The 1977 Texas Rangers season was the 17th of the Texas Rangers franchise overall, their 6th in Arlington as the Rangers, and the 6th season at Arlington Stadium. The Rangers finished second in the American League West with a record of 94 wins and 68 losses. The 1977 Rangers were notable for having an American League record four managers in the same season. Frank Lucchesi began the season as the manager but team's board of directors decide to make a change after the Rangers entered June with a .500 record. Former Major League player and manager Eddie Stanky was introduced as the new manager on June 17 but changed his mind after one game and returned to his home in Alabama. Bench coach Connie Ryan served as the interim manager for six games before Billy Hunter was hired and led the team to a 60-33 record for the rest of the year.[1]
Offseason
On December 10, 1976, shortstopDanny Thompson died of leukemia. Thompson had played in 64 games for the Rangers in 1976.
Notable transactions
November 17, 1976: Bert Campaneris was signed as a free agent by the Rangers.[2]
November 23, 1976: Doyle Alexander was signed as a free agent by the Rangers.[3]
February 5, 1977: The Rangers traded a player to be named later and cash to the Chicago Cubs for Darold Knowles. The Rangers completed the deal by sending Gene Clines to the Cubs on February 15.[8]
For one June day in 1977, Eddie Stanky was drawn back into the major leagues as manager of the Rangers.[10] After that day, he abruptly quit and left for Alabama, saying only that he was homesick.[11]
Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (3rd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN978-1-932391-17-6.