Rangers History Today: Hargrove Wins AL Rookie of the Year

On this date in Texas Rangers history, the Rookie of the Year award came to Arlington for the first time.

The moment came on Nov. 25, 1974, as the Rangers found out that Mike Hargrove was named the American League Rookie of the Year. This came in the same season in which Jeff Burroughs became the first Rangers player to earn AL Most Valuable Player honors.

Hargrove played 131 games in his first full season with the Rangers, hitting .323 with four home runs and 66 RBI. He was part of a team known as "The Turnaround Gang", winning 84 games under manager Billy Martin after losing 105 games in 1973. The 27-win swing holds a special place in Rangers history, even though the club finished five games behind the Oakland Athletics in the AL West.

Hargrove received 16 first-place votes to easily win the award ahead of Chicago White Sox rookie (and future Ranger) Bucky Dent, Kansas City’s George Brett, Boston’s Rick Burleson and Hargrove’s teammate, Jim Sundberg.

Hargrove played five years for Texas, earning his only All-Star Game appearance in 1975. He was with the Rangers for ’10-Cent Beer Night’ in Cleveland in 1974 and earned the nickname ‘The Human Rain Delay’ for his—some would call—slow routine to prepare for each pitch at the plate.

Oddly, Hargrove finished out his career with seven years in Cleveland, with a year in San Diego in between. With the Rangers, he hit .293 with 47 home runs and 295 RBI. For his career, Hargrove hit .290 with 80 home runs and 686 RBI.

Hargrove also carved out a long career as a manager with Cleveland, Baltimore and Seattle, winning 1,188 games for his career. He took Cleveland to the World Series twice, but lost to Atlanta in 1995, and again in 1997 to Florida.

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