Putnam was the Texas Rangers\' first round pick in the 1975 Major League Baseball draft out of the University of South Alabama. He\'d been drafted a year earlier by the New York Mets, but did not sign. Putnam batted only .242 his first professional season in the Rangers\' farm system, however, his batting average jumped to .361 with 24 home runs in 1976. After batting .301 with 15 home runs and 102 runs batted in for the triple A Tucson Toros in 1977, Putnam made his Major League debut as the designated hitter batting fourth against the Boston Red Sox on September 2.\n', '

Putnam again tore up the Pacific Coast League with Tucson in 1978, batting .309 with 21 home runs and 96 RBIs. He had only two RBIs with the Rangers that season, however, they were both big ones. He managed to drive in the only run in their 1-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners on September 22, and two days later, in the Rangers\' 5-3 victory at Arlington Stadium over the Mariners, Putnam hit his first major league home run.\n', '

Putnam mostly appeared in the line-up as a designated hitter until on Monday, May 28, 1979, when regular Rangers first baseman Mike Jorgensen was hit in the head by a pitch from Boston Red Sox pitcher Andy Hassler. Putnam took over as the Rangers\' regular first baseman for the next month. Putnam made the most of the opportunity and batted .277 with 18 home runs and 64 RBIs to finish fourth in Rookie of the Year balloting.\n', '

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