ARLINGTON, Texas — Between batting practice and first pitch on Sept. 3 at Globe Life Field, Texas Rangers first baseman Jake Burger shaved his beard down to a goatee. He cleared it first with his wife, Ashlyn, who approved the change on the condition that it produced home runs.
“Two home runs, to be specific,” Burger said with a laugh.
He got both on Sunday afternoon. Burger homered leading off the second inning and again in the fourth in an 8-6 win over the Tampa Bay Rays that split the four-game series. In comments published by MLB.com, which described the look as a Kevin Youkilis goatee.
“I give [my wife] props for the leeway she showed me throughout the series,” Burger said. “I got it done in the last game of the series. She texted me and said, ‘I guess it stays.’ So for the foreseeable future, it’s going to be a statement.”
Jake Burger Ties Joc Pederson For The Texas Rangers Home Run Lead
It was the ninth multi-homer game of Burger’s career and his second this season. The first came April 13 at the Athletics.
Burger now has 25 home runs in 2026, which ties Joc Pederson for the team lead. His 82 RBI pass the single-season career high of 80 he set in 2023 between the Chicago White Sox and Miami Marlins.
Burger spent long stretches of 2025 on the injured list. He went on it three times, most recently on Aug. 18 with a left wrist sprain, after earlier absences for a strained left oblique and a left quad injury.
Skip Schumaker On Jake Burger’s 2026 Season
Rangers manager Skip Schumaker managed Burger in Miami in 2023.
“[He’s a] winner,” Schumaker said. “That’s what I think about Jake Burger. He comes in and he posts every single day. Last year he was hurt a lot. He tried to fight through it. It was hard. Looking at him, if you would have told me he was going to hit 25-plus and have 80-plus RBIs, we would have all signed up for that. This is the Jake Burger I remember. He’s just a winning player, and he’s built for those moments.”
Burger walked once and made the final out of one of his later at-bats. He described the second homer as the one he enjoyed most.
“Floating around the bases on the second one for sure,” Burger told Rangers Sports Network. “And then a walk mixed in there. Unfortunately I couldn’t get the job done in the last one. But I think the goatee is here to stay.”
Texas opens a three-game series at Seattle on Tuesday. First pitch at T-Mobile Park is scheduled for 8:40 p.m. CT.
