#37 -- The Greatest Rangers of All Time
#37 on the list of the greatest Rangers of all time is a guy who was originally signed by the Rangers, debuted with them, and who the Rangers had high hopes for way back in the day. He ended up leaving in a big trade, bounced around the majors having some success, and came back late in his career for another brief stint with Texas.
He wasn't a Hall of Famer, by any means, but he was a solid pitcher, but with the Rangers and elsewhere, and that's enough to make the list.
So check out Danny Darwin, the 37th greatest Ranger of All Time.
Darwin was a Texas native, born in Bonham, Texas, and known as the Bonham Bullet. He signed with the Rangers in May, 1976, as a 20 year old, and quickly advanced through the Ranger system, pitching for single-A Asheville in 1976, AA Tulsa in 1977, and AAA Tucson in 1978, before making his Ranger debut on September 8 of that year, coming into a blowout game where Jon Matlack had allowed 10 runs (although only 3 earned) to the Oakland A's.
Darwin, a hard thrower, struck out the first major league batter he faced, shortstop Mario Guerrero, and allowed just a run in 2 innings of relief, but only appeared in two more games the rest of the 1978 season, including his first start in the second game of a doubleheader against the Mariners. Darwin went 6 strong innings in that game, striking out 7, walking 1 and allowing 3 runs, and when Jim Umbarger was able to throw three shutout innings to close out the game, Darwin got his first major league win.
Darwin started 1979 back in AAA, but was called up in June to make his second major league start, going 8 1/3 innings on June 21 against the California Angels. Darwin went into the 9th with a shutout, but nursing a 2-0 lead, after getting a pop up from Bert Campaneris, Darwin walked Carney Lansford and allowed a single to Disco Dan Ford, which brought closer Jim Kern into the game. Kern allowed a 2 out double to Willie Aikens that tied the score and cost Darwin the win, although the Rangers ended up winning in 11 innings.
Darwin made two more starts in a row, and then went to the bullpen, where he spent much of the rest of the season. Darwin got three more starts that season, although two of them were spot starts as part of a doubleheader, and otherwise held down the long man role in the pen. Darwin ended the season with a 4.04 ERA in 78 innings.
Darwin showed enough to have earned a spot in the major league pen from the outset of the 1980 season, and pitched well enough to be entrusted with a late inning role. Darwin had a significant workload that year, appearing in 53 games (including 2 starts) and throwing 109 2/3 innings, and logging a 13-5 record with 8 saves and a 2.63 ERA. He continued to strike out batters, racking up 104 Ks on the year, although he also continued to display some control problems in issuing 50 walks.
Darwin was promoted to the rotation the following year, and took a bit of a step back. In the strike-shortened 1981 season, he threw 146 innings in 22 games, including 2 shutouts, with a 9-9 record and a 3.64 ERA and 95 ERA+.
The highlight of the 1981 season for Darwin was his April 29 shutout at Arlington Stadium of the Boston Red Sox, when he outdueled John Tudor and allowed just one hit -- a Rick Miller single to lead off the 6th -- in a 5-0 Ranger win, highlighted by John Grubb's bases loaded, bases clearing double in the first that gave the Rangers all the runs they'd need.
The Rangers were contenders in the first half of the season but fell off in the second half, leading to changes. Frank Tanana was brought in, and Charlie Hough was moved from the bullpen to the rotation, with Darwin moving back into the closer role in 1982. Darwin regressed from his fine 1980 relief performance, going 10-8 with 7 saves, but striking out just 61 batters in 89 innings, walking 37, as part of one of the worst Ranger teams ever, a 64-98 disaster that was saved from last place by an even worse Minnesota Twins team.
Darwin spent the next two seasons putting up solid, if unspectacular, performances in the Ranger rotation, going 16-25 over that period for a couple of bad Ranger teams, with ERAs of 3.49 and 3.94 and ERA+s of 114 and 105.
After the 1984 season, Darwin was shipped to Milwaukee as part of a convoluted four-way deal that sent former Ranger catcher Jim Sundberg from Milwaukee to Kansas City, Royals catcher Don Slaught from K.C. to Texas, and Tim Leary from the Mets to the Brewers.
