Rangers History Today: The Dawn of Interleague Play

Back in 1997, interleague play was a novelty, and the Rangers had the chance to take the lid off of a 'first' in MLB history

On this date in Texas Rangers history, the Rangers hosted the first regular-season Interleague game in Major League history against the San Francisco Giants.

On June 12, 1997, the Rangers were given the honor of sparking Major League Baseball’s latest experiment — yearly games between teams from both leagues. MLB paired the different divisions together, so the Rangers would face teams from the NL West. It was the first time the AL and NL had played games against each other in the regular season in the then-126 year history of MLB.

The Giants came to town first, along with a lot of pomp and circumstance.

The biggest pre-game ceremony came with the ceremonial first pitch, as each franchise brought out their biggest legend to do the honors. For the Rangers, of course, it was Nolan Ryan, who had just retired four years earlier. For the Giants, it was former center fielder Willie Mays, who retired after the 1973 season.

Giants center fielder Darryl Hamilton, who played with the Rangers in 1996, had the honor of being the first player to record a hit in Interleague play, and the Giants won the game, 4-3. Stan Javier had the big game for the Giants, going 3-for-4 with a home run.

Rusty Greer had a three-hit game for the Rangers, while Billy Ripken had two hits and drove in two runs. But the Giants had a three-run binge in the seventh inning to overcome a two-run Rangers lead.

Giants starter Mark Gardner pitched eight innings for the win, while Rod Beck pitched the ninth for his 20th save. Darren Oliver started for the Rangers and took the loss, dropping to 3-8 for the season.

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