October 3, 1993: With Nolan Ryan watching, George Brett collects his final hit in last game at Arlington Stadium

On the day after it hosted its 1,750th and final major-league game in October 1993,1 Arlington Stadium was described by the Dallas metropolitan “hometown” Fort Worth Star Telegram as “a child playing dress-up in a grown-up’s clothes” and “a minor-leaguer masquerading as a major-league ballpark.”2

In fact, Arlington Stadium was a converted minor-league park. Known as Turnpike Stadium and seating just 10,500 when it opened in 1965 for the Double-A Texas League’s Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs, it became the home of the Texas Rangers when the American League’s Washington Senators3 relocated after the 1971 season. The stadium capacity was increased to 35,739 for the Rangers’ arrival and, after multiple expansions, was 43,521 at the time of the final game,4 which drew an announced crowd of 41,039.5

Although the Rangers never qualified for the playoffs during their 22-year stay there, Arlington Stadium had its share of memorable moments: Mike Witt pitched a perfect game on the final day of the 1984 season, Nolan Ryan fanned Rickey Henderson for his 5,000th career strikeout in 1989, and Ryan struck out Roberto Alomar to complete his seventh career no-hitter in 1991. The park also was home to the MVP season of Jeff Burroughs (1974), a batting title by Julio Franco (1991), and home-run titles by Juan González (1992 and 1993).6

Other unforgettable moments were the Rangers rushing local 18-year-old high-school phenom David Clyde straight to the major leagues in 1973, and Ryan pummeling Robin Ventura after the Chicago White Sox third baseman charged the mound after being hit by a pitch just two months earlier on August 4, 1993.

Arlington Stadium also was the birthplace of two ballpark innovations that spread around the game – nachos at the concession stands and dot races on the scoreboard.7

The final game had once looked as though it would provide a final face-off between two baseball icons, Ryan and Kansas City Royals third baseman George Brett. Ryan had announced that 1993 would be his final season and was scheduled to start the final game but hurt his arm in the first inning on September 22 in Seattle, ending his remarkable career with 324 wins and a major-league record 5,714 strikeouts.

Although he did not announce his own intention to retire until September 25, Brett had realized the potential showdown against Ryan. “Someone told me a month ago that it was slated for Nolan Ryan to pitch on Sunday and I had known a month ago that I was going to retire,” Brett said. “So I was hoping for that scenario.”8

“You don’t really look forward to facing Nolan Ryan, but when you know you’re never gonna face him again, it could be the last guy you ever face, the last guy you get a hit off of, the last guy he ever strikes out, you look forward to that challenge.”9

Rather than square off on the field, the two baseball greats had to settle for a handshake and photo at home plate as they exchanged the lineup cards before the game.10

Texas entered the game at 86-75 with second place secured in the American League West, matching their best finish ever. They were seven games behind the division champion White Sox and three games ahead of third-place Kansas City.

With Ryan unavailable, Texas gave the ball to rookie right-hander Steve Dreyer, who was 3-2 with a 6.55 ERA in nine games since his debut on August 8.11 The Royals countered with their ace, 25-year-old right-hander Kevin Appier, who sported a 17-8 record with a league-leading 2.61 ERA.

Through the first five innings, Dreyer and Appier dominated. Dreyer allowed just a single to Gary Gaetti in the second, a walk to Bob Hamelin in the fourth,12 and a single to Kevin McReynolds in the fifth. Appier was just as good, giving up just a double in the second to Franco and a single to Manuel Lee in the third.

After Dreyer pitched a perfect sixth – including strikeouts of José Lind and Brian McRae – the Rangers finally broke through against Appier, taking a 1-0 lead on a walk to Lee and a two-out double by Doug Strange.

Dreyer again set the Royals down in order in the seventh – and was matched by Appier, who struck out Rangers sluggers González, Franco, and Iván Rodríguez.

Kansas City finally got to Dreyer in the eighth. After Brent Mayne popped to third, McReynolds doubled to right field. Greg Gagne followed with a long home run down the line in left to give the Royals a 2-1 lead.

In his final inning, Appier worked around a two-out single by Lee to send the game to the ninth with a one-run advantage. He finished with eight innings pitched, allowing four hits, walking one, and striking out 10 while lowering his ERA to 2.56.

