Position players joined the pitchers and catchers at the Texas Rangers spring training facility in Surprise, Arizona, on Monday, ready to get to work ahead of a potentially promising season.
Now that the entire squad is in camp, the Rangers can focus on what they must do to compete in 2023.
New manager Bruce Bochy’s approach is based on three team-building pillars: dominating fundamentals, being a good teammate, and having strong, passionate leadership.
“It means you work at them (the fundamentals) to a point where, you don’t just get them right, you work at them till you don’t get them wrong,” Bochy told reporters when asked about the first principle during a media session at spring training on Sunday.
“You spend a lot of time on it. You can go out and work on a fundamental, but you really don’t dominate them until you do it on a consistent basis.”
“It’s just doing things right on the field,” Bochy continued. “This game, it’s going to be ever-changing, and the one constant that you’re always going to have in this game are the fundamentals — blocking a ball as a catcher, throwing a baseball, cutoffs and relays, things like that.”
When pressed for specific areas his team needs to improve, Bochy acknowledged that it was good at baserunning last year, but the pitchers could work on fielding.
He expects pitching coach Mike Maddux to have a positive effect in that aspect.
“Mike does a great job with these pitchers right now as they go through these fundamentals and having the intent to do them right and to do them properly,” Bochy explained on Sunday.
“Little things like just saying ‘Take it! ‘Take it!’ or ‘I got it! I got it!’ enough times or loud enough, so you have that communication. All these things are important during the course of the season and can make a big difference.”
Bochy believes his second pillar is the most basic of them all.
“Be a good teammate; exactly what it says. You’re doing all you can to help things out — whether it’s in the clubhouse or on the field. That’s just caring enough about everybody in that clubhouse.”
“You have to have the talent, but it is having that unity and tightness that makes your team cohesive and brings them together. That, to me, can be a difference maker.”
“Bringing the team together is something that everybody has to work at,” Bochy continued. “Everyone wants the same thing, but it’s not going to be achieved alone. It’s going to take everyone pulling towards it.”
Bochy also said that unity comes from having good leadership, which can come in numerous shapes and forms.
“There’s different ways to lead,” he said during Sunday’s session. “It doesn’t have to be vocally; you can lead by example — just how you play the game. That can be contagious, too.”
“For me, it’s playing with joy,” Bochy elaborated. “It’s just loving what you do. It’s like anything. If you enjoy [and] if you love what you’re doing, you’ll be good at it. You’ll want to come to the ballpark. You’ll want to work at it. You’ll want to get better,” he concluded.
One of those leaders looking to improve is second baseman Marcus Semien, a free-agent addition in 2022 who did not live up to expectations.
“Most of camp last year was trying to learn people’s names, forget them, and learning them again,” Semien told reporters in the locker room on Monday. “At the same time, there was added pressure to be that leader immediately because the team was so young in 2021.”
“Now, it’s a little more relaxed, and I feel a lot more confident.”
Semien has been working with younger players to get them up to speed and prepared to help the club when their time comes.
“They push me harder than I’ve ever been pushed because I want to show them what it takes,” Semien expressed. “I’ve always thought I worked hard, but when you have young people watching you and players who are trying to make a roster spot, I went the extra mile just to show them what we’re capable of.”
When he met with reporters on Monday, Bochy was asked about Semien’s role and importance to the team’s success.
“Man, I don’t know how you quantify that,” the veteran manager replied. “He’s such an important player, not just on the field, but just having him around in the clubhouse.”
“He gets things going. He just plays a critical role in our team’s success. He’s a professional and just does things right. You just love the way he goes about his business and what he does for other teammates.”
The Rangers will open spring training against the Kansas City Royals at 2:05 p.m. CT on Friday.
OUTFIELD DEPTH
Left field has been a question mark for the Rangers this offseason, and the team added another player to the mix by signing veteran Robbie Grossman over the weekend.
Grossman signed a one-year, $2 million contract on Friday and spoke with reporters after arriving on Sunday.
“I’m excited to be here,” he said. “I feel very blessed to be able to put on this Rangers uniform, especially being a kid that grew up in Texas, and I’m just looking forward to contributing and doing whatever I can to help this ball club win games.”
Grossman has played 10 seasons in the Major Leagues and owns a .245 batting average with 80 home runs and 366 RBIs. His best season was with Minnesota in 2018, when he hit .280 with 11 home runs. He also hit a career-best 23 home runs for Detroit in 2021.
