On this date in Texas Rangers history, the Rangers hosted the first regular season Interleague game in Major League Baseball history against the San Francisco Giants. On June 12, 1997, the Rangers were given the honor of sparking Major League Baseballs latest experiment yearly Rod Langway Jersey games between teams from both leagues. MLB paired the different divisions together, so the Rangers would face teams from the National League West. It was the first time the American League and National League had played games against each other in the regular season in the then John Carlson Jersey -126 year history of MLB. The Giants came to town first, along with a lot of pomp and circumstance. The biggest pre-game ceremony came with the ceremonial first pitch, as each franchise brought out their biggest legend to do the honors. For the Rangers, of course, it was Nolan Ryan, who had just retired four years earlier. For the Giants, it was former center fielder Willie Mays, who retired after the 1973 season. Giants center fielder Darryl Hamilton, who played with the Rangers in 1996 Martin Fehervary Jersey , had the honor of being the first player to record a hit in Interleague play, and the Giants won the game, 4-3. Stan Aaron Ness Jersey Javier had the big game for the Giants, going 3-for-4 with a home run. Scroll to ContinueRusty Greer had a three-hit game for the Rangers, while Billy Ripken had two hits and drove in two runs. But the Giants had a three-run Michal Kempny Jersey binge in the seventh inning to overcome a two-run Rangers lead. Giants starter Mark Gardner pitched eight innings for the win, while Rod Beck pitched the ninth for his 20th save. Darren Oliver started for the Rangers and took the lo s, dropping to 3-8 for the season. More on SI's :