Texas’ new manager also revealed why his jersey number is No. 55.
Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker watches as pitcher Robert Garcia throws live batting practice during a spring training workout at the team's training facility on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, in Surprise, Ariz.
Skip Schumaker is trying to instill his culture in Texas’ clubhouse as the Rangers try to get back to the playoffs with a new-look roster.and discussed how the Rangers’ lineup can get back on track, his biggest influences as a manager, what he learned from his previous stint as manager in Miami and more. He even revealed why he wears No. 55 on the back of his jersey.Well, I wasn’t in the clubhouse last year, so I can’t really speak upon that. I do know that there’s a group of guys that are eager to win and motivated after a season that they didn’t get into the playoffs, and this team, this organization, feels like they should be in a deep playoff run every year, and when that doesn’t happen, then guys are upset. And I think there’s certain predictions and projections or whatever, and FanGraphs or whatever you guys look at, or people look at outside of a clubhouse, and the only thing that challenges or outperforms a projection is clubhouse culture. So I believe in it. I think it’s a separator. And I’m trying to get us off on the right foot, so to speak, early on and trying to set that tone, day one of spring.A team that can beat you in a number of different ways. Listen, I love a three-run home run. I love a two-run home run. I love all those. But the reality is, it’s really hard to hit. And there’s pitchers that throw from all different arm angles and all types of velocities and we’re trying to figure out ways that we can beat you day in and day out. And I think with our ballpark and how it kind of played last year, how can we adjust and try to beat you in a number of different ways? And whether that’s line drives, more line drives, lead the league in doubles, whatever it is, we got to figure out ways that we can try to beat the other side without just out-slugging all the time.What’s funny is I’ve been hearing about this ABS for at least 10 years. When I was a player, I went to the commissioner’s office, and we talked about this stuff back in, 2012 around that era. So this has been ongoing discussions. I think they finally got the technology to where they wanted to be. They’ve tested it and tested it and tested it and figured it out that they can actually use it in a major league game. I think we’re going to lean a lot on these minor league coaches that have been through it, that are in our clubhouse right now, a lot of the guys that were down there, as far as players, that have used it, and we’re trying to figure out when to use it and who can use it, and is it the pitcher, is it the catcher, is it the hitters? Leverage? What is leverage? Is leverage in fourth inning? Is it in the seventh inning? Do you hold on to a challenge later in the game? So there’s a lot of things that our R&D department are looking through and again, leaning on the coaching staff as well that went through it last year. But I think it just like all these other new rules, you kind of watch it during spring training. It’s an adjustment for the umpires. It’s adjustment for the players and the coaching staff, and I think we’ll figure it out within this next six weeks. Last year’s team had the best pitching and best defense in baseball, but missed the playoffs because the lineup couldn’t generate runs. How confident are you that the lineup, with a lot of the same names, can get back to a level where they are plating some runs?Well, kind of what you just said is just get back to a level that they’re used to. And I think Joc Peterson, Jake Burger, , like these guys, just get back to who they are. I’m not trying to get them to have these MVP-caliber seasons. That would be an extreme expectation, even though I’d love all of them to be in the race for the MVP discussion, but the reality is, if they are just who they are on the back of their baseball card, we will be much better just because of that. We have an aircraft carrier in Corey Seager, and I can’t wait for all these other guys to just be who they are. By the way, the addition of Nimmo is fantastic, and exactly what we needed, as far as on-base, plus slug, another clubhouse leader, I’m looking forward to seeing this group bounce back. Motivation is a dangerous quality, and they’ve had that all offseason and that’s why it’s so much easier for a coach to pull back than to push and these guys are pushing themselves right now, and I got to find a way to pull back at times in spring training, because they’re ready to go.Schumaker: When I was five or six years old, I met Orel Hershiser, and he picked me up at a bar after playing pinball. And so after he was done, my dad and I were, this is back in the day when players used to go to restaurants, and fans were there having a beer at the bar or whatever. And my dad said: “Okay, when they’re done, you can go over and say hi.” Anyway, he picked me up and wrote “To a future Dodger, Orel Hershiser,” and that always resonated with me. Fast forward, I get traded in 2013 to the Dodgers. And I wore 55 my whole career because of Orel and what he did for me at the time as a kid, and I grew up a Dodger fan. I get traded to the Dodgers, he’s there, and he threw out the first pitch to me one day, and I was wearing 55, so kind of a full-circle moment, and I’ve worn it ever since, except for two years ago, my dad passed away in spring training, and I wore his football number, but ever since then, I’ve always been 55. You were NL Manager of the Year in 2023. When you embark on this next experience in Texas, what positives do you take from that experience in Miami? Did you learn some things you’d like to do differently?I think both years I learned a lot. The success of ’23 and the tough times in ’24 and and I think there’s working with new general managers and kind of a new coaching staff different years in Miami. The farm systems, the scouting directors, all the stuff that goes along in 2023 completely changed in 2024 so definitely a learning curve, but it tested patience. It tested leadership qualities. I always felt like, if one foot in or one foot out of anything, it’s not going to work. And I did whatever I could to not think about what happened in ’23 and focus on ’24 even though there was a new regime, I kind of knew what the future was in 2024 after the season, but never wanted to be a distraction. And I wanted to lead a group of men, because they deserve my best every single day. And it was never about me. I never wanted to make it about me. In fact, if a manager’s in the headlines there’s problems, that’s the last thing that I want to be a part of. And it trended towards that way a little bit in the middle of the year, and I was just happy that my coaching staff and everybody just kind of nipped it. It was all about the player, and we’re trying to figure out how to get this, because we traded a lot of guys, trying to get the best version out of them every single day, and not make it about us, and I felt like we did a really good job, but it was definitely two completely different years. But at the end of the day, I remembered, and this became true, it’s all about relationships, trying to get these guys to buy in to a message and not go sideways, because you can lose a clubhouse in a hurry, and you can never get it back. And I was glad that we never lost the clubhouse and I’m going to do that the best I can here.Was there a manager or coach that influenced you? Do you find yourself emulating some guys that you played for?I mean I hate to say it, because you guys probably don’t want to hear it but I love Tony LaRussa. Tony was my guy. I was there for eight years under Tony, and there was just an expectation from day one, when I was drafted, that this is what Tony expected, and if you didn’t buy into his message or help him win a game, you were out. So it’s either sink or swim. And that was the expectation, was winning a World Series every single year, and it was because of his preparation, because of his execution, and because of his communication. I always thought about that, the so-called Cardinal way. If I was going to do it, how would it look if I got in the seat one day? There’s also, by the way, a lot of managers that I either played for, coached with, or whatever that I learned from, in another way, in the opposite direction. So you take experiences, the good and the bad, and try to make them your own. Try to be authentic and and see what happens.Bruce Meyer named interim executive director of MLB players’ union after Tony Clark’s exitThe SportsDay staff is a team of editors and producers on the sports desk who create content for The Dallas Morning News.D-FW-based ‘TEXITcoin’ creator accused of fraud, hit with cease-and-desist order by Texas
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