Rangers History Today: Three Homers & A Punch Heard ‘Round The World
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On this date in 1977, Willie Horton had a power surge the likes of which the Rangers had never seen in a single game.
On this date in Texas Rangers history, Willie Horton became the first player wearing a Rangers uniform to hit three home runs in a single game.
That moment came on May 15, 1977, at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, against the Kansas City Royals.
Horton’s home-run spree started in the top of the first inning as he a solo shot off starter Paul Splittorff. Then, in the fifth inning, Horton knocked one out of left field with one Ranger on base off Royals reliever Doug Bird. Finally, in the eighth inning, Horton deposited his third home run, again over the left-field fence, off Marty Pattin. The last homer run was a solo shot, too.
Horton was 3-for-3 that day, with 5 RBI and three runs scored. A sacrifice fly accounted for his final RBI of the game.
The Rangers ended up winning the game, 7-3. Rangers pitcher Adrian Devine started the game and claimed the victory, improving to 3-1 for the season. Paul Lindblad recorded his second save of the season.
Horton, a four-time All-Star and a 1968 World Series champion, spent the bulk of his career with the Detroit Tigers. The first-post Detroit stop of Horton’s 18-year Major League career was in Texas in 1977. The Tigers traded Horton to the Rangers after just one game in 1977, and Horton hit .289 with 15 home runs and 75 RBI that season. From there, Horton had stints with Cleveland, Oakland, Toronto, and Seattle before his career finally ended in 1980.
Horton was a lifetime .273 hitter with 262 home runs and 886 RBI.
Also on this date…
May 15, 2016: If there’s anything that could rival Nolan Ryan’s beating of Robin Ventura, it’s the punch heard ’round the world.
After a hard and late slide into second base, Toronto’s Joe Bautista popped up to find Rougned Odor taking exception. With tensions still high after Bautista’s massive bat flip from the 2015 postseason, then cranked up even further after Bautista was hit with a pitch shortly beforehand, that slide was all that was needed for everything to boil over.
Odor and Bautista shoved each other, with both players cocking their fists thereafter. However, Odor landed the only punch of the melee, and it’s one that knocked off Bautista’s batting helmet and sunglasses and sent Rangers fans into euphoria.
The benches quickly cleared and the two were separated. While Odor’s tenure as a Ranger declined after the 2016 season, this is the moment that most Rangers fans remember him for.
Editor’s Note: Chris Halicke contributed to this story.
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