They're Back!

The boys are back! Pitchers and catchers report today! Baseball has returned and the world is a better place.

Former Rangers catcher Ivan Rodriguez, shown here on 1990 Upper Deck card 245, is one of the special instructors working with Rangers catchers this spring. Hopefully some of his talent will rub off. Catching seems to be a weak area in Arlington at the moment.

Texas heads into Spring Training this year with several interesting story lines to follow. Of course, everyone is waiting to see if Yu Darvish will be able to make a complete comeback from his Tommy John Surgery. The answer to that will have to wait until later in the year though since Darvish is not expected back in the rotation until May. As such, the team finds a need for somebody to hold down Darvish's spot in the rotation. That competition is wide open.

The composition of the bullpen is also far from set. There are a number of arms looking for a spot in the Texas pen but a final decision on who's in and who's out is likely to wait until the final few days before the start of the season.

For the most part, the starting lineup is set and nobody is really expecting huge roster battles in that area. There is room for surprises however. Rougned Odor and Delino DeShields had good seasons last year. Both are young though and have not yet completely nailed down their starting jobs. Odor could face a challenge from a finally healthy, and still unproven, Jurickson Profar. Outfield prospects Lewis Brinson and Nomar Mazara could also mount challenges if DeShields shows any weakness or if Josh Hamilton turns out to be less than healthy. Of course, Joey Gallo is always lurking in the wings as well.

The Rangers are also hoping to extend third baseman Adrian Beltre's contract for at least another year before the team breaks camp. 2016 is the final year of Adrian's contract and Texas would like to keep him at the hot corner. Apparently Beltre is open to the possibility but with Scott Boras involved there is no way to tell if the two sides can reach an agreement.

However these various stories work out, I think we can all reach an agreement that it is very good to have baseball, and the boys of summer, back.

More TTM returns.

So here we are on Spring Training eve and it's time for one final off-season through the mail return report. Of course, I'll be sending out requests throughout the season but hopefully there will be lots of great Rangers news to talk about.

Sent this 1983 Donruss card and a 1983 Topps card out to former Ranger Frank Tanana on January 20th of this year. Got them both back signed on February 11th. Mr. Tanana included a Gospel tract, as is his practice. Also received returns from former Rangers Dave Schmidt, and Jeff Huson and former Texas draft pick Ritchie Moody this past week. Many thanks to all four of these gentlemen for their consideration in signing and returning my cards. I really need to get some pennies saved up and pick up some more stamps in order to keep the returns coming.

Anyone else been passing the off-season requesting autographs? If so, how did it go?

1980 Topps - Jon Matlack.

Jon Matlack, shown here on card 592 of the 1980 Topps set, was coming off an injury-plagued 1979 season that ended in surgery. The Rangers plan called for Jon to be brought back up to full action slowly since he just resumed throwing in November of 1979 after bone chips were removed from his left elbow. It was hoped that 1980 would be a bounce-back year. In fact, the Rangers made Matlack their Opening Day starter to kick off 1980.

Texas expected no more than seven innings out of Matlack per start in 1980. It didn't take him long to trash those expectations as he went 26.1 innings in his first three starts. He allowed just two earned runs during that stretch. All told, Jon ended up pitching into the ninth inning in ten of his starts. He also gained some attention for ending George Brett's 30-game hit streak on August 19th.

During the course season Matlack appeared in 35 games for Texas. 34 of those appearances were starts, the most of any Rangers pitcher. His 234.2 innings pitch also led the pitching staff. His 3.68 ERA was 45 points lower than the previous season and second only to Gaylord Perry in the starting rotation. Of concern was Jon's 1.334 WHIP, five points higher than the year before. Still, he was striking out far more batters than he walked. 142 whiffs for the season (a team best) as compared to 48 walks. In fact, he led the league in fewest walks allowed per nine innings. It was a measure of the run support Matlack received that he ended the season with a 10-10 record. One of those wins was a shutout.

All in all, the Rangers had to be pretty pleased with the season Jon Matlack turned in in 1980. It wasn't his spectacular 1978 season but, it was very serviceable. After being the workhorse of the Texas rotation, Matlack served notice that he was back from his elbow problems and ready to defend his starting spot.

Minor League Monday - Rod Morris, 1991 Line Drive.

Coming off a decent 1990 season, Rod Morris was promoted from Single A Port Charlotte to Double A Tulsa for the 1991 season. Rod looks rather contemplative about the process on the front of card 588 in the 1991 Line Drive set.

Morris spent 102 of the 103 games he appeared in playing outfield. Not sure if he had a set spot out there or played all three positions for the Drillers. He made seven errors in the course of the season to put his fielding percentage at .966. That was eleven points lower than the previous season.

Rod made 420 trips to the plate for Tulsa. He put up a .269 batting average and a .321 on-base percentage. Surprisingly, that was 14 point increase in batting average and the on-base percentage was about the same as the previous season in A ball. Once again, Morris had more speed than power. He hit 17 doubles and eight triples but no home runs. He stole nine bases but also got caught six times. He scored 44 runs and picked up 35 RBI during the course of the season. Of concern were his 60 strikeouts as opposed to just 28 walks.

