Ex-Texas Ranger on current team: ‘Guys weren’t enjoying that we were winning’
Kevin Pillar appeared in 20 games this season for the Texas Rangers and made 43 at bats, but in that limited time he saw enough to see issues.
Issues that players are not apt to admit publicly during a season.
On Wednesday, the ex-Rangers outfielder appeared on FoulTerritory TV where he announced his retirement, and made an unintentional bid to launch his broadcasting career when he was asked about the state of his former team.
“I think a lot of guys got off a bad start individually and the pitching was so good. (We) were still winning games. The winning didn’t seem ... a lot of guys weren’t enjoying that we were winning games,” he said. “A lot of guys got caught up in their own failures. That just happened for pretty much the first month of the season and it just kinda felt like there was a lot of panic setting in.
“There were things that happened behind closed walls: Things were getting taken away, things were being forced upon. Things were becoming mandatory.”
He’s referring to either the manager, or management, implementing rules and expectations. The standard, “We did it your way; now you’re going to do it our way.”
The Rangers defeated the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night at Globe Life Mall, 6-0. The Rangers are now 43-44, and will soon start a 10-game road trip leading into the All-Star break.
After the game, veteran Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien said he was aware of Pillar’s comments. But not specifically.
I read to him the first quote, and asked him if it was true.
“Yeah, we did get off to a bad start. You know, I think that those first couple months that he was here were frustrating for a lot of us,” Semien said. “I’m sure us being champions in ‘23 and then him coming here, us not playing great was frustrating for him.
“So he can say what he wants to say; but Kevin Pillar’s interview somewhere else is now my problem? I really don’t want to talk about it anymore. I’m focused on the Rangers. It’s like, I did nothing, and now I’m talking about something that someone else said (who) is not here. So it’s kind of hard for me to talk it anymore.”
Asked and answered.
Before you classify Pillar’s opinions as the rantings of a ball player who is bitter that he was cut, he did play 13 years in the major leagues, including 2023 with the Atlanta Braves. He signed a minor league deal with the Rangers in the offseason, and was a surprise add to the Opening Day roster. He was mostly a defensive replacement before the team designated him for assignment on May 25.
He was not with the Rangers long enough to be an expert on the team, but he was in the majors long enough to be an expert on Major League Baseball teams. He lasted this long for a reason.
Because he is now retired, he can say whatever he wants with no fear. He’s 36 and unafraid of his own honesty. An honesty about the Rangers that is troubling.
“Your perception of a team can be a little different then you actually get into Spring Training and you’re around the guys. It was a little bit different,” Pillar said on FoulTerritory. “Them coming off a World Series win a couple of years ago, that was the team I thought I was joining.”
“I thought they would be a little bit tighter as a group. I thought it’d be like my experience in Atlanta. Everyone wanted to pull on the same rope, everyone wanted to hangout and do everything together. Winning was the most important thing. Everyday.”
This is where it gets worse.
“When I got in the clubhouse in Texas, there’s a lot of talent in there and there’s a lot of individual stuff going on. A lot of guys are doing their own thing,” he said. “You might not see people until the game. Guys are just kinda doing their own thing. Not a lot of (batting practice). Not a lot of stretching together.”
When a team wins, and players produce, they can get away with pregame routines that include multiple McDonalds Happy Meals, extended dog walks, and Netflix binges. Short of homicide, managers, and management, will sign off on any routine provided there is production, and wins.
When you don’t win, and the production is not there, that same routine is going to be questioned, and eventually crucified and changed. Meetings. So many meetings.
Rangers owner Ray Davis spent a lot of money to build a World Series winner, and for a roster that he expects to contend for multiple seasons. Ray Ray is an older man, but he’s still active in running this team.
He has expectations, and those will flow downhill into the GM’s office. Then the manager’s office. Then into the clubhouse.
The Rangers already fired their “offensive coordinator” and replaced him with Brett Boone. Not a lot changed.
If the Rangers don’t make the playoffs, the next guy to go will be the manager. Bruce Bochy is in the final year of his three-year contract, and he’s been non-committal about returning for 2026.
“We were like 13-6, with the worst batting average in baseball and I was like ‘Collectively, we’ve hit rock bottom as an offense but we are winning games,’” Pillar said of his time with the club. “’This should motivate us. We should be thankful that our pitching staff is so dominate and that we’re finding ways to win games.’
“Day by day we’re gonna get out of this and it’s kinda been that trend all year. Guys are trying to get above water and it’s a hard thing to do.”
Kevin Pillar may be an ex-Texas Ranger, but that doesn’t mean he’s wrong about these Texas Rangers.
This story was originally published July 2, 2025 at 9:29 PM.
