Rangers History Today: Bengie Molina Hits For The Cycle
On this date in Texas Rangers history, Bengie Molina hit for the cycle, less than a month after joining the Rangers for their drive to the 2010 American League championship.
On July 16, 2010, Molina and the Rangers were facing Boston. Molina did not have a good reputation as either a hitter or as a base runner. In fact, many considered him to be one of the Majors’ slowest base runners at that time. But that didn’t stop him on this day.
Molina started the game with a single, which he followed with a double. After that, Molina got the home run out of the way, and it was a big one — a grand slam. After that, all he needed was the triple, and in the eighth inning, he chugged his way to third base to take care of the cycle. Of course, in doing so, he injured his leg, which hampered him for the next few weeks.
At the time, he became the fifth Rangers player to hit for the cycle, and he was also the first catcher to hit for the cycle with a grand slam.
Molina retired after the 2010 postseason.
Also, on this date …
July 16, 1985: Outfielder Gary Ward was the only representative of the Rangers in the All-Star Game, held at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
July 16, 1993: Juan González hit his 100th career home run at 23 years and 9 months, the same age Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio completed the feat. González tied DiMaggio to be the 11th youngest player to reach 100 career home runs.
July 16, 2013: At New York, the Rangers sent Nelson Cruz, Joe Nathan, and Yu Darvish to the All-Star Game, hosted by the New York Mets.
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