The 2002 Texas Rangers season was the 42nd of the Texas Rangers franchise overall, their 31st in Arlington as the Rangers, and their 9th season at The Ballpark in Arlington. The Rangers finished fourth in the American League West with a record of 72 wins and 90 losses.

Preseason October 29, 2001: Edinson Vólquez was signed by the Rangers as an amateur free agent.Edinson Vólquez page at Baseball Reference November 26, 2001: Todd Van Poppel was signed as a free agent by the Rangers.Todd Van Poppel page at Baseball Reference December 13, 2001: John Vander Wal was traded by the San Francisco Giants to the New York Yankees for Jay Witasick.John Vander Wal page at Baseball Reference December 18, 2001: Dave Elder was traded by the Rangers to the Cleveland Indians for John Rocker.John Rocker page at Baseball Reference January 8, 2002: Juan González was signed as a free agent by the Rangers.Juan González page at Baseball Reference February 28, 2002: Tony Mounce was signed as a free agent by the Rangers.Tony Mounce page at Baseball Reference March 19, 2002: Justin Duchscherer was traded by the Texas Rangers to the Oakland Athletics for Luis Vizcaíno.

Regular season

Opening Day starters

Iván Rodríguez, C Rafael Palmeiro, 1B Michael Young, 2B Hank Blalock, 3B Alex Rodriguez, SS Gabe Kapler, LF Carl Everett, CF Juan González, RF Frank Catalanotto, DH Chan Ho Park, RHP

Season summary Alex Rodriguez had a major league-best 57 HR, 142 RBI and 389 total bases in 2002, becoming the first player to lead the majors in all three categories since 1984. He had the 6th-most home runs in AL history, the most since Roger Maris' league record 61 in 1961, and the most ever for a shortstop for the 2nd straight year while also winning his first Gold Glove Award, awarded for outstanding defense. The 109 home runs hit by Alex Rodriguez in 2001–02 are the most ever by an American League right-handed batter in consecutive seasons. However, the Rangers finished last in the AL Western division in both years, a showing that likely cost Rodriguez the MVP award in 2002 when he finished second to fellow shortstop Miguel Tejada, whose 103-win Oakland A's won the same division. The Rangers set the Major League record for most consecutive games with at least one home run, with 27, which eventually was broken in 2019 by the New York Yankees.

Season standings

American League Wild Card

Record vs. opponents

Transactions July 31, 2002: Gabe Kapler, Jason Romano and cash were traded by the Rangers to the Colorado Rockies for Dennys Reyes and Todd Hollandsworth.Gabe Kapler page at Baseball Reference

Roster 2002 Texas Rangers Roster Pitchers Catchers

Infielders Outfielders Manager

Coaches (pitching)(beginning of season-June 21) (bench) (first base) (hitting) (pitching)(June 22-) (bullpen) (third base)

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI C Iván Rodríguez 108 408 128 .314 19 60 1B Rafael Palmeiro 155 546 149 .273 43 105 2B Michael Young 156 573 150 .262 9 62 3B Herbert Perry 132 450 124 .276 22 77 SS Alex Rodriguez 162 624 187 .300 57 142 LF Kevin Mench 110 366 95 .260 15 60 CF Rubén Rivera 69 158 33 .209 4 14 RF Juan González 70 277 78 .282 8 35 DH Rusty Greer 51 199 59 .296 1 17

Other batters Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI Carl Everett 105 374 100 .267 16 62 Mike Lamb 115 314 89 .283 9 33 Frank Catalanotto 68 212 57 .269 3 23 Gabe Kapler 72 196 51 .260 0 17 Bill Haselman 69 179 44 .246 3 18 Hank Blalock 49 147 31 .211 3 17 Todd Hollandsworth 39 132 34 .258 5 19 Todd Greene 42 112 30 .268 10 19 Ryan Ludwick 23 81 19 .235 1 9 Calvin Murray 37 77 13 .169 0 1 Travis Hafner 23 62 15 .242 1 6 Jason Romano 29 54 11 .204 0 4 Donnie Sadler 38 30 3 .100 0 2 Jason Hart 10 15 4 .267 0 0 Héctor Ortiz 7 14 3 .214 1 2

Pitching

Starting pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SOKenny Rogers33210.21383.84107Ismael Valdéz23146.2693.9375Chan-Ho Park25145.2985.75121Dave Burba23111.1455.4270Rob Bell1794.0436.2270Joaquín Benoit1784.2455.3159Doug Davis1059.2354.9828Ben Kozlowski210.0006.306

Other pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SOAaron Myette1548.12510.0648Dennys Reyes1542.1436.3829Colby Lewis1534.1136.2928

Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L SV ERA SO Hideki Irabu3847.038165.7430Todd Van Poppel5072.23215.4585Jay Powell5149.23203.4435Francisco Cordero3945.120101.7941Juan Alvarez5239.20404.7630Rudy Seánez3333.01305.7340Danny Kolb3432.03614.2220John Rocker3024.12316.6630Anthony Telford2023.22116.4619Steve Woodard1417.20006.6214Rich Rodriguez 3616.23215.4012Chris Michalak 1314.10204.405C.J. Nitkowski1213.20102.6314Randy Flores2012.00014.507Dan Miceli98.10 208.645Reynaldo Garcia32.000031.502

Awards and honors Alex Rodriguez, Hank Aaron Award Alex Rodriguez, A.L. Home Run Champ Alex Rodriguez, SS, AL Gold Glove Alex Rodriguez, Silver Slugger Award, Kenny Rogers, P, Gold Glove,

All-Star Game

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Charlotte

References

2002 Texas Rangers team page at Baseball Reference 2002 Texas Rangers team page at www.baseball-almanac.com