Darwin was able to hang around into his 40s by pitching solidly in whatever role he was asked to fill. He spent a year and a half in the Brewer rotation, was traded to Houston, and spent four and a half years starting and relieving, as was necessary, for the Astros in the late 80s. He then joined the Red Sox and pitched for them, primarily in the rotation, from 1991-94, signed with Toronto as a free agent prior to the 1995 season, and logged 65 innings with them before being released in July, 1995, and signing with the Rangers.
Darwin started four games for the Rangers in 1995, going 2-2, before spending September in a mop-up role in the pen. Although Darwin turned 40 after the season, he still wasn't finished...he spent most of the next three seasons in the majors, starting for Houston, Pittsburgh, the White Sox, and the Giants, before retiring after the 1998 season.
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41 comments
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Comments
Is this a new feature?
Why are you starting with #37?
by cstorm15 on Jan 6, 2009 10:32 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
LOL
How completely, utterly random. How much time passed between #38 and #37? Two years? Three?
Kudos though.
by jthig32 on Jan 6, 2009 10:33 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
I think he did like 1 2 years ago.
He started the project 3 years ago maybe? 4 years?
I’m glad to see it rolling again.
Get off my lawn.
by DJCahill on Jan 6, 2009 10:42 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
And there's another one...
…already done and scheduled to pop up on the main page on Thursday…
by Adam J. Morris on Jan 6, 2009 10:44 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
That's awesome :)
How far do you think you will be able to get in what appears to be a very boring offseason?
Get off my lawn.
by DJCahill on Jan 6, 2009 10:45 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Cool
I really hope these get compile in a book when you are finished. Or are made available for download in our android hard-drives.
"Was this really necsarry?" - cowpoke/hurler hurley
by trza on Jan 6, 2009 10:46 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
that's ed's line
Mandatory reading before suggesting a trade
by ab03 on Jan 6, 2009 12:42 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
i'm pretty sure you said that last time
Mandatory reading before suggesting a trade
by ab03 on Jan 6, 2009 12:42 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
so much more exciting
than Daniel Cubillan’s birthday
by JBImaknee on Jan 6, 2009 11:29 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Danny D
was also a stud in RBI Baseball on the old school Nintendo (Astros or BoSox, can’t remember)
Freddie King rules faces.
by Ryin A on Jan 6, 2009 10:41 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
Oh yes!
That was the one from 1988, right?
The one with only 4 pitchers on your team…in total?
I loved that game. I used 1987 Minnesota with Viola, Blyleven, Reardon, and some other guy…hmmm?
Line up rocked:
Dan Gladden
Kirby Puckett
Kent Hrbek
Tom Brunanski
Gary Gaetti
and the rest.
We played for hours…and days….and probably longer.
I miss 1989. I miss 1996. Please make me miss another season in 2008.
by Chaim Witz on Jan 6, 2009 12:03 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Check this out
gives you the lineups of all the teams:
http://www.dee-nee.com/rbi/teams.shtml
Guess I was wrong about Danny D, I coulda sworn he was in that game…
Freddie King rules faces.
by Ryin A on Jan 6, 2009 3:13 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Look how stacked Boston's lineup was
Armas on the bench, although they used his stats from ’83 instead of ’86 I think…..
Freddie King rules faces.
by Ryin A on Jan 6, 2009 3:20 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Dude
Awesome.
"Was this really necsarry?" - cowpoke/hurler hurley
by trza on Jan 6, 2009 10:44 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
Adam
I think you’re going to have to put out more than one of these a year or else I’m going to be dead before you reach number 1.
Heeeeyyyy poor! Heeeeyyyy poor! Hey poor, you don't have to be poor anymore!
by Escher on Jan 6, 2009 10:46 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
I am both amazed and flattered
that my post might possibly have jump-started your countdown as well.
I’ve not only been reading the “Top Royals” posts on Royals Review but also supplying a lot of the images. Sorry I can’t volunteer to do that for you, but I can only afford to be a hard-core collector for one team.
