Josh Jung's rollercoaster year mirrors the Rangers' 2025 season

Josh Jung has taken his fair share of scrutiny this season. And to his credit, each time the fans and Rangers' management had their fill of the lumbering third baseman, he has gone on a hot streak to quiet the naysayers.

In fact, if you look at how the 2025 season has gone for the team, with all of its ups and downs, it is reflected in how productive Jung has been at the plate. The numbers over the first 137 games bare it out.

When Josh Jung gets hot, the Rangers win a lot of games

The Rangers have won 7 of their last 8 games and have pulled back within striking distance of the Seattle Mariners for the final AL wild-card spot. During that time, Jung has gone 14-31 (.452) with 3 doubles, a homer, and 6 RBIs.

But that's not it. If you look at the periods where the Rangers were winning at a good clip, Jung has been the hottest hitter on the team in each of them.

When the Rangers won 7 of 8 from May 10 through May 17, Jung went 11-29 (.379) with 3 homers and 8 RBIs and had at least 2 hits in four of those wins.

From July 21 to July 27, the Rangers won 6 games in a row, and Jung hit in all six games, going 8-19 (.421). In each month when the Rangers have been playing their best baseball, Jung has been a big part of the team's success, all while playing a Gold Glove-caliber third base.

The rough patches of the Rangers' 2025 season also correspond with Jung's troubles

To begin the month of May, the Rangers lost 6 of 8 games, and Jung went 4-27 (.148). To bookend May, the Rangers dropped 9 of 12, and the team's third baseman went 11-46 (.239) with just one extra base hit.

Similarly, when the Rangers started to fade from playoff contention in early to mid-August, Jung was awful, going 5-43 (.116) with no homers and no RBIs.

All of this is to say that so goes Jung, so go the Texas Rangers. Or perhaps it's the opposite (chicken or the egg kind of thing). Either way, it is a notable pattern worth pointing out.