'This Is Not What We Expected.' Texas Rangers GM Chris Young Hopes Players Are Embarrassed By Performance
ARLINGTON — Texas Rangers general manager Chris Young, who was primarily responsible for putting together the club's first ever World Series championship, is not happy.
Young expected his club to contend again in 2024, not be 11 games out of first place in the American League West before Tuesday's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Young was a guest on the team's flagship radio station KRLD/105.3 The Fan on Monday and was asked about the team's performance, which includes a 6-13 record since the July 30 trade deadline, a point at which Young still had hopes of a revival. Manager Bruce Bochy recently acknowledge the the club's postseason possibilities looked bleak.
"The standings are the standings, it is what it is," Young told the G-Bag Nation. "What I want to see is us do is go out and play winning baseball from here on out. I want us to go play with passion and energy and grit and fight and determination and F-you behind them, because this season’s been embarrassing for us."
Young continued: "This is not what we expected, and I expect our players to be as equally embarrassed as I am about how we’ve played. So I want to see us come out and fight to the finish line, whatever that means in terms of the standings or the record, that’ll happen naturally if we just go out and play good baseball."
Young believes the team has underperformed in 2024 and wants to see improvement over the final six weeks of the season.
As a former MLB players, Young believes it's important for the players to see him routinely around the clubhouse and dugout. He respects their work ethic, but he also want to remind them that he and his staff are taking notice when they're not doing things right.
"It is very important for me, because I’ve been in those shoes," he said. "I see them working on a daily basis, I see the energy they pour in. Sometimes it really does, it breaks my heart to see them come off the field dejected or feeling like they’ve let the organization down. I know how much they care, and I certainly appreciate the work they put in and the care factor. It is high, I know we’ve got a great group of guys. So I want them to know they have my support. I also want them to know that I’m watching and there’s an accountability that comes with this, and I want to see who’s working on a daily basis."
You can listen to Young's interview on The Fan here.
You can follow Stefan Stevenson on X @StefanVersusTex.
Catch up with Inside the Rangers on Facebook and X.