Leading off the top of the ninth was Brett, who stepped into the box for his 11,625th and final plate appearance as a major leaguer. After singling in his final at-bat at Kauffman Stadium in front of his home fans on September 29, he was 0-for-11 since arriving in Texas.

With Ryan tipping his hat and players from both teams standing in front of their dugout,13 Brett fell behind Rangers reliever Tom Henke before bouncing a 1-and-2 pitch up the middle for the 3,154th hit of his career and setting his lifetime average at .305.14

“It was as emotional as I’ve ever gotten on a baseball field,” said Brett. “I knew it was my last one. I was nervous. I was shaking.”15

“I just hit it and ran,” he continued. “I was telling myself ‘I got to run as fast as I have in my life.’ I didn’t want to run across the infield back to the dugout again. I’ve done that too many times.”16

“It wasn’t pretty,” Brett added. “I wish it was a line drive somewhere, but beggars can’t be choosy. I was just glad to be standing on first base.”17

“It was nice to come here rather than any other stadiums. If I couldn’t play my last game in Kansas City, or Los Angeles, where I grew up, I’m glad I got to end it here.”18

Brett unknowingly had help on this final hit, which he described as “a 27-hopper.”19 Rangers shortstop Lee, who said Brett was his favorite player, had decided earlier if the ball was hit toward him, he would let it go through. “If I go after it, I get it, easy,” Lee said afterward.20

One out later, Gaetti collected the final hit at Arlington Stadium21 when he launched a homer to left-center to score Brett (his 1,583rd career run) and give Kansas City a 4-1 lead.

Jeff Montgomery took over for Kansas City in the bottom of the ninth and quickly recorded the final three outs, retiring Strange on a fly to center, Rafael Palmeiro on strikes, and González on a groundball to Gagne at shortstop.  The save was Montgomery’s 45th of the season, which tied him with Toronto’s Duane Ward for the American League lead.22

Afterward, the Rangers reflected on the closing of Arlington Stadium. “It was an exciting day, not a sad one,” said Franco. “There are a lot of good memories here.”23

First baseman Palmeiro felt different.24 “It’s no big deal. When you look at the stadium, you’re glad this is the last one. There are a lot of memories here, but when you see that new stadium going up across the street, you want to get out of this one and into the new one.”25

Brett reflected on his final game: “Today wasn’t a fun day, and it wasn’t a sad day. It was somewhere in between. It’s sad because the season has ended and my career has ended. But I’m happy because it was my decision. It wasn’t anyone else’s decision.”26

After the game Rangers officials dug up home plate and a police motorcycle caravan drove it across the street to the site of the new ballpark.27

The crowd was introduced to the all-time Rangers team.28 Ryan’s was the last name called and he received the loudest ovation.29 After tipping his cap one last time, the Texas legend climbed into a convertible and was driven to the new ballpark.30

Due to his injury, Ryan had come to grips with the end of his career. “Obviously, I have thought about it a lot,” he said. “Four or five days after I hurt my arm was the hardest time, realizing it was over. I don’t think about it as the last time. I think about it as a ceremony honoring the all-time team.”31

Both Ryan and Brett were inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.

The Texas Rangers moved into The Ballpark in Arlington for the 1994 season, but their biggest star – and their longtime foe32 – ended his career in a ballpark that may have lacked charm but proudly served as the Rangers first home for 22 seasons.

Author’s Note

The author watched this game with his wife and four friends from the left-field bleachers. They also attended the previous two games. After this game, they stood outside the ballpark as the Rangers all-time team was driven in convertibles to ceremonies that were to take place in construction of The Ballpark in Arlington. As Ryan’s car slowly passed, the author stepped forward to shake hands with the pitching legend. According to the author’s wife, he stepped directly in front of her as she took a step forward to do the same. He has no memory of that happening.

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Mark Richard and copy-edited by Len Levin.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted data from Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org. He also reviewed a recording of the Home Sports Entertainment (HSE) television broadcast of the game and postgame ceremonies, posted on YouTube.com.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/TEX/TEX199310030.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1993/B10030TEX1993.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Xt1heE52gU

Notes

1 The Rangers finished their stay in Arlington Stadium with a record of 906-844 (.518).

2 “Fans Say Goodbye to Arlington Stadium,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, October 4, 1993: 1.

