Rangers: A painful look back at the history of Rangers pitching

March is drawing to a close and the last games of spring training are underway. The closer the regular season gets, the less anticipated fans are for the start of it. Most of the concern centers around the Rangers pitching rotation, which limps into the 2018 season as one of the worst in the majors.

It is true that last year’s Texas Rangers pitching staff ranked 21st in ERA. They had the 7th most walks and ranked dead last in strikeouts. The team made no major moves in the offseason except for signing Matt Moore and Tim Lincecum, who are both coming off strings of bad luck.

Unfortunately, this is a tale pretty common with the Rangers franchise.

A few flips through the Rangers history book reveals some depressing seasons and heartbreaking losses. This story is nothing new to Rangers fans. We were all there to witness the 2011 World Series and 2015 ALDS. But maybe you were not there in 2001 when the team finished 43 games behind first and had a franchise-high 5.71 team ERA or 1973 when the team lost 105 games for their worst record since coming to Arlington.

So, let us take the dreadful trip down Texas Rangers memory lane.

Part One: Play Ball

Any story starts at the beginning, so we can make a quick note of the team’s first years as the Washington Senators. If you are not already aware, the team was atrocious. Six of the ten worst seasons in franchise history happened during the team’s eleven years in the nation’s capital.

In the team’s inaugural season, 1961, the team’s pitching was actually decent. The bright spot of the 1961 Washington Senators was Dick Donovan, who pitched a 2.40 ERA and a 1.026 WHIP. The ugly side was that the team lost 100 games and finished dead last in the AL, but there was promise for the future of the team.

The team continued on as a cellar dweller for most of their time in Washington. The pitching woes escalated in 1963 and 1968 when the Senators finished last in ERA, hits allowed, and runs allowed among the 10 AL teams. To make matters worse, the team finished dead last in strikeouts for nine of their eleven seasons in Washington.

This is a trend that has stuck with the team throughout its history. Dick Bosman’s 1969 season was a high point for Senators pitching. Bosman finished with a (14-5) record to go along with a 2.19 ERA and a 1.010 WHIP. The low point is Jim Duckworth’s dismal 1963 season that ended with a (4-12) record, a 6.04 ERA, and a 1.641 WHIP during his 37 appearances.