Rangers History Today: 'Hoss-steria' Hits Its Peak
On this date, ‘Hoss-steria’ reached its zenith in Arlington.
Dave Hostetler is not a memorable player in Rangers history, at least not in the Hall of Fame sense. He carved out a seven-year Major League career where he hit just .229, with 37 home runs and 124 RBI. Before that, he won a College World Series crown with USC in 1978. That led to a fourth-round selection in the 1978 Draft by Montreal. Hostetler made his MLB debut with Montreal in 1981, but just before the 1982 season Hostetler found his way to Arlington.
The Expos traded him, along with Larry Parrish, to the Rangers for outfielder Al Oliver on March 31, 1982. By June 26, 1982, Hostetler was playing like he was on his way to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
In his piece for MLB.com, T.R. Sullivan, the former Fort Worth Star-Telegram beat writer, detailed Hostetler’s incredible summer, which reached its peak on this day. Hostetler and the Rangers were at home in Arlington, hosting, Oakland. By this point, everyone knew who Hostetler was and 30,728 poured into the stadium to see him hit another home run. The Rangers weren’t drawing many fans, and Hostetler gave them a reason to come out to the ballpark.
The next day, June 27, Hostetler hit another home run. By the end of the month, Hostetler had 11 home runs, 22 RBIs and a .273 batting average. The Rangers though they had themselves their next star. As Sullivan detailed, the Rangers played the theme song to television’s ‘Bonanza’ every time Hostetler came up to bat. Hostetler may well have been the first player to have walk-up music before an at-bat.
Hostetler’s star didn’t shine much longer. He did end that season with 22 home runs, which led the Rangers. But he only hit .232 and struck out 113 times. By 1985, Hostetler was out of baseball. He played two seasons with the Nankai Hawks overseas and managed to squeeze in a few games with Pittsburgh in 1988.
But for Rangers fans of a certain vintage, that summer of 1982 is well worth remembering.
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