Fontenot, a 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m), 175 pounds (79 kg) left-hander, was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 34th round (815th overall) of the 1979 amateur entry draft. He had great success in the minors, with an ERA of 3.16, striking out 377 batters in more than 399 innings pitched. He was used mostly as a starter, although he pitched in relief in 1983.\n', '

He made his Major League debut on June 30, 1983 against the Baltimore Orioles at the age of 25, filling in for the injured Ron Guidry. In that game, he gave up only one earned run in 5​2⁄3 innings, but still got only a no-decision. In his rookie year, he started 15 games and went 8-2 with a 3.33 ERA; he threw three complete games and one shutout. Even though he got a lot strikeouts in the minors, he struck out only 27 in more than 93 innings in his rookie season. His career high was seven strikeouts in a game, which he accomplished twice.\n', '

Oft-injured, he was used as a starter/reliever in 1984 and 1985; he pitched a total of 73 games in those years, starting 47 of them. He gave up 23 home runs in 1985, 5th most in the league. In 1986 he was used entirely as a reliever, appearing in 57 games for an ERA of 5.23. He threw 6 wild pitches that year, about one every 12 innings.\n', '

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