McMaster
01-22-2005, 10:07 PM
Rangers impress Delgado
By STEPHEN HAWKINS, AP Sports Writer
January 21, 2005
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- With the chance to impress Carlos Delgado, Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks made an offer Friday that got the attention of the free-agent first baseman.
``Tom Hicks said that he was going to come to Puerto Rico and give it his best shot,'' Delgado's agent, David Sloane, said in an e-mail. ``He did all that and more.''
Texas, competing with the New York Mets, Florida and Baltimore, made progress during the four-hour session in Puerto Rico.
``I think they recognize it was a very strong offer, I think they recognize we went certainly farther ... it was more aggressive than anything we talked about before,'' Hicks said. ``I think we made a very compelling offer.''
Hicks wouldn't go into details about the offer. He expects Delgado will decide on the Rangers' offer by the end of the weekend.
Sloane said he expected to talk to Texas again this weekend ``in an attempt to sustain the positive momentum we generated today.''
General manager John Hart and manager Buck Showalter, who got contract extensions Friday, joined Hicks for the meeting. The group then returned to Texas. Hart and Showalter had also met with Delgado during the winter meetings last month.
New York Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon and general manager Omar Minaya met with Delgado in Puerto Rico for about three hours Thursday. It was Delgado's second meeting with the Mets.
Delgado would be an impressive addition to a youthful Texas lineup that includes All-Stars Alfonso Soriano, Michael Young and Hank Blalock, and switch-hitting slugger Mark Teixeira, like Delgado a first baseman.
Hart said there was ``a lot of non-money conversation'' with Delgado, including the dynamics of the lineup and said that issue wasn't a sticking point. There was no commitment made to Delgado about how much he would play first base or be the designated hitter.
But Teixeira went to Hart's office unsolicited in October and said he was willing to change positions if there was the chance to get a player like Delgado.
Delgado hit at least 30 homers in each of the past eight seasons in Toronto. In 155 career at-bats in Arlington, he has hit .316 with 19 homers and 43 RBIs.
After four straight last-place finishes in the AL West, the Rangers were 89-73 last season in Showalter's second year and remained in contention until the final week. They finished third, but were just three games behind division champion Anaheim and won 18 more games than in 2003.
Showalter was voted AL Manager of the Year. His three-year contract extension is through 2009, with a team option for 2010.
Hart's contract was extended through 2006, after which it becomes renewable annually. When he's finished as GM, Hart will have a five-year deal as a senior adviser to Hicks.
``We have our management team in place that we want to continue to build this organization,'' Hicks said. ``I'm confident we have the right foundation for long-term success.''
Showalter is already tied with Pat Corrales for the third-most wins (160) by a manager in Texas history, with only Bobby Valentine (581) and Johnny Oates (506) ahead of him.
Showalter is 723-668 overall in nine seasons, previously with the New York Yankees (1992-95) and Arizona Diamondbacks (1998-2000), who both went to the World Series the year after he left.
Hart is entering his fourth season in Texas and his 14th consecutive season as a major league GM, having been in Cleveland for two World Series before joining Texas. Only Atlanta general manager John Schuerholz has a longer active tenure.
By STEPHEN HAWKINS, AP Sports Writer
January 21, 2005
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- With the chance to impress Carlos Delgado, Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks made an offer Friday that got the attention of the free-agent first baseman.
``Tom Hicks said that he was going to come to Puerto Rico and give it his best shot,'' Delgado's agent, David Sloane, said in an e-mail. ``He did all that and more.''
Texas, competing with the New York Mets, Florida and Baltimore, made progress during the four-hour session in Puerto Rico.
``I think they recognize it was a very strong offer, I think they recognize we went certainly farther ... it was more aggressive than anything we talked about before,'' Hicks said. ``I think we made a very compelling offer.''
Hicks wouldn't go into details about the offer. He expects Delgado will decide on the Rangers' offer by the end of the weekend.
Sloane said he expected to talk to Texas again this weekend ``in an attempt to sustain the positive momentum we generated today.''
General manager John Hart and manager Buck Showalter, who got contract extensions Friday, joined Hicks for the meeting. The group then returned to Texas. Hart and Showalter had also met with Delgado during the winter meetings last month.
New York Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon and general manager Omar Minaya met with Delgado in Puerto Rico for about three hours Thursday. It was Delgado's second meeting with the Mets.
Delgado would be an impressive addition to a youthful Texas lineup that includes All-Stars Alfonso Soriano, Michael Young and Hank Blalock, and switch-hitting slugger Mark Teixeira, like Delgado a first baseman.
Hart said there was ``a lot of non-money conversation'' with Delgado, including the dynamics of the lineup and said that issue wasn't a sticking point. There was no commitment made to Delgado about how much he would play first base or be the designated hitter.
But Teixeira went to Hart's office unsolicited in October and said he was willing to change positions if there was the chance to get a player like Delgado.
Delgado hit at least 30 homers in each of the past eight seasons in Toronto. In 155 career at-bats in Arlington, he has hit .316 with 19 homers and 43 RBIs.
After four straight last-place finishes in the AL West, the Rangers were 89-73 last season in Showalter's second year and remained in contention until the final week. They finished third, but were just three games behind division champion Anaheim and won 18 more games than in 2003.
Showalter was voted AL Manager of the Year. His three-year contract extension is through 2009, with a team option for 2010.
Hart's contract was extended through 2006, after which it becomes renewable annually. When he's finished as GM, Hart will have a five-year deal as a senior adviser to Hicks.
``We have our management team in place that we want to continue to build this organization,'' Hicks said. ``I'm confident we have the right foundation for long-term success.''
Showalter is already tied with Pat Corrales for the third-most wins (160) by a manager in Texas history, with only Bobby Valentine (581) and Johnny Oates (506) ahead of him.
Showalter is 723-668 overall in nine seasons, previously with the New York Yankees (1992-95) and Arizona Diamondbacks (1998-2000), who both went to the World Series the year after he left.
Hart is entering his fourth season in Texas and his 14th consecutive season as a major league GM, having been in Cleveland for two World Series before joining Texas. Only Atlanta general manager John Schuerholz has a longer active tenure.