The 2025 season went just as the Texas Rangers expected it would. At least half of it did. The pitching was the best in baseball. The offense, not so much. The end result was an 81-81 season. And it led to the end of the Bruce Bochy era. Despite back-to-back disappointing seasons, it will always be remembered for one thing and one thing only: in 2023, the Texas Rangers won their first World Series. Thank you, Bruce Bochy! Thanks for your experience, your wisdom, and your love of the game. Under your guidance, the Rangers have had better pitching than they’ve ever had before.
Now to the challenge, the offense! It was the bane of the season, last season too. So what happened? In the first half of the 2023 season, we were comparing this offense to the 1927 Yankees, and now this? Most of the players are the same, so what gives? The short answer is, if I knew, I would have an office next to Chris Young. And we would have gotten this thing turned around in time to make the playoffs.
There are some theories, though. Theories they attempted to address during the year, and which should have a significant impact on how the Rangers approach the off-season.
It starts with approach. That is, what approach will the batter take while the pitcher tries to get him out? This was actually addressed early in the season when they made a change at hitting coach. Brett Boone was hired. He is all about approach. Doing the little things that will allow you to have a successful at-bat. In this day and age, most of the players have their own personal hitting coach, but most of those coaches teach mechanics, not approach. It will be left to the team to craft an approach at the plate. Something that Boone attempted to do with limited success during his abbreviated time at the helm.
One of the most frustrating reoccurrences this season was the number of times the Rangers had a runner at third base with one out or less and did not get the run home. In Boone’s day, this was inexcusable. There are so many things a batter can do to make it a positive at bat. The worst thing you can do in that situation is strike out; next might be attempting to drive him in with a home run or extra base hit. Put the ball in play and force the defense to react. Hit a fly ball to the outfield and give the runner a chance to score by tagging up. Shorten your swing and slap the ball to the shallow outfield. Even take a walk. Any of those things would advance the cause. The Rangers were not good in those situations the past two seasons.
Another theory is chemistry. This one is a bit harder to quantify. The successful teams have it. The unsuccessful teams don’t. It is, however, a bit of a chicken-or-the-egg scenario. Does the good team have success because of good chemistry, or does the good chemistry come from success? There were no problems with chemistry in 2023. A team that included many of the same players.
The reality is that two of the Rangers’ best position players have very serious daily approaches to preparation and the game. Neither Corey Seager nor Marcus Semien is demonstrative or prone to showing emotion on the field. In 2023, the emotional leader for most of the season was Adolis Garcia, but as his production waned the past two seasons, so did his emotional credibility.
Josh Jung saw a need and tried to fill it this season. Even went as far as spending thousands of dollars of his own money to buy an elaborate collection of gifts that were left at each locker on opening day. When asked why he did it, he said, “I want to help create an environment where we are all giving to each other in every way possible.” But Josh had an up-and-down season that saw him get sent to the minors for a brief time before the All-Star Break. It is hard to make your voice heard from Round Rock.
The off-season priorities are obvious. First, they must hire a manager. Next, they must find a way to create a lineup that is offense-oriented. Much of the pitching staff stays intact, so the challenge remains the same.
