Texas Rangers manager explains how — and why — he got all those tattoos
He’s probably unaware of it, but among the online crowd, Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker is often called “Arm Sleeve” or “Tat Sleeve.”
The first-year manager of the Rangers is part of a wave of then-young Americans who, 20-plus years ago, participated in the growth of the tattoo craze; they are now adults in positions of leadership, visibility, with a 20/20 perspective of youth.
He can explain this.
Rangers manager Skip Schumaker and his tattoos
As someone who is without tats, I wanted to know whether Schumaker, now married with children, who is the manager of an MLB team, is OK with his previous decisions to adorn his body with ink.
There is a why here. What there is not is regret. Save for one.
“That’s just kind of been my thing (since) I got drafted; I was going to get (a tattoo) until I’d stop playing, or coaching baseball,” Schumaker said Friday night before the Rangers started a home stand with a three-game series against Cleveland.
“I’ve gotten one every year in my career. I didn’t think I would be in the league for this long.”
Schumaker was selected in the fifth round of the 2001 MLB draft. He retired as a player in 2015. He immediately went into coaching. It’s 2026. That’s a lot of years in pro baseball.
“That’s where it started. I actually got a tribal band. My mom hated it. She cried,” he said of his first tattoo. “I’m not in any tribe, but that was the one I absolutely regret. That makes zero sense why I got that one.”
For those who are uninitiated or unfamiliar with the world of tattoos and body art, according to EnigmaTattoos.com, tribal tattoos “use bold black ink and flowing geometric patterns to create designs that wrap and move with the body’s natural lines. … The designs often feature curved lines, spirals, and interlocking motifs that create rhythm and movement across the skin.”
Schumaker’s tribal tat is on one of his arms, and is in the process of being covered by new designs. These are the types of tattoos that look a tad more appropriate on, say, The Rock, than a 5-foot-10, 185-pound white guy with short hair.
“Since then I’ve gotten meaningful ones every year,” he said. “I’m kind of running out of room.”
Schumaker will not follow the Charlie Sheen/Pete Davidson route
Actor Charlie Sheen has said his greatest regret is his tattoos. Out of everything Sheen has done, and all the drugs he has consumed, body art is his biggest mistake. He’s gone through the painful, laborious and expensive process of having his tattoos removed.
The same is true for former “Saturday Night Live” player and comedian Pete Davidson, who has reportedly said the removal process has cost him $200,000. Actor Mark Walhberg said it took him nearly five years to remove his body art.
Schumaker has no plans to remove any of his tattoos, all of which have personal meaning.
His kids. The cross. Family crest. Favorite Bible verse. Where he got married. A clock that reads “10:24” on his left arm.
“That’s the last out of the World Series,” he said. “You guys don’t want to hear about that one.”
Way to read the room. Schumaker was on the Cardinals team that in 2011 that defeated the Rangers in seven games to win the World Series.
Schumaker’s one rule about tattoos
When Schumaker was introduced as the manager of the Rangers last October, he wore a long-sleeved white button-down with a pair of slacks. No one could have seen the tattoos on both arms.
That’s not an accident.
“For me, you have to be able to cover them up in a (job) interview,” he said. “That was the big thing. So nothing on the hands, nothing on the neck. So if you’re going to interview, you can be professional.”
That’s really the only guideline, or “rule,” that he and his spouse have for their children about body art, although he may want to outlaw tribal tats.
