie of the Year in 2007, placed 10th in the A.L. with a career best .304 average in 2012, and appeared in 27 post-season games from 2010-12. Overall, the lefthanded batter had a .274 average with 104 homers and 472 RBI in 1110 games with the Red Sox (2006-07), Rangers (2007-13), Indians (2014-15), and Angels (2015). He opened 2016 with Minnesota’s Rochester club before retiring on April 25.
The following night, Saturday, June 25 (8:20 p.m. start), the Rangers will make a special pre-game presentation to Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz, who has announced his retirement effective at the end of the 2016 season. Ortiz, who has belted 519 homers in his 20 seasons with Minnesota (1997-2002) and Boston (2003-16), has a .302 average with 19 homers and 45 RBI in 57 career games at Globe Life Park.
The Rangers’ six-game homestand includes a makeup game with the Baltimore Orioles on Monday, June 20, 7:05 p.m. games with the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 21-22, and a three game series with the Boston Red Sox, Friday, June 24 at 7:05 p.m., Saturday, June 25 at 8:20 p.m., and Sunday, June 26 at 2:05 p.m.
