Banister isn't first Rangers manager to get off to slow start in first year
Maybe it's a blessing that the Texas Rangers are off to a slow start under first-year manager Jeff Banister.
If history is any indication, uneven starts are a positive sign for the most successful managers in Rangers history. So maybe 9-16 after 25 games isn't such a bad thing.
Here's a look at how every new manager for the Rangers did after 25 games in their first season.
Ron Washington (2007) – The Rangers were just one game better under Washington in his first year than they are now under Banister. The longest winning streak in the first 25 games under Wash was just two games. The club did have series wins over Tampa Bay and Boston and were 4 ½ games out of first place after the first 25 games.
Buck Showalter (2003) – Buck's first year with the Rangers got off to a bumpy 11-14 start. They did win series over the Anaheim Angels and Boston. But the Angels got off to a 2-6 start that season and in the first 25 gamed couldn't string together a winning streak of more than two games. The Angels were five games out of first 25 games into the season.
Johnny Oates (1995) – The first manager to take the Rangers to the postseason got off to a solid start in his first year with the Rangers, jumping out to a 13-12 record even though they were still last in the American League West. The season didn't get going well as the Rangers opened with a 2-6 record but won six of seven games to close the first 25. It helped that the Rangers played 17 of their first 25 games at home.
Kevin Kennedy (1993) – Kennedy is proof that it's not how you start with the Rangers. Texas won six of its first seven games under him, with the lone loss coming at the right arm of Roger Clemens. After 25 games the Rangers were tied with the Chicago White Sox for first place in the West at 14-11. The Rangers won their first four series of their year but also had a pair of three-game slides in the first 25 games. The White Sox won the division by eight games and Kennedy lasted just one more season.
Doug Rader (1983) – Another manager whose team got off to a promising start was Rader. Texas opened the season with a three-game sweep of the White Sox and got off to a 6-1 beginning. They led the AL West for the first nine games before losing series to Baltimore, Boston and Milwaukee. At the 25-game mark the Rangers were 13-12 and 1 ½ games out of first place.
Don Zimmer (1981) – A work stoppage to first half and second-half champs in Zimmer's first year as the Rangers manager. Zimmer's team got off to an impressive 14-11 start but was still 7 ½ games behind Oakland 25 games into the season. The Rangers under Zimmer were a streaky team, putting together a pair of four-game winning streaks. The first of the two included four-consecutive shutouts in which the Rangers outscored Boston and Kansas City 31-0. Doc Medich, Danny Darwin and Rick Honeycutt each had complete game shutouts in that run.
Pat Corrales (1979) – No one got off to a better start as a Rangers manager than Corrales. Texas opened the season 6-0 under him and was 14-11 after 25 games, but already 3 ½ games out of first in the West. The Rangers avoided any long slides early, as they had no more than two-consecutive losses in the first 25 games.
Billy Hunter (1978) – Billy Hunter's lone season as Texas manager got off to a good start as Jon Matlack beat Hall of Famer Goose Gossage in the season opener. But then the Rangers lost nine of their next 10 games as they were swept by Detroit and Boston. They rallied earl too though, answering an eight-game losing streak with a stretch in which they won eight of their next nine and 25 games in the club was 13-12 and 4 ½ games out in the West.
Frank Lucchesi (1976) – No Rangers team got off to a better start for a new manager than the 1976 team did under Lucchesi. They went 17-8 to start the season and led the West by two games. The Rangers went 5-1 to start the season and then went on an eight-game winning streak that included seven wins over Boston, winning four in Arlington and three at Fenway. The only team to take a series from the Rangers in the first 25 games was Milwaukee, which won two of three at Arlington Stadium. The Rangers went 2-10 against Milwaukee that year and the Brewers won just 66 games all season.
Whitey Herzog (1973) – Long before he was winning a World Series with St. Louis Herzog made his big league managerial debut for an awful Rangers team. Herzog wouldn't last the season and the start was a big reason why. The Rangers opened the season 2-8 and were 9-16 after 25 games. They did manage to put together four two-game winning streaks in the first 25 and won two consecutive series, taking two of three from both Detroit and Milwaukee. The Rangers were 9 ½ games out in the West 25 games into the year.
MORE FROM FOX SPORTS SOUTHWEST:
- Ranking NFL quarterback salaries
- Oldest player on every NBA team
- College football's highest paid coaches in 2014
- Highest paid player on every MLB roster
