Thursday, November 06

ARLINGTON -- Not many managers of Skip Schumaker’s age (45) and experience (two years) have the sort of universal approval rating that it seems he carries with those around the game. 

Schumaker was a first-time manager in 2023, when he led the Marlins to the postseason and was named the National League Manager of the Year. He spent two years in Miami, combining for a 146-178 record before joining Texas in a front-office role for the 2025 season. 

Now the Rangers' manager, Schumaker will be charged with leading the club back to the postseason. But what has made him such a popular person in the sport with just two years of experience under his belt?

Above anything he’s done on the field and in the dugout, one thing stands out most.  

“I think he's a very genuine person,” said Kim Ng, the former Marlins general manager who hired Schumaker to his first managerial position. “What you see is what you get, what you hear is what he believes and thinks. I think that is one of the more disarming elements of his personality.”

Schumaker’s ability to form relationships with his players is revered, and it’s something that starts in the offseason. He has already set out to build a culture in which guys want to show up to the ballpark every day. That’s what so many in the game have praised him for. 

Rangers president of baseball operation Chris Young didn’t have a relationship with Schumaker prior to him joining the front office. And honestly, neither did Ng before she hired him as the manager in Miami. 

But it was an easy decision for both. 

“He's just got such a clarity in the way that he thinks about certain things,” Ng told MLB.com. “It was an easy choice for me when hiring him. … What came through in the interview, for me, was what a really good communicator he is. 

“He's very measured in how he delivers to players, to staff, to the front office. I think that's a really key ingredient for me as well. I think that's what sort of draws people to Skip, because they're going to hear directly from him, what's on his mind, how he's thinking about issues.”

Experience is the best teacher, Ng said. And Schumaker was a student of the game long before he became a manager. His time in Miami as a first-time manager allowed him to learn and grow both off and off the field amid front-office turnover from Year 1 to Year 2.  

“You always try to grow from every experience,” Schumaker said. “I got to learn how different front offices think. ... So I was very grateful for the first regime in Miami [for hiring me] and the second regime in Miami. They were both different in how they thought. I'm very grateful, even though it didn't end like we wanted it to end. I can take some of those experiences, hopefully, and try to make this place as good as it can be.”

Every managerial job is inherently different. They all come with their own unique challenges and opportunities. Different front offices, fan bases and expectations. But moving from Miami to Texas, Schumaker doesn’t see it that way. 

“It's the same job to me, because I don't sign up to not 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. That is what I think big leagues should look like. It's what I think all 30 teams should try to do. Luckily, I'm with one right now that has the same goal in mind. It's my goal here, and that doesn't change.”

Schumaker has yet to fill out his coaching staff for 2026, but one thing we do know is that pitching coach Mike Maddux will not be part of it. 

It was announced on Friday that Maddux, who was in his second stint as Texas’ pitching coach, would be departing the organization to take the same job with the Angels. According to a source, the Rangers offered Maddux the opportunity to remain with the club, but he declined.

“The Texas Rangers are forever grateful to Mike for his contributions here,” Young said. “Mike has played a major role for some of the best teams in Rangers history, including the franchise’s first World Series title in 2023. We wish him the best.”

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