National Baseball Hall of Fame

An Account of the (Toy) Gunman Who Inadvertently Put the George W. Bush Presidential Center on Lockdown

Last Saturday, the folks taking in the new George W. Bush Presidential Center were briefly under the frightening misimpression that it had come under terrorist attack, as reports of an "active shooter" put the center and SMU on lockdown. Among the visitors were Lawrence Wright, Pulitzer Prize-winni ... More >>

42 Reviewed: Trying to Make Flesh-and-Blood of a Baseball Hero

Is Nolan Ryan Leaving the Rangers?

It was only fitting that Nolan Ryan, the Hall of Fame pitcher whose name is more or less synonymous with the Texas Rangers, would swoop in to help save the club from Tom HIcks two-and-a-half years ago. But his tenure in the team's front office may be coming to an end. The Rangers announced late Fri ... More >>

Eric Nadel is a Rangers Hall of Famer

The Texas Rangers just confirmed what everybody already knew: Eric Nadel is a bad ass.The team announced at a press conference this afternoon that the longtime radio broadcaster, the voice that has narrated, if not propelled, its climb into Major League Baseball's upper ranks, is the 2012 inductee i ... More >>

So Long, Pudge Rodriguez

While the Mavs stare bleakly into James Harden's beard and the Cowboys kick tires ahead of Thursday's draft, the local sports world takes a minute to look longingly in reverse today, over the long, remarkable career of Pudge Rodriguez, arguably the best catcher of all time. (And what is baseball goo ... More >>

Hope Springs Eternal as Yu Darvish Makes His Bow at the Ballpark in Arlington

Late into the evening yesterday, the sun was sinking over Arlington, but it was still warm out -- 77 degrees, far more spring than winter, perfect first-pitch weather. And the Ballpark in Arlington was open too, of course, to introduce the score of the off-season: Yu Darvish, the 6-foot-5 would-be a ... More >>

Former Rangers Prez Mike Stone Talks About Helping to Save the Fort Worth Cats

You can buy this 1953 Cats-Oilers game program for a mere $38.​Longtime Friends of Unfair Park will recall: In early 2009, United League Baseball co-founders John Bryant (yes, that John Bryant) and Byron Pierce said that come time for first pitch 2010, they would have a minor-league ballclub on th ... More >>

Sierra Missed: Three Former Texas Rangers Are Now on the Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot

​Juan Gonzalez and Rafael Palmeiro made their debuts on the Baseball Writers' Association of America's 2011 Hall of Fame ballot -- and didn't even come close to finishing near the Top 10 vote-getters. Raffy, poor Raffy, came closest with 64 votes; Juando trailed just behind Palmeiro with 30, two a ... More >>

Those Rangers Ballpark Improvements Are Just First Wave; More to Come in Two, Three Years

Photo by Brantley Hargrove​Wilonsky won't say it, but I will: One week after the World Series title slipped from grasp, Rangers Ballpark in Arlington is a sad, sad place. It was quiet this afternoon, empty, and the weight of Texas hope had all but evaporated.Instead of announcing an $11.5-million ... More >>

Let It Bleed

Hard at work on his eighth novel, Deadwood author Pete Dexter still packs a punch.

If Nothing Else, the Rangers Need to Win World Series Just to Spruce Up Cooperstown Exhibit

​The video you'll find after the jump was posted two days ago by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York. So far it's been viewed 60 times. In it, John O'Dell, curator of history and research, provides a brief tour of Rangers artifacts in the Hall -- brief, because t ... More >>

In the World Series Match-Up Between the Texas Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals, Don't Dismiss the Impact of Tony La Russa

St. Louis CardinalsTony La Russa on the field at Busch Stadium yesterday afternoon.​For whatever reason, my relationship with baseball went from casual to deeply committed bordering on obsessive during the 1986 baseball season. Like most kids growing up in North Texas, my father taught me to l ... More >>

Cruz-ing to Another World Series: Rangers-Tigers ALCS Game 5 Preview and Open Thread

Photos by Sam MertenNelson Cruz giving me a free ticket to the gun show last year.As the trade deadline approached in July 2006, it seemed inevitable that Jon Daniels would make a bold move to bolster a mediocre offense in his first season as general manager. He targeted the best hitter on the mar ... More >>

Now's Your Chance to Help Get Eric Nadel or Mark Holtz in the Baseball Hall of Fame

Mark Holtz and Eric Nadel​At this late date there should be no need to explain why Texas Rangers broadcaster Eric Nadel is a local treasure; he's as much a part of summer 'round these parts as 85-degree lows. I just went back and listened to his final-out call from October 12 -- it still breaks me ... More >>

Deion Sanders Collaborates With Snoop? Merle Haggard's Got Song About Wash? Yes and Yes.

