Schumaker feels ready to lead Rangers after studying under Bochy

ARLINGTON -- Skip Schumaker walked out of the Rangers dugout onto the field at an empty Globe Life Field on Friday afternoon, taking in the ballpark that will be his home for the next four years.

For the last year, Schumaker has worked in the Rangers’ front office as a senior adviser to president of baseball operations Chris Young. Coming off a two-year stretch as the Marlins’ manager, Schumaker took a year to watch and learn from the sidelines in Texas.

All that preparation paid off. On Friday, the Rangers officially introduced Schumaker as the 21st manager in club history (since 1972).

“The unique opportunity to really learn an organization for a full year just doesn't happen,” Schumaker said. “I quickly learned the passion CY has for winning and doing whatever he can to make this a first-class organization. The alignment is real in our core values and what we expect every single day. Making winning the most important part of our day is exactly who I am. I believe in a winning culture.”

Schumaker has been seen as the heir apparent to Bruce Bochy since joining the club’s front office. The Rangers and Bochy parted ways at the end of the regular season. In making that announcement, Young emphasized the need for a manager who could handle continued development of young players at the big league level.

Schumaker fits in that role perfectly.

The 45-year-old led a youthful Marlins club from 2023-24, earning National League Manager of the Year honors in his first season after guiding Miami to a 15-game turnaround and an 84-78 record en route to a Wild Card Series appearance.

Prior to his two years in Miami, Schumaker was on Major League coaching staffs for St. Louis (2022 -- bench coach) and San Diego (2020-21 -- associate manager; 2018-19 -- first-base coach). He was also an assistant to baseball operations and player development for the Padres from 2016-17.

“One of [Skip’s] greatest attributes is his ability to develop relationships with people,” said general manager Ross Fenstermaker. “As much as anybody in this last year, in our conversations and our dialogue, I've learned a lot about the game of baseball and more about our organization. I'm very grateful for that opportunity to have him be involved with some of our folks in player development, and continue that forward now as our manager.”

Some of that unique ability comes with organic conversations. Some of it is due to meeting players where they’re at. But above all, it’s about taking the guesswork out of the equation and having the ability to have a difficult conversation.

“You're not against sugar coating anything,” Schumaker said. “Even the greatest players -- Hall of Fame players -- there's some in that clubhouse right now, those players don't feel like they've arrived. They want to evolve. They want to get better. The best players aren't happy with just where they're at.

“My least favorite phrase is, ‘This is just who they are.’ That's a lazy quote from a coach. That is not what I want. That's not what I expect. And I think the players will know that.”

For Schumaker, establishing a winning culture in the clubhouse is the most important thing for any manager. It’s his priority as he takes over the club.

But how does one define a winning culture?

“‘CAPE’ is kind of what I believe the winning culture is,” Schumaker explained. “That's communication, alignment, preparation and execution. You can't have one without the others and expect to win. I believe it's in that order as well. I believe CAPE is what a winning culture looks like.”

The Rangers have had a roller coaster two years since Bochy led them to the first World Series in franchise history in 2023. That included two straight years of offensive regression, leading to a 78-84 record in ‘24 and 81-81 record in ‘25.

Schumaker acknowledged that it’s a talented roster. There’s no getting around the All-Star players like Corey Seager, Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi. It’s a roster that was built to win, despite what the record has been over the last two years.

Schumaker can lead the Rangers back to the promised land. Everybody in the organization believes that.

"I don't sign up not to win,” he said. “That's what I plan on doing. I signed up to try to do whatever I can to get us into the postseason, and then make long runs into the postseason every single year. I think all 30 teams should try to do that. Luckily, I'm with one right now that has the same goal in mind. It's my goal here, and that doesn't change.”