Roger Pavlik focused on throwing pitches for strikes in this August 1992 game, he told The Associated Press afterward.
He then nearly threw a shutout for his first major league win, The AP wrote.
"That was it. I just kept throwing them," Pavlik told The AP. "Sometimes, you're going to have a game like this."
Pavlik went on throw many big league strikes over seven major league seasons. He also went on to become a major league All-Star in 1996.
Pavlik's career began in 1986, taken by the Rangers in the second round of the draft out of Aldine High School in Texas.
Pavlik started with the Rangers in 1987 at single-A Gastonia. He went 2-7, with a 4.95 ERA. He made single-A Port Charlotte in 1989 and then saw 16 starts at AA Tulsa in 1990. He went 6-5 there, with a 2.33 ERA.
He made AAA Oklahoma City in 1991, then debuted with Texas in May 1992. He got 12 starts that year. He went 4-4, with a 4.21 ERA.
Pavlik then went 12-6 over 26 starts for the Rangers in 1993, with a 3.41 ERA. He got 11 starts for Texas in 1994 and 31 in 1995.
In 1996, he got 34 starts, went 15-8, with a 5.19 ERA and made the All-Star team. Pavlik threw six complete games in the first half and ended with a 11-2 record, both helping his All-Star candidacy, according to The AP.
His ERA, but a high ERA drew questions. His manager Johnny Oates overlooked the criticism, according to The AP.
"How many games has he won? That's all that matters," Oates told The AP. "We don't win pennants with ERAs. We win pennants with wins and losses. That's the criteria you judge with."
Pavlik returned to the Rangers over the next two seasons, but saw abbreviated time in both campaigns. He started 11 games in 1997 and saw five outings in 1998 to end his career.
- Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, Associated Press, Aug. 21, 1992: Improvements help Pavlik stop ChiSox in 6-1 win
- Deseret News, Associated Press, July 4, 1996: All-Star hurler Pavlik lowers ERA to 4.82
More: 1990 Tulsa Drillers
1990 Minor League TallyPlayers/Coaches Featured:3,081
Made the Majors:1,129-36.6%-X
Never Made Majors:1,952-63.4%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 468-X
10+ Seasons in the Minors:281
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