Rangers History Today: A Look Back at 'Sele and Helling Take the Shelling'
On this date in Texas Rangers history, ‘Sele and Helling and take the shelling’ reached its peak as Rick Helling won yet another start.
It was May 19, 1998, as the Rangers hosted Seattle at The Ballpark in Arlington. Helling lasted just 5 2/3 innings, but he only gave up four runs on eight hits. Xavier Hernandez handled the rest of the game in relief, and the Rangers’ offense gave Helling more than enough offense in the 10-4 victory.
The 1998 season led the Rangers to their second American League West title, and Helling, along with Aaron Sele, formed the Rangers’ 1-2 punch on the mound.
The Boston Red Sox traded Sele to the Rangers in November of 1997, part of a five-player trade. Sele was the newbie to the Rangers’ rotation, but he led the Red Sox in wins in 1997. Two nights before Helling’s win, Sele helped the Rangers beat Cleveland, 1-0, which improved his record at the time to 7-2.
Helling was 7-1 for the season after his May 19 win, the best start of his career, which started in the Rangers’ organization as a first-round pick in 1992. Helling reached the Majors in 1994 and was a part-time starter and reliever for the Rangers until midway through the 1996 season, when he was included in the deal to secure John Burkett from the Florida Marlins.
Helling returned late in 1997, when the Rangers traded with the Marlins again.
Helling’s 1998, his first full season in a Rangers’ rotation, was just plain magic. He won 20 games for the only season of his career, made 33 starts and actually finished 21st in AL Most Valuable Player voting. Along with Sele’s 19 victories, the Rangers returned to the postseason.
Helling threw a perfect game at Triple-A Oklahoma City in 1996. He also won two World Series rings, both with the Florida Marlins. The Marlins awarded Helling a ring in 1997, even though the Marlins traded him. In 2003, he joined Florida after starting the season with Baltimore, and rode the Marlins’ wave to a second World Series ring, which included another former Rangers teammate — catcher Iván ‘Pudge’ Rodríguez.
Helling played 12 seasons and won 93 games in the Majors. But he never had a season quite like 1998.
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