[Terry D]

Mike Hart was yet another of those guys who deserved a better fate. He came into the Montreal Expos chain in 1972 as a second baseman, but the Expos soon switched him to the outfield. Mike toiled away for them in the Minors until 1978, when he had a fine year at AAA Denver (.969 OPS). The Expos passed him to the Rangers all the same, and in '79 he had nearly as good a year for the Rangers at AAA Tucson (.303 BA, .892 OPS). Mike drew quite a few walks, he could drive the ball, and he was a smart baserunner with good SB/CS ratios. I don't know how good an outfielder he was, but in '80 the Rangers at last gave Mike a major league chance. By that point Mike was almost 29 years old and had been in the minors for eight years. The Rangers were then being run by dopes, one of whom (manager Pat Corrales, the Curse of Cleveland) got Mike into just five major league games (.250 BA). Mike went to the Orioles system after that, hung up his spikes after three more seasons, and then managed for about a decade. Up until recently the only ML image I'd seen of Mike was the from the Keebler Rangers series, which I have never cared very much for. I think this Fort Worth Star-Telegram shot is an improvement in some respects.