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Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker walks to the dugout after making player substitutions during a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Friday, May 29, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo\/LM Otero)<\/p>\n
LM Otero\/AP Photo\/LM Otero<\/p>\n
ST. LOUIS \u2014June is reunion month for Skip Schumaker.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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And, you know how reunions go. There are some people you can\u2019t wait to see for the first time in years and some, well, you remember why you haven\u2019t seen them. Which is kind of how the month will go. \u00a0<\/p>\n
It started in St. Louis on Monday, where the Rangers<\/a> manager\u00a0Schumaker played most of his major league career (yeah, yeah, yeah, including 2011) and took the final steps toward becoming a major league manager. Three weeks later, it gets awkward when the Rangers visit Miami, where he took the Marlins to the playoffs in his first year as a manager, won NL Manager of the Year and where he left a year later<\/a>. \u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Either way, he\u2019d like to treat both the same this month: Some handshakes, an occasional hug and a lot of wins. The latter is just the norm for Schumaker if you know how hot his intensity burns.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere are guys that leave in free agency or who are traded that, you know, want to show the old team up,\u201d Schumaker said. \u201cWhen the Cardinals traded me to Los Angeles and I came to town, I wanted to beat them. But that\u2019s a much different feeling. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI still want to win, don’t get me wrong, but I don\u2019t really need extra motivation,\u201d Schumaker said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of how I\u2019m wired.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n At least at game time. \u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n But Monday afternoon was all about the warm and fuzzies. When he arrived at Busch Stadium, he immediately shipped over to Cardinals manager Oli Marmol one of the ’90s-themed boy band concert T-shirts the Rangers gave out last week as a joke.\u00a0Marmol, who hired Schumaker as a bench coach for the first time in 2022, wore the shirt through batting practice. It got a laugh from Schumaker. \u00a0<\/p>\n And the welcome here is always warm for him, considering he played on two World Series teams in 2006 and, yes, 2011 during his eight seasons with the Cardinals. The reception is warm when he returned, like in 2024, when the Marlins were the Cardinals’ guest for the home opener. The visiting manager got a standing ovation from the crowd. That\u2019s unusual. \u00a0<\/p>\n Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker high fives players in the dugout before a baseball game against the Athletics at Globe Life Field on Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Arlington.<\/p>\n Smiley N. Pool\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n On Monday, there was no Skip Schumaker tribute video, but there were highlights from the 2011 World Series played on the video board before the game. Just a coincidence, surely. \u00a0<\/p>\n Even he demurred when asked about any specific memories of his time with the Cardinals. \u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cNot wearing this jersey,\u201d he said with a laugh.\u00a0<\/p>\n Then he continued: \u201cThere was just a lot of winning and a lot of good people in my career that I was fortunate to be around. A Hall of Fame manager, a bunch of Hall of Fame players, and then Hall of Fame people. Yeah, it was definitely fun to win the World Series. It’s a great memory to have. But at the end of the day, it’s about the people, and it still holds true today.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n And, for the record, he said the 2006 World Series was the one he was talking about. \u00a0<\/p>\n But the Cardinals formed him. Drafted in 2001 in the fifth round, he would spend 12 years in the organization, winning two rings, and then return as a coach. He was steeped in the \u201cCardinal Way,\u201d having been issued the handbook as soon as he joined New Jersey in what was then the rookie level New York-Penn League. There were lots of details that may seem trivial today, about dress codes and times. \u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/p>\n