Give a Hoot...or a Rangers card or two

I recently received an unexpected package from the one and only Night Owl. Usually when I get something from him it is a wonderful little mix of things. This was no exception and I stopped counting when I reached 10 as the number of different sets/years/manufacturers that he included. Here is just a small sample of the Rangers he sent over.

Here are a couple of 2009 Goodwin and Champions minis. I don't know why, but I love the minis. A&G, Goodwin, 206...I really do. I DO realize Joe Mauer isn't a Ranger, but he is #1 on my list of current non-Rangers to collect.

It is still refreshing to get a card I've never seen from a product I never bought. I like the vintage look of this 2006 Heritage Then and Now Ted Williams/Michael Young card. I like the back too.

On the left, we have the AL Batting Leaders from 1957. The list includes 4 Hall of Famers. Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Nellie Fox and Al Kaline. On the right, we have the 2005 AL Batting Leaders. This list include 4 former or current Rangers. Michael Young (current), Alex Rodriguez (former), Vladimir Guerrero (current) and Travis Hafner (former).

This 1992 Stadium Club Ivan Rodriguez All-Star card didn't scan right for some reason. You'll be seeing this in a special post soon so I'll just leave it at that.

Now we're talking! It looks like the photographer called Jim Sundberg's name on this 1984 Donruss card. I like the '84 Donruss set and it's one of the few complete sets I have from my childhood.

I had no idea Denny McLain ever played for the Rangers. There is a good reason for that.

He didn't.

He did pitch for the Washington Senators in 1971, the season before they moved to Arlington to become the Texas Rangers. In 1972, he pitched for the A's and Braves. McLain was a like a super nova, he burned bright, but not for very long. Between 1965 and 1969, he won 16, 20, 17, 31 and 24 games respectively. He won a total of 17 games over the last 4 seasons of his 10 year career and was done with baseball after 1972. He is the last pitcher to win 30+ games in a season.

He won the Cy Young and MVP award after his 31-6 season in 1968 and followed that up with another Cy Young the following year. For whatever reason, McLain has a Rangers card, it's vintage, and now I have a copy.

Thank you Night Owl. I really do appreciate it.