The Texas Rangers added two new names to their Hall of Fame on Tuesday, as slugger and two-time AL MVP Juan Gonzalez and pitcher Jeff Russell were both added to the franchise's Hall of Fame, as voted on by members of the media, club officials and previous inductees.
The induction ceremony will take place on July 11 before a home game against the San Diego Padres at Globe Life Park. Hopefully Gonzalez will show up.
The enigmatic former superstar was actually voted into the Hall of Fame back in 2013, but he declined the invitation. This time around, the Rangers are just doing it anyway, and it's easy to see why — he's one of the best players to ever play for the franchise and led them to their first postseason appearances and AL West titles.
Over 11 seasons, Gonzalez hit .294 with a .915 OPS to go with his 340 homers and 1,075 RBIs while leading the Rangers to their first division title and three in four years while winning two AL MVP awards in 1996 and 1998. He then left for Detroit in 2000, Cleveland in 2001 and then came back to Texas in 2002 for a much less successful two-year stint before ending his career with one at-bat for Cleveland in 2005.
Russell was both a starter and reliever for the Rangers. He was an All-Star starter in 1988 and was then an All-Star closer in 1989. He was traded to Oakland during the 1992 season before coming back to Texas in 1995 and then retiring after the 1996 season.