3 The original Washington Senators moved to Minnesota after the 1960 season. Washington was given an expansion team (also known as the Senators) in 1961 to take their place; the second iteration of the Senators relocated to Texas and became the Rangers for the 1972 season.

4 Will Osgood, “Arlington Stadium (Texas),” SABR Baseball Biography Project, accessed October 20, 2023, https://sabr.org/bioproj/park/arlington-stadium-texas/.

5 The less-than-capacity attendance was likely due to the local NFL team, the Dallas Cowboys, hosting the Green Bay Packers in front of a crowd of 63,568 in nearby Irving, Texas.

6 Although he was 0-for-4 in this game, González won the AL home-run title with 46 – despite missing 22 games – when Ken Griffey Jr. failed to homer in Minnesota. González was the first AL player to win consecutive outright home-run titles since Boston’s Jim Rice in 1977 and 1978. He tied with San Francisco’s Barry Bonds for the major-league lead.

7 Arnie Stapleton (Associated Press), “Royals Win Arlington Stadium’s Swan Song,” Austin American-Statesman, October 4, 1993: D4.

8 Arnie Stapleton, “Last Day for Ryan, Stadium,” Abilene (Texas) Reporter-News, October 4, 1993: 5B.

9 Simon González, “Ryan Express Pulls Out Amid Ovations,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, October 4, 1993: C5.

10 Brett was 29-for-101 against Ryan in his career with 4 doubles, 2 triples and 8 RBIs. He walked 14 times and struck out 18 times but never homered against Ryan.

11 Dreyer appeared in just five more major-league games, all with Texas in 1994.

12 Hamelin made his major-league debut on September 12 and played in 16 games in 1993. In the strike-shortened 1994 season, he hit 24 homers with 65 RBIs in 101 games and was named American League Rookie of the Year.

13 Arnie Stapleton, “Royals Win Arlington Stadium’s Swan Song.”

14 “KC @ TEX: Brett Singles in Final At-Bat,” YouTube video (MLB.com), 1:20, accessed October 20, 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f5NAUHM44U.

15 Arnie Stapleton, “Royals Win Arlington Stadium’s Swan Song.”

16 “Royals Win Arlington Stadium’s Swan Song,”

17 Tony DeMarco, “Typically, Brett Goes Out Swinging,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, October 4, 1993: C5.

18 Brett hit his first career home run at Arlington Stadium on May 8, 1974, against future Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins. In his career, he hit 21 homers at Arlington Stadium, more than he hit at any visiting ballpark other than Tiger Stadium (22).

19 DeMarco.

20 DeMarco.

21 The first hit at Arlington Stadium was also a home run. In the first game on April 21, 1972, Rangers first baseman Frank Howard homered against Angels pitcher Clyde Wright with two outs in the bottom of the first inning.

22 Duane Ward never recorded another save. He missed the entire 1994 season with a partially torn rotator cuff and pitched just 2⅔ innings in 1995 before his career ended.

23 T.R. Sullivan, “Rangers Close Doors with Familiar Verdict,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, October 4, 1993: C5.

24 Palmeiro was a free agent after the season and signed with the Baltimore Orioles. After five seasons in Baltimore, he returned to Texas as a free agent and was a member of the Rangers again from 1999 to 2003.

25 Sullivan.

26 DeMarco.

27 Mark Wilson, “A Texas-Sized Day for Farewells,” Abilene Reporter-News, October 4, 1993: 5B.

28 Former Rangers named to the all-time team were Fergie Jenkins, Gaylord Perry, Charlie Hough, Jim Sundberg, Ruben Sierra, Buddy Bell, Mickey Rivers, Larry Parrish, and Toby Harrah. Also included were current Rangers Kevin Brown, Rodriguez, Gonzalez, Palmeiro, Franco, and Henke. “A Texas-Sized Day for Farewells.”

29 González.

30 González.

31 DeMarco.

32 Brett debuted on August 2, 1973, near the end of the Rangers’ second season in Texas. He played in 244 total games against Texas and hit 34 home runs. At the time of his retirement, Brett was the all-time leader among Rangers opponents in at-bats (931), hits (291), and RBIs (155). DeMarco.