Key to 2026 Rangers’ is moving past 2023 and embracing the Skip Schumaker era

It was over 50 years in the making, it was glorious but now it's time to push forward.

In 2023, the Texas Rangers finally got to the top of the mountain and planted a flag at the peak of Major League Baseball. The heroics of Corey Seager and Adolis Garcia, along with each member of that team, will forever be remembered as the organization's crowning achievement to date.

Nevertheless, time moves on and so should the Rangers. Hall of Fame manager Bruce Bochy is gone and so is the World Series-winning grace period, as Skip Schumaker will want to improve on the last two subpar seasons that have followed.

It's time for the Rangers to embrace the Skip Schumaker era and get busy winning again

It's not that the fanbase is asking, "What have you done for me lately?", but more like let's get busy working on a second championship instead of basking in the glory of what was two years ago.

Regardless of what you make of former Ranger Kevin Pillar's whistleblowing about how the locker room culture had become disjointed with factions forming, the group that we've seen the last two years just hasn't had the same chemistry as in 2023.

Getting this team to play as a unit will be Schumaker's first and most important job as the new skipper. It is why Chris Young and the Rangers' brass decided it was time to move on from the legendary Bochy.

Bochy was maybe a tad too much of a players coach

Just about every player who has played for Bochy would give the man a kidney if he needed it.

But it is quite possible that this current group got a little too comfortable with his calming demeanor and relaxed clubhouse presence. Guys like Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Adolis Garcia, and Jonah Heim are too young and have too much left to offer to be complacent.

To be clear, Scumaker is not going to come to Arlington looking to make friends with his players. That is exactly what needs to be done to get the most out of what will be a combination of salty veterans and fresh-faced youngsters in 2026.

Ideally, Schumaker will ask that all of his players to put 2023's splendor in the rearview mirror and focus on adding another Commissioner's Trophy.