Rangers History Today: Honeycutt's Inevitable ERA Title

On this day, a Rangers pitcher won the American League ERA title, though no one knew it at the time.

On this date in Texas Rangers history, a Rangers pitcher won an earned run average title. Well, not on this day. But as it turned out, it was inevitable.

On August 19, 1983, the Los Angeles Dodgers came to the Rangers with a trade offer. They needed pitching help for the stretch run. The Rangers probably weren’t going to hang onto the Dodgers’ target. So the Rangers took young flamethrower Dave Stewart and Ricky Wright in exchange for Rick Honeycutt.

At the time Honeycutt was the Rangers’ best starter. He had a 14-8 record and he left the American League with a 2.42 ERA, which at the time led the league. Now, you don’t normally see a player that leaves one league for another ended up winning an award in his previous league. But, in baseball, it’s not about what league you finish in. It’s about whether you have the stats to qualify.

Honeycutt did. By that point he had thrown 174 2/3 innings, which was enough to qualify him for the ERA title, whether he stayed in the American League or not. In a full season, you usually need 162 innings to qualify.

Honeycutt’s absence hardly mattered to the Rangers, who were headed for a third-place finish in the AL West, which put them 22 games behind the Chicago White Sox. Meanwhile, Baltimore starter Mike Boddicker was unable to catch Honeycutt for the AL ERA title, as he finished second with a 2.77 ERA.

As for Honeycutt and the Dodgers? Honeycutt didn’t carry his magic with him out to LA, as he went 2-3. The Dodgers won the National League West crown, but they were unable to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies for the NL pennant.

Honeycutt eventually won his World Series win with the Oakland Athletics in 1989. Oddly enough, one of his teammates on that team was Stewart, whom the Rangers traded to Oakland a few years later.

Also on this date:

August 19, 1980: Texas pitcher Jon Matlack held Kansas City’s George Brett hitless in a 4-3 Royals win. That snapped Brett’s 30-game hitting streak.

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• 'I'm Just Trying To Better Myself': Hearn's Solid Start Paves First Step Into Rangers Rotation

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