Rod Morris seemed to have made the transition from Single to Double A well in some respects. In others he still needed to catch up. His defense needed work and he was getting caught on the base paths more than he should. While his bat seemed to have stayed with him, he needed to find and correct the hole in his swing. Too many strikeouts could cause a problem for an outfielder with little power looking to move up the early 1990's Texas minor league ladder.

Senators Saturday - Elliott Maddox, 1971.

Elliott Maddox, shown here on card 11 of the 1971 Topps set, was a new arrival in Washington in 1971. The reason Maddox is hatless in this photo is because he moved from the Tigers to the Senators on October 9, 1970 as part of the ill-considered Denny McLain trade. 1971 would be Maddox's second season in the Majors. He had been in action for just 109 games with the Tigers in 1970.

Even though the front of Elliott's card classifies him as an infielder, he was primarily an outfielder for Washington in 1971. Serving mostly as a backup, Maddox still saw a decent amount of playing time. He appeared in 84 games in center field and played 485.2 innings there. His two errors put his fielding percentage at .989, above the league average .983. He was flawless in 40 innings over 12 games in left field and 76 innings over 10 games in right field. To round out his time in the field, Elliott also played 54.1 innings at third base, scattered over 12 games. He made one error there and his .947 fielding percentage was nine points below the league average.

Maddox made 312 trips to the plate during the season and put together a .217 batting average and .344 on-base percentage. He showed flashes of speed, stealing ten bases, but was also still learning the game, getting caught four times. Elliott had less than average power, hitting just eight doubles, two triples, and one home run. He scored 38 runs while knocking in only 18 RBI.

It's hard to tell if the sophomore slump hit Elliott Maddox in 1971. He hadn't had a super season in 1970 with Detroit so 1971 hadn't been a huge drop off. Defensively he had done well and proved his versatility in the field. One thing was for sure, if he wanted to secure himself a spot with the new Texas Rangers in 1972, he needed to up the offensive game.

Updates.

Well, the 2016 season keeps getting closer. Pitchers and catchers report on the 19th. Getting down to the final checkups for the players headed in. Jurickson Profar, Derek Holland, and Ryan Rua claim they are healthy and can't wait to get going. Adrian Beltre should also be ready to roll once camp starts. Josh Hamilton's knee is about ready but look for Texas to take things slowly with him to keep him from re-injuring it before it's completely back. Yu Darvish is reportedly on track coming back from Tommy John surgery but likely won't be making any starts until May.

The Rangers have also avoided arbitration with first baseman Mitch Moreland. The deal came just a few hours before the hearing was scheduled to begin. The agreement gives Moreland $5.7 million for the 2016 season. Mitch was the last Rangers player scheduled for arbitration. The deal with him means Texas has not had an arbitration hearing in 16 years.

Meanwhile, the 2016 Topps cards are out. I have yet to pick any up, mainly because I spent my card money on stamps and haven't yet got my stash built back up. Anyone else got any yet? If so, what are your thoughts on the new release?

Speaking of stamps, a few more through the mail autograph requests found their way home this past week. This signed 1983 Donruss card of former Rangers hurler Steve Comer was among the bunch. Returns also arrived from Johnny Grubb, Billy Sample, and Jerry Don Gleaton. Mr. Sample was nice enough to enclose a note wishing me good luck with my collection and blog. Thanks to all four of the players who were kind enough to sign and return cards to a fan.

1980 Topps - Sparky Lyle.

Jim Kern wasn't the only Rangers reliever to suffer through a rough 1980 season. Closer Sparky Lyle, shown here on card 115 of the 1980 Topps set, also struggled. Perhaps there was something in the water cooler in the Rangers bullpen. Perhaps both had been overworked in 1979. Whatever the cause, the Rangers bullpen was a serious weakness in 1980.

Lyle appeared in 49 games for Texas, all in relief of course. He finished 32 of those games but had a 3-2 record with just eight saves. Those poor totals were the result of an ugly 4.69 ERA and 1.550 WHIP. The slider was still occasionally working, Sparky struck out 43 opposing batters, but it was also not working at times, he walked 28.

By late June the Rangers were looking for a bullpen solution. They found at least part of one in youngster Danny Darwin. By the end of June Darwin had displaced Lyle in the closer role. Darwin would end the season with as many saves for Texas as Lyle had.

With Sparky struggling and Darwin apparently the answer to the closer issue, the Rangers appeared to have an extra piece in their bullpen. Philadelphia was on the way to a post-season berth and needed to bolster their bullpen. On September 30, 1980 the Rangers sent Lyle to the Phillies for a player to be named later. Texas received Kevin Saucier in return on November 19, 1980. As for Sparky, he found his groove in Philly and helped them to the playoffs. However, he was acquired too late in the season to be eligible for the post-season roster.