There's a New 'Skip'-per in Town

The title of this story was no pun intended, but very creative at the same time. Anyway, the Texas Rangers not being in the playoffs isn't anything new to the team or fans. All we can look forward to is Spring Training in February and the 2026 MLB regular season. With the Postseason currently in progress, the Rangers will come back even stronger in the new year. Hopefully, 2026 will see them back in the playoffs and possibly, an AL West title, something they haven't won since 2016.

For the past week, a few mangers were fired from their respective roles. One of them, unfortunately, was Bruce Bochy. After three seasons, the Rangers and Bochy mutually agreed to part ways. However, he could remain with the organization in an advisory role and also seek other options. I need to make one minor correction to my previous story where I said three managers were fired. There were actually four of them.

Ok, back to the story.

Days after Bochy's departure from the team, the Rangers named Skip Schumaker as the new manager, which he will be for the next four years. The 45-year-old had a two-year stint managing the Miami Marlins. Schumaker is not a new face to the Rangers, as he served as a senior advisor to Chris Young, the President of Baseball Operations for the past year.

Here are a couple of facts about Skip Schumaker. He's a former player who spent 11 seasons in MLB, playing for the St. Louis Cardinals (2005-2012), the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2013, and concluding his career with the Reds (2014-2015). Speaking of the Cardinals, he was part of two World Series runs with them in both 2006 and 2011. The latter year is where the Cardinals spoiled the Rangers chances of winning their first championship in franchise history. The Rangers two blown opportunities still leave a taste in the mouths of Rangers fans, but it's surprising to see a former player turned manager be part of a ball club, which his former team defeated 15 years ago. I've since shared my thoughts about the Rangers losing the 2011 World Series to the Cardinals for the first time several months ago. I've previously avoided the topic, but I was finaly open to discuss it in its entirety. You can read that story by clicking the link down below and it's worth the read for Cardinals fans.

https://todaysurvey.shop/unbalanced/my-thoughts-about-the-texas-rangers-loss-to-the-st-louis-cardinals-in-the-2011-world-series%3C/a%3E

Championships in Texas are a big deal to us. Having grown up and lived in Texas, just winning division titles and being in the playoffs was never good enough to satisfy the die-hard sports fans in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Anything less than a championship was unacceptable. The same logic can be applied to high school football. Since their 2023 World Series title win against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Rangers missed the playoffs for the second consecutive year. However, they finished the season at an even .500 with an 81-81 record. Yes, the team had been dealing with injuries, but they would need to overcome this hurdle in order to become serious playoff contenders in 2026. Over half of the players who were part of the Rangers championship team have since been traded to other teams and one player has since retired, relief pitcher Will Smith.

The Rangers have the potential to win multiple World Series titles for years to come. Staying healthy for the majority of a season is the first step in possibly clinching a playoff berth. This team isn't in "rebuild mode". I've always despised the term rebuild, because, to me, it's saying that an organization isn't making winning championships their ultimate goal. Winning a World Series title should be the goal of every team, regardless of payroll or success. As manager, Skip Schumaker has plenty of shoes to fill in. Taking over the role from a future Hall of Famer wasn't easy. Fans are confident that the two-time World Series Champion will do his best to lead the Rangers back into the Postseason next year.

Rangers fans, what do you think about this latest hire? Do you believe that Skip Schumaker has what it takes to lead the Rangers back into the playoffs in 2026, or did you have another manager in mind for the job? If so, who would've been your overall choice? Share your thoughts in the comments below. Meanwhile, if you enjoyed this story, please give it a like. Make sure you follow me on my socials. Finally, like this story and please leave a generous one-off tip. It'll be found at the end of this story. Big or small, your tips will support creators like me so we can keep publishing new stories and share them with everyone.