The Old School Brother.​It's been a weird, surprisingly musical week in Dallas sports, y'all. For starters, recent Hall of Fame inductee Willie Beamen Deion Sanders is back in action on the hip-hop front. Sanders, you may recall, released a Dallas Austin-produced hip-hop album called Prime Time in ... More >>

Upon His Return to Arlington, David Clyde on His Bittersweet Legacy as a Texas Ranger

Via historicimages-store on eBayThe 18-year-old David Clyde being informed he's now a Texas Ranger in June 1973​We began talking at 11:55 Thursday night and wrapped up some time after 1 Friday morning. But, what else did he have to do? "I'm just drivin'," he said, "somewhere on I-45, a little clos ... More >>

The Return of David Clyde, Ruben Sierra, Charlie Hough, Buddy Bell and Mickey Tettleton

​My 8-year-old has himself a new hobby: collecting baseball cards, which now involves semi-regular trips to Nick's, where, last week, they told him the signed Curtis Wilkerson he found in an old box of Topps commons was real, all right, and worth a good ... what ... 25 cents? Ah -- but what's it w ... More >>

Whitt's End: 7.15.11

​Whether you've reached the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt's End: *Derek Holland looked unusually sharp from the first pitch last night. Seattle's woeful offensively. I had a feeling, so I Tweetcalled for a no-hitter in the bottom of the 1st. Holland took ... More >>

Texas Rangers and Josh Hamilton Are Fighting the Summer Blues

​Alexi Ogando has suddenly produced three consecutive outings of five innings or less. Fourth outfielder David Murphy just went 1 of 9 to drop his average to .233. And the Rangers have lost 12 of their last 19 -- including 3-3 on a homestand against the Astros and Mets -- in clinging to&n ... More >>

Charles Haley and Kenny Rogers Go Hunting For Redemption

After rocky careers off the field, two local bad boys rehab their reps.

Texas Rangers Got Themselves an All-Star Pitcher, a Controversial Hall of Famer, Lots of Draft Picks, a New Hitting Coach and Another Player on Baby Leave. Whew.

The real deal?​Lots of Texas Rangers' catch-up to spread around today ... *Back in spring training we all watched how Neftali Feliz would react to being stretched out as a potential starter. While Feliz wound up back in the bullpen, Alexi Ogando became the team's oh-by-the-way No. 5 starter. ... More >>

Dirk's Fever > Miami's Heat

​Fittingly, sitting courtside at American Airlines Center last night: Emmitt Smith. What he witnessed was perhaps Dallas-Fort Worth's gutsiest individual performance since, well, his own masterpiece 17 years ago. Yep, on a night when he fought a 101-degree fever, Dirk Nowitzki will ... More >>

When Underdogs Rule We're Left With March ... Badness

​I picked exactly one team of March Madness' Elite Eight and I long ago lost all of my Final Four (Pittsburgh, Louisville, San Diego State and Washington). But after a weekend of shocking upsets don't tell me your bracket isn't likewise busted. CBS cherishes a Cinderella and Americans ... More >>

Check That, Neftali Feliz Now Wants To Be a Starting Pitcher

​After watching Neftali Feliz hurl an impressive first four innings of Monday's 5-4 exhibition win over the Los Angeles Dodgers here in Surprise, Arizona, I sat down with general manager Jon Daniels to find out exactly where the 22-year-old fireballer fits in this season. Closer? Or starter? ... More >>

Comedian Daniel Tosh Persuades Me That Barry Bonds and Other Roiders Are HOF'ers

Courtesy danieltosh.comDaniel Tosh​As a big fan of Tosh.0 -- a 30-minute show on Comedy Central featuring YouTube clips and jokes from comedian Daniel Tosh -- I set my TiVo for Sunday's premiere of Tosh's stand-up special Happy Thoughts. Finally got around to watching it last night. It sucked. ... More >>

Attention incoming sports fans: If you're going to embrace our city during Super Bowl week, the first step is recognizing our Super Heroes.

On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I Have A ... List. Of the Best Black Athletes in the History of Ever

​While a lot of you are off work today, take time to remember and refresh the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. The rest of us? Let's commemorate MLK Day with an impossible task: Selecting the world's all-time greatest black athletes. First step, choosing the criteria. Sheer athleticism? ... More >>

Whitt's End: 1.7.11

​Whether you're at the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt's End: *If Bill Parcells fit too snug and Wade Phillips was a size too loose, Jason Garrett fits juuuuust right. *Maybe I'm naive and gullible and biased in favor of Garrett, but until otherwise I'm ... More >>

It's a diary of a mad year as Buzz recalls a P.O.'d 2010.

