| 1986 Texas Rangers | |
|---|---|
| League | American League |
| Division | West |
| Ballpark | Arlington Stadium |
| City | Arlington, Texas |
| Record | 87–75 (.537) |
| Divisional place | 2nd |
| Owners | Eddie Chiles |
| General managers | Tom Grieve |
| Managers | Bobby Valentine |
| Television | KTVT (Bob Carpenter, Steve Busby) HSE (Bob Carpenter, Norm Hitzges, Merle Harmon) |
| Radio | WBAP (Eric Nadel, Mark Holtz ) |
The 1986 Texas Rangers season was the 26th of the Texas Rangers franchise overall, their 15th in Arlington as the Rangers, and the 15th season at Arlington Stadium. The Rangers finished second in the American League West with a record of 87 wins and 75 losses.
Michael Stone was President of the Rangers and promoted Tom Grieve to General Manager.
Offseason
- November 9, 1985: Chris Welsh was released by the Rangers.[1]
- November 25, 1985: Wayne Tolleson and Dave Schmidt were traded by the Rangers to the Chicago White Sox for Ed Correa, Scott Fletcher and a player to be named later. The White Sox completed the trade by sending José Mota to the Rangers on December 11.[2]
- December 20, 1985: Ellis Valentine was released by the Rangers.[3]
- December 20, 1985: Dickie Noles was released by the Rangers.[4]
Regular season
- September 13, 1986: Rubén Sierra became the youngest player in history to hit home runs from both sides of the plate in one game. This was accomplished against the Minnesota Twins.
- Ed Correa set a club record for most wins by a rookie pitcher.
- In his rookie year, Pete Incaviglia tied the club record for most home runs in a season.
Season standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California Angels | 92 | 70 | .568 | — | 50–32 | 42–38 |
| Texas Rangers | 87 | 75 | .537 | 5 | 51–30 | 36–45 |
| Kansas City Royals | 76 | 86 | .469 | 16 | 45–36 | 31–50 |
| Oakland Athletics | 76 | 86 | .469 | 16 | 47–36 | 29–50 |
| Chicago White Sox | 72 | 90 | .444 | 20 | 41–40 | 31–50 |
| Minnesota Twins | 71 | 91 | .438 | 21 | 43–38 | 28–53 |
| Seattle Mariners | 67 | 95 | .414 | 25 | 41–41 | 26–54 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources:[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
| Baltimore | — | 4–9 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 4–9 | 1–12 | 6–6 | 6–7 | 8–4 | 5–8 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 8–5 |
| Boston | 9–4 | — | 5–7 | 7–5 | 10–3 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 10–2 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 7–6 |
| California | 6–6 | 7–5 | — | 7–6 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 10–3 | 8–5 | 8–5 | 6–6 |
| Chicago | 3–9 | 5–7 | 6–7 | — | 5–7 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 8–5 | 2–11 | 6–6 |
| Cleveland | 9–4 | 3–10 | 6–6 | 7–5 | — | 4–9 | 8–4 | 8–5 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 10–2 | 9–3 | 6–6 | 3–10–1 |
| Detroit | 12–1 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 9–4 | — | 5–7 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 4–9 |
| Kansas City | 6–6 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 7–5 | — | 6–6 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 8–5 | 5–8 | 8–5 | 5–7 |
| Milwaukee | 7–6 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 5–8 | 5–8 | 6–6 | — | 4–8 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 7–6 |
| Minnesota | 4–8 | 2–10 | 6–7 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 8–4 | — | 4–8 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 4–8 |
| New York | 8–5 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 7–6 | 8–4 | 5–8 | 8–4 | — | 5–7 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 7–6 |
| Oakland | 7–5 | 5–7 | 3–10 | 6–7 | 2–10 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 7–6 | 7–5 | — | 10–3 | 3–10 | 8–4 |
| Seattle | 6–6 | 4–8 | 5–8 | 5–8 | 3–9 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 4–8 | 3–10 | — | 4–9 | 6–6 |
| Texas | 7–5 | 4–8 | 5–8 | 11–2 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 10–3 | 9–4 | — | 5–7 |
| Toronto | 5–8 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 10–3–1 | 9–4 | 7–5 | 6–7 | 8–4 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 7–5 | — |
Notable transactions
- June 2, 1986: John Barfield was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 11th round of the 1986 amateur draft. Player signed June 5, 1986.[19]
- June 2, 1986: Wayne Rosenthal was drafted by the Rangers in the 24th round of the 1986 Major League Baseball draft.[20]
- September 30, 1986: Randy Kramer was traded by the Rangers to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Jeff Zaske.[21]
Roster
| 1986 Texas Rangers roster | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
|
Catchers
Infielders
|
Outfielders
|
Manager
Coaches
| ||||||
Game log
Regular season
