1980 Topps - Fergie Jenkins.

The Rangers were hoping for a good 1980 season from Fergie Jenkins following a down 1979 season. Jenkins, shown here on card 390 of the 1980 Topps set, had been an innings eater that year but his ERA topped four for the first time in his career.

Fergie started 29 games for the Rangers in 1980. It was the first season in a Texas uniform that he appeared in less than 30 games. Jenkins walked 52 and struck out 129 over the 198 innings he pitched. He lowered his ERA 30 points to 3.77 and his WHIP to a rotation best 1.222. He ended the season with a 12-12 record.

Jenkins was involved in several headline occurrences during the 1980 season. On May 3rd in Arlington Fergie picked up the win. The victory over the Orioles gave Fergie his 100th win in the American League. He already had over 100 wins in the National League. That made him just the fourth pitcher in Major League history to win 100 games in both leagues.

On May 23rd Jenkins handcuffed his old beating boys, the Oakland A's, to pick up a 3-1 win. That victory gave him the 250th win of his career. He was officially in contention for a spot in Cooperstown.

On July 15th Fergie whiffed 13 White Sox to set a new Rangers strikeout record. Things were moving along well it seemed.

Then came August 25th. The Rangers were en route to play the Toronto Blue Jays. As a native Canadian, Jenkins was returning home. Things got ugly at the airport though as customs officials discovered cocaine in Fergie's suitcase. He protested the drugs were not his and he had no idea where they came from. Unmoved by the now stale excuse, officers arrested Jenkins for possession of cocaine. MLB Commissioner Bowie Kuhn was not impressed. Two weeks after the arrest, Kuhn suspended Fergie from baseball for life. Jenkins appealed the suspension and it was overturned by an independent arbitrator on September 22nd. The ruling was unprecedented and gave Jenkins a new lease on his career.

The Rangers were less than impressed by Jenkins' arrest and suspension. There was an upside though. Perhaps the close call would give Fergie something to prove as he took the mound in 1981. A pitcher of Jenkins' caliber with extra motivation is never a bad thing.

Minor League Monday - Everett Cunningham, 1991 Line Drive.

Coming into the 1990 season, Everett Cunningham was at the make or break point. A fourth round pick in the 1988 draft, Cunningham had confidence issues that slowed his climb up the minor league ladder. He finally seemed to get those bugs worked out and turned in an impressive season for Charlotte in 1989. 1990 had been a mixed bag. The first part of the season was great and earned Everett a promotion to Double A. The second half of the season was not nearly as good and ensured that he would not make the jump to Triple A going into 1991.

Apparently the Rangers decided Cunningham might do better out of the bullpen than as a starter. They moved him out of the Tulsa rotation for 1991. Everett would make 21 appearances for the Drillers, all but one in relief. He pitched 41.1 rough innings and walked 28 opposing batters while striking out just 25. His ERA climbed to a then career high 6.97 while his WHIP reached a career worst 1.790. Those numbers resulted in am 0-3 record.

The Rangers had seen enough and decided Cunningham had to go. I'm not sure if he was traded or cut. Either way he did not end the season with the Drillers. Somehow Everett ended up with the Double A Wichita Wranglers in the San Diego Padres system to finish the 1991 campaign. The 16 games he pitched out of the bullpen for Wichita went worse than his time in Tulsa. An 8.17 ERA and an 1.737 WHIP during that stint ensured that 1991 would be the last season of Everett Cunningham's pro career.

Senators Saturday - Curt Flood, 1971.

Today we have an interesting part of Washington Senators history, Curt Flood. He appears on card 535 of the 1971 Topps set. Flood had been a staple of the 1960's Saint Louis Cardinals World Series teams. He won seven consecutive Gold Gloves from 1963 to 1969, and was a All-Star in 1964, 1966, and 1968. His name was usually in the MVP mix.

On October 7, 1969 Curt Flood began to change baseball as we know it. The Cardinals traded Flood to the Philadelphia Phillies. Under the reserve clause, Flood should have reported to the Phillies. He refused to do so and filed suit in court to have the reserve clause invalidated. The case dragged on through the 1970 season as Flood sat it out and waited. On November 30, 1970, with the case still in the courts, the Phillies traded their absent outfielder to Washington.

Flood agreed to report to the Senators and appeared in 13 games for Washington. There were flashes, but the old Curt Flood was no longer there. In 40 plate appearances Curt managed a .200 batting average and a .300 on-base percentage. He walked five times and struck out just twice. There were no extra base hits and Flood scored just four runs while accounting for two RBI.

Washington put Curt in center field, where he played in his glory days for the Cardinals. In 71 innings spread over ten games, Flood committed one rare error to drop his fielding percentage to an unusual .941 - 41 points below the league average. His missed season also appeared to have lowered his range significantly.

The results for Curt Flood in 1971 were disappointing. Manager Ted Williams still had confidence in Flood, but he no longer had confidence in himself. He was still locked in a legal battle he would end up losing to Major League Baseball and the stress of that was taking its toll. In spite of the fact that the owners approved the 10/5 rule in 1970, Curt would never benefit from it. After his slow start to the 1971 season, Curt Flood retired from Major League Baseball.

HOF musings.

Well, the Hall of Fame ballot results came out yesterday and there are sure to be some critics. Ken Griffey Jr set an all time vote record with only three voters leaving him off their ballots. Mike Piazza also made the cut. Just missing were Jeff Bagwell, Trevor Hoffman, and Tim Raines.

Of course, there will be much discussion about the exclusion of Raines, Bagwell, and Hoffman. The only one I really have heartburn about being left out is Bagwell. I wouldn't consider either of the other two unworthy though.