Yo, Adrian! Rangers Officially Ink Beltre to Six-Year, $96 Million Contract

Photos by Sam MertenJon Daniels, Adrian Beltre, Ron Washington and Scott Boras celebrate Beltre's new contract. Nolan Ryan, Chuck Greenberg and Thad Levine were also on hand for the occasion.​As we speculated on the night Cliff Lee agreed to his contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, the Tex ... More >>

Rest in Peace, Tom Vandergriff

At left, City of Arlington; at right, James William Dunlop via UTA LibraryAt right is a photo of the first cars to come off the GM assembly line in Arlington. Standing at center is Tom Vandergriff.​Victor Vandergriff tells the Star-Telegram: His father, former Arlington mayor Tom Vandergriff, died ... More >>

Two Texas Rangers' Sluggers That Won't Be in Baseball's Hall of Fame

  Rafael Palmeiro. Juan Gonzalez. A combined 1,003 home runs. A combined 0% chance of getting inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame. The reason? Steroids, of course. Both former Texas Rangers' sluggers are on this year's list of candidates and - sans the drug thing - could make a great case f ... More >>

2010 World Series GAME 1 - Giants 11, Rangers 7: My Top 10 Observer-ations

10. Bigger Giants' ass-kicking: New York 41, Cowboys 35 or San Francisco 11, Rangers 7? The football Giants ran off 31 unanswered Monday night in Arlington. The baseball Giants erased an early two-run hole with eight consecutive runs in the middle innings. Either way, ouch. Dare I say toni ... More >>

2010 ALCS: Yankees v. Rangers Position-by-Position Breakdown

​Gleefully, I was wrong about Rays in 5. In accordance, take this synopsis with a pinch of salt, a hint of lime, a chug of a six pack, then wake up Friday night and watch for yourselves. ALCS rosters won't be set until Friday at 10 a.m. so there could be some tweaks to the Rangers- Yankees b ... More >>

Texas Rangers Fans: Let's Go Yankees! Clap ... Clap ... ClapClapClap!!

​I've seen Mavericks' forward Popeye Jones inadvertently tip a jump ball into his own basket, giving the Cleveland Cavaliers two points. I've seen Cowboys' defensive lineman Leon Lett inexplicably attempt to recover a blocked field goal on an icy Thanksgiving field at Texas Stadium, handing t ... More >>

Should Deion Sanders Go Into the Hall of Fame as a Cowboy?

​Deion Sanders played for the Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, Washington Redskins and Baltimore Ravens. Why, then, does it feel like it's a no-brainer that he goes into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a Dallas Cowboy? He's - perhaps reluctantly - ours, right? Former Cowboys Bill ... More >>

Rangers 3, Yankees 0: As Good As it Gets

​Same as we shouldn't get too low with the Dallas Cowboys, let's not get too high with the Texas Rangers. Because, well ... oh eff it. You know what, let's do get high. I know the Rangers didn't face C.C. Sabathia or Andy Pettite, but sweeping the New York Yankees in September is about as goo ... More >>

Rookie Receiver Dez Bryant Has The Talent To Take The Cowboys To The Championship. But Does He Also Possess The Temperament To Push Them Into Chaos?

Josh Hamilton: More than the MVP

​In advance of this week's Observer column on Texas Rangers' outfielder Josh Hamilton I asked new owner Chuck Greenberg about signing his star to a new, long-term deal next winter. "With his bat and glove and legs and arm and heart, he's our MVP and I think the best player in the game today," ... More >>

A.A. Bondy Questions His Folk Tag

Rangers 4, Yankees 3: My Top 10 Observations

Yeah, but the Rangers' left fielder has reversed the curse. ​10. It's rare that Yankees' Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera surrenders three hits in an inning. And you usually don't win when you commit three errors against the best team in baseball. But each happened last night during the ... More >>

Whitt's End: 8.6.10

​Whether you're at the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt's End: *Since you guys salivate over local radio news, here's a zesty taste: Starting August 16 the new program director at 105.3 The Fan will be Bruce Gilbert. Yep, the same Bruce Gilbert who helped buil ... More >>

The Hard Lie

How former Ticket host Greg Williams destroyed the most dynamic duo in Dallas talk radio through drugs, deceit and disaffection

Museum's Loaded

Take us out to MNS

'Roid Rage

Baseball's new k*ng swats one close to home