| Legend | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rangers Win | Rangers Loss | Game postponed | Eliminated from playoff spot |
| 1986 regular season game log: 87–75 (Home: 51–30; Away: 36–45)[22] | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
April: 9–10 (Home: 4–7; Away: 5–3)
| ||||||||||||
May: 15–13 (Home: 9–7; Away: 6–6)
| ||||||||||||
June: 16–13 (Home: 8–4; Away: 8–9)
| ||||||||||||
July: 12–14 (Home: 10–5; Away: 2–9)
| ||||||||||||
August: 17–12 (Home: 9–3; Away: 8–9)
| ||||||||||||
September: 15–11 (Home: 7–3; Away: 8–8)
| ||||||||||||
October: 3–2 (Home: 3–2; Away: 0–0)
|
Player stats
| = Indicates team leader |
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Don Slaught | 95 | 314 | 83 | .264 | 13 | 46 |
| 1B | Pete O'Brien | 156 | 551 | 160 | .290 | 23 | 90 |
| 2B | Toby Harrah | 95 | 289 | 63 | .218 | 7 | 41 |
| SS | Scott Fletcher | 147 | 530 | 159 | .300 | 3 | 50 |
| 3B | Steve Buechele | 153 | 461 | 112 | .243 | 18 | 54 |
| LF | Gary Ward | 105 | 380 | 120 | .316 | 5 | 51 |
| CF | Oddibe McDowell | 154 | 572 | 152 | .266 | 18 | 49 |
| RF | Pete Incaviglia | 153 | 540 | 135 | .250 | 30 | 88 |
| DH | Larry Parrish | 129 | 464 | 128 | .276 | 28 | 94 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rubén Sierra | 113 | 382 | 101 | .264 | 16 | 55 |
| Curt Wilkerson | 110 | 236 | 56 | .237 | 0 | 15 |
| Tom Paciorek | 88 | 213 | 61 | .286 | 4 | 22 |
| Darrell Porter | 68 | 155 | 41 | .265 | 12 | 29 |
| Geno Petralli | 69 | 137 | 35 | .255 | 2 | 18 |
| George Wright | 49 | 106 | 23 | .217 | 2 | 7 |
| Orlando Mercado | 46 | 102 | 24 | .235 | 1 | 7 |
| Mike Stanley | 15 | 30 | 10 | .333 | 1 | 1 |
| Jerry Browne | 12 | 24 | 10 | .417 | 0 | 3 |
| Bob Jones | 13 | 21 | 2 | .095 | 0 | 3 |
| Jeff Kunkel | 8 | 13 | 3 | .231 | 1 | 2 |
| Bob Brower | 21 | 9 | 1 | .111 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlie Hough | 33 | 230.1 | 17 | 10 | 3.79 | 146 |
| Ed Correa | 32 | 202.0 | 12 | 14 | 4.23 | 189 |
| José Guzmán | 29 | 172.0 | 9 | 15 | 4.54 | 87 |
| Bobby Witt | 31 | 158.0 | 11 | 9 | 5.48 | 174 |
| Mike Mason | 27 | 135.0 | 7 | 3 | 4.33 | 85 |
| Kevin Brown | 1 | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 3.60 | 4 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mickey Mahler | 29 | 63.0 | 0 | 2 | 4.14 | 28 |
| Mike Loynd | 9 | 42.0 | 2 | 2 | 5.36 | 33 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greg A. Harris | 73 | 111.0 | 10 | 8 | 20 | 2.83 | 95 |
| Mitch Williams | 80 | 98.0 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 3.58 | 90 |
| Dale Mohorcic | 58 | 79.0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 2.51 | 29 |
| Jeff Russell | 37 | 82.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3.40 | 54 |
| Ricky Wright | 21 | 39.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5.03 | 23 |
| Dwayne Henry | 19 | 19.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4.66 | 17 |
| Dave Rozema | 6 | 10.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.91 | 3 |
| Ron Meridith | 5 | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.00 | 2 |
Farm system
References
- Chris Welsh at Baseball Reference
- Wayne Tolleson at Baseball Reference
- Ellis Valentine page at Baseball Reference
- Dickie Noles at Baseball Reference
- "1986 Baltimore Orioles Schedule". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
- "1986 Boston Red Sox Schedule". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
- "1986 California Angels Schedule". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
- "1986 Chicago White Sox Schedule". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
- "1986 Cleveland Indians Schedule". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
- "1986 Detroit Tigers Statistics". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
- "1986 Kansas City Royals Schedule". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
- "1986 Milwaukee Brewers Schedule". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
- "1986 Minnesota Twins Schedule". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
- "1986 New York Yankees Schedule". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
- "1986 Oakland Athletics Schedule". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
- "1986 Seattle Mariners Schedule". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
- "1986 Texas Rangers Schedule". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
- "1986 Toronto Blue Jays Schedule". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
- "John Barfield Stats".
- Wayne Rosenthal at Baseball Reference
- Randy Kramer at Baseball Reference
- "1986 Texas Rangers schedule and results". Baseball Reference. Retrieved May 30, 2026.
- 1986 Texas Rangers at Baseball Reference
- 1986 Texas Rangers at Baseball Almanac
- Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (3rd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-1-932391-17-6.