Rangers History Today: Franco's Path To A Batting Title
On this date in Texas Rangers history, Julio Franco had two hits in the clean-up spot as his march to his one and only career batting title continued.
On June 20, 1991, the Rangers were in Chicago to face the White Sox. The Rangers brought the bats, as they won the game, 7-3. Franco homered in the game, going 2-for-3 overall. Juan González and Ruben Sierra also went deep, and each had two RBI.
You would have thought that was enough offense for Rangers starter Kevin Brown to get the win. But he had the misfortune of leaving the game in the seventh inning having surrendered the 2-0 lead the Rangers handed him. But, the Rangers’ bats toasted starter Jack McDowell and his replacements, Bobby Thigpen and Mélido Pérez, for five runs in the ninth inning. That gave Rangers reliever Mike Jeffcoat his third win of the season.
After that game, Franco was hitting .317 for the season. At the time, his teammate, Rafael Palmeiro, was hitting .319. But, by season’s end, Franco would secure the first American League batting title in Rangers history.
Franco ended up hitting an incredible .341 for the season, with 201 hits, 15 home runs, 78 RBI and 36 stolen bases. Behind him was perennial AL batting champ Wade Boggs of Boston. That season, Franco also made the AL All-Star team for the third straight season.
Franco put together an epic 23-year career that started in Philadelphia in 1982 when he was 23 years old and ended in 2007 as a 48-year-old with the New York Mets and Atlanta. In between, Franco missed the 1998 and 2000 seasons, and played just one game in 1999 with Tampa Bay. During that break from MLB, he played in Japan, Mexico and South Korea. He was a .300 hitter as late as 2004, when he played 125 games for Atlanta and hit .309.
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