Raffy and Texas, then and now

Sporting News, The, Sept 13, 1999 by Bob Hille

An older, wiser Rafael Palmeiro and a unifying rainbow mix in the clubhouse erase a leadership cloud in Arlington -- and the Rangers respond

Look deeply into these deeply dark eyes and see an older, wiser Rafael Palmeiro. Don t mistake the telltale wrinkles for age, but consider them a road map to a most memorable Rangers season in a place chock-full of memories for Palmeiro, some good, many not as good.

Now and then, Palmeiro marvels at where he is and where this Texas team is going.

Now when he stands in the batter's box at the Ballpark in Arlington, looking out to right field, he can see a perfect match: His swing, as sweet and potent as Cuban coffee, and a short porch so dose you'd swear you could reach out and touch the green.

Then he remembers a teammate bringing a pet tiger into the Rangers' clubhouse.

Now when he stands in the dugout, looking at the lineup card, he can see his name penciled in at the 5-hole and DH and wonder about August, a month as, well, august as any in the 28-year history of the Texas team formerly known as the Senators.

Then he remembers teammates gathering in the players' parking lot for a battle of the car-stereo systems.

Now when he stands up without standing out in the clubhouse, Palmeiro can see his way to being pleased but not yet satisfied with how very, very far this franchise has come from the days at old Arlington Stadium.

Then he remembers when the flamboyant Rangers, in his first stint with the club (1989 through 1993), never finished closer than eight games out of first place.

When the Rangers re-signed Palmeiro during the offseason, in essence opting for him over Will Clark (after Palmeiro initiated contact with Texas general manager Doug Melvin), it appeared on the surface a sound move based on baseball only. The numbers bear it out: Clark had 10 home runs and 29 RBIs for the Orioles before his season was ended last month by an elbow injury. Palmeiro had 15 homers and 39 RBIs ... in August.

Yet as the Rangers wind--and win--their way to their third A.L. West championship in four seasons, the alchemy of clubhouse chemistry is at the heart and soul of this team. And though Palmeiro's on-field production has his manager saying, "I feel like he's going to hit a ball hard every lime he goes to the plate," it is a different, more subtle effect he has had that separates Rafael Palmeiro now (an MVP candidate) from Rafael Palmeiro then (the '80s, and all of the baggage that time frame connotes).

This is an ideal clubhouse for Rangers manager Johnny Oates. He 'likes young players--in small doses. Breaking in one or two rookies a year is the right way for Oates. Like most managers, he's more comfortable with a Veteran team. He maintains a necessary distance from his team, believing a manager should be seen but not always heard in the clubhouse.

When he took over as Texas' manager before the 1995 season, he had the coffee pot removed from the manager's office and put in the players' lounge. That meant Oates would have to walk through the dubhouse to get each of his customary three cups of coffee before each game. Oates makes the same walk for the postgame spread. It's his way of not only getting to the buffet but also taking his club's pulse without being overbearing.

"I don't want to be in the clubhouse all the time," he says, "but I think it's important that the players see me."

Oates' style works only if the players can handle the responsibility. A manager is only as good as his players are on the field and in the clubhouse. And with a mandate from ownership this season to reach beyond the first round of the playoffs, this team has reached a team-record 27 games over .500 while maintaining a cool calmness in what in another time was a powder keg of a clubhouse.

Rafael Palmeiro, who'll turn 35 later this month, lived--and participated in--the bad old days of the style-over-substance Rangers and their raucous and poisonous clubhouse. More than anyone, he understands the significance of what goes on in this clubhouse during this winning season.

"It's been a building process with this team," says Palmeiro, who adds that he could see the evolution from the opposing dugout while with the Orioles from 1994 through '98. "This team was maturing, changing. Ifs the personalities in this room that make us a team."

A baseball clubhouse can be a volatile place. Players spend six, seven months together. A bad blend can turn the clubhouse into a snake pit The Rangers have a Rainbow Coalition mix: young and old; Hispanics from four countries, blacks from California and whites from the South; guys whose musical tastes run from the Beastie Boys to Mana, Faith Evans to Faith Hill.

The exotic ingredients produce, Oates says, a "consistently blah" clubhouse. That is the most telling statement yet about this team The Rangers will win the A.L. West because of a powerful offense, led by Palmeiro, fellow MVP candidate Ivan Rodriguez and mercurial cleanup hitter Juan Gonzalez, and a deep bullpen that overcomes a marginal but increasingly consistent rotation. They also will win because of--are you listening, Kevin Malone?--an internal balance that reflects a good Clubhouse mix.