Things should get interesting next year. Bagwell, Hoffman, and Raines will still be at the threshold. Vladimir Guerrero, Manny Ramirez, and Ivan Rodriguez will headline the first-timers on the ballot. Potentially six inductees. I doubt Ramirez makes it with the way his career ended under PED suspension. Hoffman will have to go from fifth place this year to get over the mark and HOF voters take time to warm up to most relief pitchers. Bagwell and Raines stand an excellent chance. The issue with Guerrero will be if his extended stay at DH hurts him. That leaves Pudge, shown here on a 2002 Ex Essentials card bearing a piece of one of his cleats.

Rodriguez has never been conclusively linked to PED usage but played in the era and was on the same team with distributor Jose Canseco. Of course, Mike Piazza also played during the same era and his election casts a new light on I-Rod. Like Pudge, Piazza was suspected of PED use by some but was never conclusively linked or named in any investigations. On the field there is no doubt he was never the player Rodriguez was. Offensively he was better but that was it. I-Rod ran circles around him in every other area and stayed pretty close at the plate as well. That seems to bode well for Pudge come voting time next winter. Perhaps we will see another Rangers cap in the Hall in the near future.

1980 Topps - Johnny Grubb.

Building on a decent 1979 season, Johnny Grubb was planning on locking down a starting gig in the Rangers outfield in 1980. However, the Texas outfield was something of a merry-go-round and determining who was technically a full-timer is a bit difficult. Grubb, shown here on card 313 of the 1980 Topps set, was definitely in the mix though. Baseball-Reference.com gives him the starting right field nod.

All told, Johnny made 323 trips to the plate in 110 games for the Rangers in 1980. He posted a .277 batting average and a .374 on-base percentage. The average was up slightly from 1979 and the on-base percentage was up almost 25 points and good enough for second best among Rangers regulars. The fact that his 42 walks outnumbered the 35 times he struck out helped bump his on-base percentage up. Grubb hit 12 doubles, one triple, and nine home runs while accounting for 40 runs scored and 32 RBI.

Primarily a right fielder, Johnny played 454.2 innings there over 62 games. His four errors dropped his fielding percentage to .952, well below the league average .975. Grubb also played 113 innings in 18 games in left field. He muffed two plays there for a .938 fielding percentage, nowhere close to the league average .980. Nine games as the designated hitter rounded out the season totals.

One thing was for sure, the Rangers liked Johnny Grubb's bat. What probably cost him playing time in 1980 was his defense. If he could maintain his offensive stats and improve his defense to at least average, he had a good shot at a regular job. If he didn't get that done, he had another season of riding the merry-go-round to look forward to.

Minor League Monday - Mike Burton, 1991 ProCards.

The Rangers liked Mike Burton's potential. They originally drafted him in the 45th round of the June 1987 draft. He didn't sign. Texas came back in the 17th round of the June 1989 draft and selected Burton again. That time he signed.

Mike began his pro career in 1989 with the Rookie League GCL Rangers. In 1990 he played for Single A Gastonia, as shown here on card 99 of the 1991 ProCards set. He would be assigned to Double A Tulsa for the 1991 season.

Burton appeared in a total of 106 games for Tulsa in 1991 and logged 423 plate appearances. He tallied a .241 batting average and a .344 on-base percentage. While his 56 walks certainly helped with the on-base percentage, his 88 strikeouts did little to help his cause. Scoring 43 runs, Mike was responsible for 49 RBI. He hammered 18 doubles, two triples, and seven home runs during the course of the season.

The front of Burton's card makes it appear as if he played several infield positions. Not so in 1991. All of the 105 games he played in the field for Tulsa that year were at first base. Mike made an astounding 11 errors during the season to drop his fielding percentage to. 989.

1991 was the year Mike Burton's pro career hit a snag. He saw his batting average, on-base percentage, and power at the plate drop. He also struck out more times than in almost thirty games more the previous season. Additionally, his glove seemed to have turned to cement as he committed almost as many errors in one campaign for Tulsa as in the previous two seasons combined.

These were not numbers to warrant a promotion. What they did do was put Mike on the Rangers radar, and not in a good way. Even though he improved his draft spot by not signing the first time around, Texas still expected quick improvement from their young first baseman. This was not quick improvement.

Senators Saturday - Mike Epstein, 1971.

Happy new year folks. Hope 2015 ended well for you and 2016 is starting off on the right note. For Texas Rangers Cards it's going to start off with a look back to the final year of the Washington Senators.

First off, you gotta like the sideburns Mike Epstein is displaying on card 655 of the 1971 Topps set. Classic 70's look there. Mike had a bit of a downer season in 1970, following a great year in 1969. That got him on the front office radar as a player who might be trade material. However, Epstein still entered the season as the starting first baseman for Washington.

Mike ended up playing in 24 games for the Senators in 1971, all at first base. He continued his good defense there with just two errors in 208 innings for a .992 fielding percentage. That was exactly the league average.

In those 24 games, Epstein made 101 trips to the plate and posted a .247 batting average. That, and his .366 on-base percentage, were slightly lower than the previous season. He walked 12 times and struck out 31 times. The power was slow coming that spring as he had just one double, one triple, and one home run.

The cash strapped Senators were always on the lookout for a deal that involved money coming in. Oakland was willing to work with them. On May 8, 1971 Washington set Epstein and reliever Darold Knowles to the A's in exchange for Frank Fernandez, Paul Lindblad, Don Mincher, and cash. The trade turned out great for Epstein. He got to the post-season later that year and again in 1972 when he won a ring with the A's. In November of 1972 Oakland traded Epstein to Texas straight up for Horacio Pina. That stint with the franchise would not last as long as the first. On May 20, 1973 the Rangers sent Mike back to California, along with Rich Hand and Rick Stelmaszek. This time the trade was to the Angels, who sent Lloyd Allen and Jim Spencer back in return.