MINNEAPOLIS -- The Rangers’ 2026 season did not go out with a bang. It went out with a whimper.
The Rangers fell, 6-4, to the Twins on Sunday afternoon at Target Field, squandering any chance to win the American League West on the final day of the regular season. The only way Texas could have won the division and gotten into the postseason was with a win over the Twins and an Astros loss to the A’s.
The Rangers also became the first American League team to win the World Series (2023) and miss the postseason in each of their next three or more seasons since the Royals following their victory in 2015. Texas hopes to do better than Kansas City’s eight-year hiatus from 2016-2023.
“It isn't just today,” said first baseman Jake Burger. “There's a lot of games you nitpick when you’re in this close. It’s incredibly disappointing. … I think it's just tough to swallow in general. … Yeah, it sucks.”
“It sucks” was a perfect way to put it.
Regardless of the Astros’ postseason outcome, they will go down as the worst division winner in baseball history, at best finishing at 81-81. The AL West’s combined -471 run differential is the second-lowest since divisions began in 1969, behind only the 2005 NL West (-490). The .448 combined winning percentage entering Friday would be the third lowest in a full season, behind just the AL Central in 2018 (.436) and 2023 (.442).
The worst division winners before now have been the 2005 Padres (82-80), the 1973 Mets (82-79) and the 2006 Cardinals (83-78).
It was quantitatively the worst division in baseball history -- but it was a division that the Rangers couldn’t take advantage of.
“I think the disappointing part is that we're not playing in October,” said first-year Rangers manager Skip Schumaker. “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. 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.”
The specifics of Game 162 don’t matter in the grand scheme of things. But the performance on the field was a perfect illustration of what has stood in the Rangers’ way all season long.
MacKenzie Gore -- who was the club’s prized offseason acquisition -- was on fumes throughout the last month. He allowed one run in 2 1/3 innings before it effectively became a bullpen game for an overworked bullpen that entered the day with a 4.44 ERA, 10th in AL.
And the offense, missing two of its productive hitters in Josh Jung and Joc Pederson thanks to fractured wrists, came out flat. They mustered just three baserunners in seven innings against Twins starter Dean Kremer, who entered the day with a 4.97 ERA. The only run production came on solo homers from catchers Elias Diaz and Danny Jansen and a two-run shot from Corey Seager in the ninth.
Seager's parting shot also exemplified how the Rangers ended up here.
The big boys need to be on the field and be producing. For much of the year, the Rangers’ big boys -- like Seager, Wyatt Langford and Josh Jung -- did neither.
“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.”
The notes that Schumaker mentioned are obvious. They finished 35-46 on the road, dropping all but one series away from Globe Life Field after the All-Star break. They went 51-53 against teams below .500.
Schumaker spoke of reflection and self-evaluation from the manager’s chair going into the offseason. All of that is fair. But the fault lies with the players just as much.
“Obviously, we weren't good enough,” said Seager, who also had three separate IL stints in 2026. “So it's [about] figuring out ways to be better, be more productive. Obviously, it comes down to one game, right? So we need to figure out that way to take that one extra out, one extra run, one extra win.”
So what’s next for the Rangers?
Outfielder Brandon Nimmo -- who waived his no-trade clause this offseason, allowing the Mets to send him to Texas with the opportunity to go to the postseason -- spoke of diving into the numbers and seeing where they can improve, both individually and as a team. Seager declined to speak on what changes could be made personnel-wise come 2027.
Schumaker just wants to think about what he can do better to get this team back to October.
“They gave it everything they had the whole year through 162,” Schumaker said. “But the goal was to get to the postseason and make a run, and we didn't do that. We fell short, and that's going to hurt for a little bit. That's the sentiment in the clubhouse. The bottom line is we just weren't good enough. That's a reflection on me. And I got to figure out what to do this off season. Look in the mirror and figure out how to move this thing forward because there's too much talent in that room for us to fall short. We gotta figure out a way to get back.”