Kevin Pillar, who spent most of the first two months of the season with the Rangers, announced his retirement from the game on Wednesday and said his last stop left him with some disillusion about the team.
Pillar, 36, told Scott Braun, A.J. Pierzynski and Eric Kratz of the internet streaming program Foul Territory that this version of the Rangers did not live up to his expectations.
“The team that won the World Series, that’s the team I thought I was joining,” said Pillar, who moved to the area in the offseason.
Pillar made the club as a non-roster invite out of spring training, but hit just .209 with a .465 OPS and a stint on the IL with back issues before being released at the end of May.
The Rangers were the 10th stop for the 13-year veteran who had initially planned to retire after last season, but couldn’t resist the urge to continue playing. He never won a World Series title during his career and thought the Rangers, a team located near his new home that had won two years ago, would give him a unique shot. He’d experienced just third playoff run with Atlanta in 2023 and viewed the Braves as the “tightest” team he’d ever been a part of.
“I thought it would be a little tighter,” he told the hosts. “When I got to Texas, there is a lot of talent in there. But there’s just a lot of individual stuff going on, guys doing their own thing, their own routine. Sometimes you wouldn’t see some guys until game-time.”
He mentioned the lack of full team involvement in pre-game stretching and batting practice. Corey Seager is well known for his individual pre-game routine that often has him on FaceTime with his own hitting instructor. He does not usually participate in on-field batting practice. Other players have also adopted more individual routines.
While Rangers President of Baseball Operations Chris Young acknowledged to The Dallas Morning News last week a lack of “team connectivity and team oriented at-bats,” on Wednesday he defended any impugning of the clubhouse makeup.
“We’ve got a great group,” Young said Wednesday. “I don’t know what was said exactly [in the interview], but I do know that we’ve got a great group. I believe in this group and I know that when we play our best baseball, this group, I believe, is going to be capable of great things. That’s what we’re focused on — that’s really the extent of my focus at this point.”
In addition, Pillar said he didn’t think the Rangers seemed to enjoy winning enough.
“Guys got caught up in their own failures and then panic set in,” Pillar said of the season’s late April turn.
The Rangers dismissed offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker in late April and also temporarily reduced access to iPads in the dugouts, a tool many modern-day players have gravitated to analyze their swings, which can take them away from being more interactive with teammates.
Young said he didn’t think Pillar was looking to criticize his teammates with his comments.
“Kevin’s a really good guy,” Young said. “I don’t think he means to cause any harm, I think he just got asked a question in the moment and gave an answer without really understanding the repercussions for the team. He’s a good person and I wish him the best, we’re grateful for what he provided for the Rangers. I know his heart and I’m pretty certain that he didn’t mean to be critical in a way that could have repercussions here.”
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