Chaim Mattis Keller New York City's # 1 Royals fan!
by cmkeller on Jan 6, 2009 2:18 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Um.
"A ~.650 OPS from a COF should get you deported, not traded for."
- The Huntressatron
by Chase Irwin on Jan 7, 2009 10:23 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
+1 million
The bloggerformelyknownasBigBaddBubbaJ
by NYTXFAN on Jan 6, 2009 12:56 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
These are good
looking forward to more.
by Houston27 on Jan 6, 2009 11:07 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
I always figured the Greatest Rangers series was a myth.
Like Bigfoot and the electric car.
Amazing.
"Please. What the hell do you know about starting a sports-related website and then deciding to leave it to work on other things and then? How dare you, sir." -- Michael Schur, aka FireJoeMorgan's Ken Tremendous, to Will Leitch
by ghtd36 on Jan 6, 2009 11:12 AM CST reply actions 2 recs
What the hell?
When did we all die and end up in Imagination Land?
by Athos on Jan 6, 2009 11:30 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
Cool Nickname
Was his nickname “Dr. Death” are somehthing like that?
by chadallenfan on Jan 6, 2009 1:11 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
Where Does Craig McMurtry Rank?
Free Frank Catalanotto
by egriffey on Jan 6, 2009 1:51 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
is cecil espy
#51?
"I may not be a class act, but I'm an American."
-- Ron Artest on wanting to play for the Olympic team
by zkmavz on Jan 6, 2009 2:08 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
I just assumed...
…that LSB had been hacked like Twitter yesterday and MacRumorsLive this morning.
Dreaming of 2009
by RangerMoto on Jan 6, 2009 2:16 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
You know
This is how Rev and his minions over at Halos Heaven are passing their offseason as well.
Guess Adam finally felt some pressure, eh?
Did Jon Daniels downsize your old position at Dunking Donuts?
by lonestarJon on Jan 6, 2009 2:22 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
oh yeah!
the bonham bullet.
didn’t he beat up barry bonds in the dugout once?
growing up in bonham, the guy was a legend. right up there with Joe Morgan and Sam “Mr Speaker” Rayburn.
I’d go to trades days (don’t remeber if it was 1st monday or 2nd monday) and it seemed every vender tried to sell autographed danny darwin cards for $5.
Obama vs Palin in 2012. bring her on!
by gossamer on Jan 6, 2009 3:36 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
other Bonhamites (sounds like a bug)
don’t forget Charlie Christian….
I remember watching his younger brother (Jeff with the M’s) give up a huge shot to Canseco at the Ballpark.
by blahblahblah on Jan 6, 2009 4:09 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
The Middle Brother
I played legion ball with the middle brother Kevin in Denison. That guy had/has some huge hands. He could bring it about 88+. That was pretty good for our area. He was just wild enough that no one could get comfortable.
We routinely had this old man named Shaddy umpire behind the plate. When you are 18, everyone north of 40 is old, but this guy had to be in his 60’s.
During one game that Kevin was pitching, he got frustrated that Shaddy was squeezing him. He called the catcher out to the mound. He told him the next pitch would be high at Shaddy’s mask…and to miss it. Fortunately for Shaddy, the catcher caught the ball. It would have laid that old man out cold.
They grow’em mean in Bonham.
by T Coleman on Jan 6, 2009 10:30 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
Sweet
I remember my brother telling me a story about The Bullet’s mom that worked in the cafeteria at the elementary school in Bonham. Apparently if you gave her a Danny Darwin baseball card she would have it signed and bring it back to you.
My mom went to high school with him. She said the team was awful and he almost didn’t play college ball. Anyways, it’s good to have a Bonhamite on the list. Too bad Roy McMillan was never a Ranger…
by Slaw on Jan 7, 2009 11:35 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
darwins first start
wasn`t that the game that roger moret went into a catotonic trance after watching Umbarger pitch 3 scoreless innings?
by mrb163 on Jan 6, 2009 6:24 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
Nice
Glad to see the Top50 back. With all the time that’s passed from the write-up of #50, I wonder if AJM’s changed his rankings at all.
by ravscloC on Jan 7, 2009 12:58 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

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