Top 10 favorite players names in Texas Rangers history

Some of the games greatest names have suited up with the Texas Rangers.  Some players played just a few games while others played their entire career with the Rangers.

Here is a look at my favorite Rangers names in alphabetical order. (all stats courtesy of mlb.com and baseball-reference.com)

And be sure to check out some of our other top-10 lists!

Greatest Texas Rangers player names- Buddy Bell (1979-1985, 1989)

GP: 958

AB: 3,623

R: 471

H: 1,060

HR: 87

RBI: 499

SB: 24

AVG: .293

OBP: .351

Buddy Bell started playing MLB in 1972.  Bell started his MLB career by playing seven seasons with Cleveland, followed by parts of six seasons in Texas, parts of four seasons in Cincinnati, part of one season in Houston, and one final season in Texas before retiring at age 37.  In 18 MLB seasons, Bell played 2,405 games, had 2,514 hits, 201 HR, 1,106 RBI, and had a career .279 BA.  His best season in Texas occurred in 1979 when he led the AL with 670 AB, had 18 HR, 101 RBI, and a .299 AVG.  Bell was enshrined into the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame in 2004.

Oil Can Boyd (1991)

GP/GS: 12/12

IP: 62.0

W-L: 2-7

ERA: 6.68

Oil Can Boyd started playing MLB in 1982 with Boston.  Boyd played eight seasons for Boston, followed by parts of two seasons in Montreal, and finished his career with one season in Texas.  In 214 career games including 207 starts, Boyd retired with a record of 78-77, a 4.04 ERA, and 799 SO in 1,389.2 IP.

Oil Can has to be one of the most unique names in Texas Rangers history, and that merits inclusion on this list.

Bucky Dent (1982-1983)

GP: 177

AB: 563

R: 52

H: 131

HR: 3

RBI: 48

SB: 3

AVG: .233

OBP: .278

Bucky Dent started playing MLB in 1973.  Dent started his MLB career by playing four seasons with the Chicago White Sox, followed by parts of six seasons with the New York Yankess, parts of two seasons in Texas, and part of one season in Kansas City.  In 12 MLB seasons, Dent played 1,392 games, had 1,114 hits, 40 HR, 423 RBI, 17 SB, and a .247 BA.  His best season in Texas occurred in 1983 when Dent played 131 games, had 99 hits, 2 HR, 34 RBI, 3 SB, and a .237 AVG.

Rusty Greer (1994-2002)

GP: 1,027

AB: 3,829

R: 643

H: 1,166

HR: 119

RBI: 614

SB: 31

AVG: .305

OBP: .387

Rusty Greer started playing MLB in 1994.  He played his entire nine year career with the Rangers.  Greer hit 20 or more HR on two occasions (1997, 1999), had three 100+ RBI seasons (1996, 1998, 1999), and hit .300 or better on five occasions (1994, 1996-1999).  Greer was enshrined into the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame in 2007.

Oddibe McDowell (1985-1988, 1994)

GP: 572

AB: 2,005

R: 322

H: 503

HR: 57

RBI: 195

SB: 129

AVG: .251

OBP: .325

Oddibe McDowell started playing MLB in 1985.  McDowell started his MLB career by playing four seasons with Texas, followed by part of one season in Cleveland, and parts of two seasons in Atlanta.  After a four year absence, McDowell played his age 31 year for the Rangers before retiring from baseball.  In 7 MLB seasons, McDowell played 830 games, had 715 hits, 74 HR, 266 RBI, 169 SB, and a .253 BA.  His best season in Texas occurred in 1986 when McDowell had 152 hits in 154 games, 18 HR, 49 RBI, 33 SB, a .266 AVG, and a .341 OBP.

Mickey Rivers (1979-1984)

GP: 521

AB: 1,966

R: 276

H: 596

HR: 22

RBI: 168

SB: 48

AVG: .303

OBP: .327

Mickey Rivers started playing MLB in 1970.  Rivers started his MLB career by playing six seasons for Californaia, followed by parts of four seasons with the New York Yankees, and six seasons in Texas before retiring at age 35.  In 15 MLB seasons, Rivers played 1,468 games, had 1,660 hits, 61 HR, 499 RBI, 267 SB, a .295 BA, and a .327 OBP.  In 1975, Rivers led the AL with 70 SB.  His best season in Texas occurred in 1980 when Rivers scored 96 runs, had 210 hits, 60 RBI, 18 SB, and a .333 BA.

Dickie Thon (1992)

GP: 95

AB: 275

R: 30

H: 68

HR: 4

RBI: 37

SB: 12

AVG: .247

OBP: .293

Dickie Thon started playing MLB in 1979.  Thon started his MLB career by playing two seasons in Californaia, followed by seven seasons in Houston, one season in San Diego, three seasons in Philadelphia, one season in Texas, and one season in Milwaukee.  In 15 MLB seasons, Thon played 1,387 games, had 1,176 hits, 71 HR, 435 RBI, 167 SB, and a .264 BA.  In 1982, Thon led the NL with 10 triples.

Bump Wills (1977-1981)

GP: 703

AB: 2,611

R: 408

H: 693

HR: 30

RBI: 264

SB: 161

AVG: .265

OBP: .333

Bump Wills started playing MLB in 1977.  Wills started his MLB career by playing five seasons with Texas, followed by one season playing for the Chicago Cubs before retiring at age 29.  In six MLB seasons, Wills played 831 games, had 472 runs scored, 807 hits, 36 HR, 302 RBI, 196 SB, and a .266 BA. In 1978, Wills had 52 SB in 66 attempts.  In 1980, Wills scored an incredible 102 runs in 146 games.  His best season playing for the Texas Rangers occurred during his rookie season when Wills established career highs in hits (155), triples (6), HR (9), RBI (62), BB (65), BA (.287), and OBP (.361).

Richie Zisk (1978-1980)

GP: 419

AB: 1,462

R: 185

H: 396

HR: 59

RBI: 226

SB: 4

AVG: .271

OBP: .339

Richie Zisk started playing MLB in 1971.  Zisk started his MLB career by playing six seasons in Pittsburgh, followed by one season with the Chicago White Sox, three seasons in Texas, and two seasons in Seattle.  In 13 MLB seasons, Zisk played 1,453 games, had 1,477 hits, 207 HR, 792 RBI, a .287 AVG, .353 OBP, and .466 SLG.  He was steady during his three seasons in Texas.  His best season in Texas occurred in 1980 when Zisk had 19 HR, 77 RBI, a .290 AVG, a .344 OBP, a .460 SLG, and an .804 OPS.