MINNEAPOLIS — Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker finished his first season one game short of the postseason Sunday, and he put the shortfall on himself.
The Rangers lost 6-4 to the Minnesota Twins at Target Field and finished 80-82. The Houston Astros beat the Athletics 9-0 in West Sacramento, Calif., to take the American League West at 81-81.
A manager is supposed to help players find the best version of themselves, Schumaker said while speaking with reporters after the game.
“When you look back on it, there’s some guys that didn’t have the seasons that they wanted to have, and it’s probably a little bit of reflection of the record, for sure,” Schumaker said. “I think that’s on this seat. If guys don’t have the years that they’re supposed to have and we’re not over a .500 team, then I have to figure out a way to get them back to who they were. As a coach and manager, you’re supposed to help guys find the best version of themselves. Obviously it starts with me.”
Skip Schumaker Points To Road Record And Losses To Teams Below .500
Texas went 35-46 on the road and 51-53 against teams below .500, MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry reported. After the All-Star break, the Rangers dropped all but one series away from Globe Life Field.
The division’s record meant less to Schumaker than the teams Texas did not beat.
“I think the disappointing part is that we’re not playing in October,” Schumaker explained. “The record is the record. I get it. The division is not great as far as record-wise. Our [record] wasn’t either. The reality is we didn’t play well enough against under .500 teams. We didn’t play well enough on the road, and I didn’t solve that problem.”
“That part is frustrating more than anything,” Schumaker detailed. “That’s more than looking at the other teams in the division and worrying about them. The frustrating part is like not figuring out different ways to help beat the teams that we should have beat.”
In a postgame interview on Rangers Sports Network, Schumaker said the coaching staff feels the loss the same way the clubhouse does.
“They gave it everything they had the whole year through 162, and I’m grateful for that,” Schumaker said. “But the goal was to get to the postseason and make a run, and we didn’t do that, and we fell short. And that’s going to hurt for a little bit. That’s the sentiment in the clubhouse. It’s what the coaching staff feels.”
“The bottom line is we just weren’t good enough, weren’t good enough on the road, and weren’t good enough against teams we should have beat, and that’s a reflection on me,” Schumaker continued. “And I got to figure out what to do this offseason, look in the mirror, and figure out how to move this thing forward because there’s too good of talent in that room for us to fall short. We’ve got to figure out a way to get back.”
Skip Schumaker’s First Season Ends One Game Short
Schumaker took over after Bruce Bochy‘s three-season tenure ended by mutual agreement following an 81-81 finish in 2025. He won National League Manager of the Year with Miami in 2023 and joined the Rangers as a senior adviser in November 2024.
The group in the clubhouse had Schumaker excited to come to the field every day, and he expects next year’s version to look different.
“I think the tough part is the group of guys in that clubhouse, it won’t be the same because every team is different,” Schumaker said. “Every offseason is different. Guys go different places. And that group of guys are such good people that you bet on. And I was just so excited to come to the field every day because of the group that we have here.”
“And I felt like we should be playing next month. And we’re not,” Schumaker noted. “And I think that’s always the goal. So when you don’t get there, it’s frustrating. And we got to figure out a way to get back. So the goal is always going to be to win. We didn’t win enough, and we got to figure out how to do that.”
Texas went 4-9 against Houston this season, which gave the Astros the tiebreaker. Houston opens a best-of-three AL Wild Card Series against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday at Daikin Park.
