Rangers History Today: Texas Runs After Ricky Williams
On this date in Texas Rangers history, the Rangers bought the contract of a Heisman Trophy winner.
On Dec. 15, 1998, the Rangers announced they were purchasing the contract of Ricky Williams. At the time, Williams had just claimed the 1998 Heisman Trophy as a running back for the University of Texas.
But, lost in the din of Williams’ long football career is the fact that he played baseball, too.
While he had signed a scholarship with Texas, when he exited high school in San Diego, California, in 1995 the Philadelphia Phillies took him in the eighth round of the MLB Draft. He was a well-regarded baseball prospect, but he went to Texas to play football.
But, like John Elway back in the 1980s, Williams played football in college while playing Minor League Baseball in the summers. He played four seasons in the Phillies’ system, mostly in Class A. He hit .211 with four home runs and 46 stolen bases.
When the Rule 5 Draft came around in late 1998, the Montreal Expos selected Williams. Then, the Expos passed along his rights to the Rangers.
The Rangers really had no chance at getting Williams to opt for baseball. Essentially, the Rangers paid the Expos $100,000 for the rights to put Williams in a Rangers uniform and run him out for a photo op.
With the Heisman and the Division I record for most career rushing yards in tow, the New Orleans Saints traded all of their draft picks in 1999 to select Williams No. 1 overall. In a football career filled with fits and starts, substance-abuse policy suspensions and a year in the CFL, Williams ended up rushing for just more than 10,000 career yards and earned All-Pro selection in 2002.
Also on this date …
Dec. 15, 1992: The Rangers signed reliever Tom Henke to a two-year, $8 million deal. Henke actually started his career in Texas, playing for the Rangers and in their organization from 1982-84 before the Blue Jays selected him as a compensatory pick in the 1984 offseason. Henke had a career-high 40 saves for the Rangers in 1993.
Dec. 15, 2019: The Rangers acquired two-time Cy Young award-winning pitcher Corey Kluber from Cleveland for Delino DeShields Jr. and Emmanuel Clase. Kluber started one game and pitched one inning for Texas before suffering a season-ending injury. The Rangers declined his club option in the offseason.
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