Jim Sundberg | From All-Star Catcher to Senior Executive VP for Texas Rangers

Jim Sundberg

From All-Star Catcher to Senior Executive VP for Texas Rangers

Jim Sundberg
Biography

Jim Sundberg is a Texas Rangers Hall of Famer who is known as one of the top defensive catchers in Major League history. He won six Gold Glove awards and was a three-time American League All-Star during his 16-year major league career with the Rangers, Milwaukee, Kansas City and the Chicago Cubs. Jim was a member of the 1985 World Champion Kansas City Royals and voting by the Chicago writers as the World Series Hero. He still ranks in the top for many of the Rangers team offensive categories.

Jim's stamina behind the plate was a marquee element to his playing days catching 1400 games his first ten years in the Major Leagues. He still holds the record for most games caught in the American League in a single season with 155 games with Texas in 1975. Only once did Jim spend time on the disabled list during his sixteen-year career. He still ranks among the greats in overall games caught in MLB history with 1,927 games.

Between his playing days and re-joining the Rangers, Jim was an analyst on Rangers'; television games from 1990-95 with Steve Busby and recognized in 1995 by a Dallas publication as the best professional broadcast team in the DFW sports arena. Jim also started a company manufacturing sports training products selling nationwide and co-wrote the book How to Win at Sports Parenting with his wife, Janet. He has continued to conduct motivational speeches since the late 70's.
During Jim's thirteen years in the front office with the Texas Rangers he was responsible for many elements but most obvious were pertaining to the culture and brand of the Texas Rangers club. Primary to this role was brokering Nolan Ryan back to the organization as President from 2008 to 2013, where the club experienced two World Series berths as the American League Champions in '10 & '11 and attendance numbers that pushed through to a new record of 3.4M fans. The other noted branding element was shifting the look of the uniform and merchandise from Rangers brand toward TEXAS brand, worn today by players and sold in gift shops. During Jim's tenure as the President of the Texas Rangers Foundation, gifting went from $1.5M to just under $3M. In July of 2014, Sundberg stepped down from his role as Senior Executive VP for the Texas Rangers and President of the Rangers Baseball Foundation, devoting more time to writing, consulting and speaking.

Jimsundberg.com was recently launched to challenge Jim's energy towar discussing his expertise across several venues. Your Sports To Life Navigator emerged out of the ground swell of intellectual capital from a 35-year career in MLB, as a player, broadcasting, coach and office executive. And taking those years to gleam what it looks like to roll up your sleeves directing his energies toward "passion and purpose with brilliance" in topics of leadership, teamwork and non-profit issues. The website provides two categories of services addressing corporate topics and non-profit venues. On the corporate side, Janet and Jim Sundberg take years of experience in leadership to bring powerful results to leaders and teams in organizations. Janet is a behavior specialist focusing on the area of organizational health and brings her masters education in management development and psychology, connecting her skills with Jim's understanding and expertise in high executive platforms. Sports2lifenation.com has been recently released to bring attention to the importance of Legacy and defining its meaning for a broad group of people to encourage and inspire in life principals. The Sundberg's second publication of "How to Win at Sports Parenting is available through this site.

The Sundberg's continue to serve several non-profit organizations across the DFW area; BSF leadership, The Quest Life and the DFW FCA Executive Board. He and wife Janet attend Grace Community in Arlington, Texas being married 47 years and have three children and nine grandchildren.

Jim Sundberg
Featured Videos

Current: Texas Sports Hall of Fame Induction Jim Sundberg

Time 08:41

More Videos From Jim Sundberg

Texas Sports Hall of Fame Induction Jim Sundberg
Time 08:41
Jim Sundberg: A Passion for Excellence
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Jim Sundberg: Baseball Stories & Giveaways
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Jim Sundberg: On Leadership & Teamwork
Time 12:10

Programs include:
Programs include:

Step Up to the Plate: Making Your Vision Come Alive

Rounding the Bases: How Teams Communicate

Bottom of the Ninth: Light the Brilliance in Your Team

Impact Player: The Art of Casting a Team

Advancing the Runner: Why Teams Get Stuck

Blocking the Plate: Dealing with Unacceptable Behavior

Jim Sundberg
Featured Book

Legacy Playbook: 50 Days of Encouragement to Pass on What Matters Most: A Devotionalby Jim Sundberg

Legacy Playbook: 50 Days of Encouragement to Pass on What Matters Most: A Devotional

by Jim Sundberg

Life is a long journey filled with strikes, fouls, and curveballs, so we could all use some encouragement along the way. In this 50-Day Devotional, Texas Ranger Hall of Famer Jim Sundberg shares personal stories from his 16-year Major League Baseball career. Many are humorous and give a rare behind-the-scenes look at events and personalities around the dugout. Some are gripping, such as the loss of their first daughter and grappling with childhood abuse that led to emotional dysfunction and a battle with depression. Through them all, Jim candidly shares his quest to know the God who created him and fashioned him to play baseball. This LEGACY PLAYBOOK offers a daily short story from Jim, a promise from Scripture, a song, a few questions for mindful reflection, then a prompt to journal a prayer and write down what you hear the Father saying back to you. At the conclusion of each chapter, there is an invitation to reflect on the chapter’s theme, and through that lens of legacy, determine what matters most to you.

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Jim Sundberg

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