The Texas Rangers have struggled offensively since their World Series championship, despite bringing in established sluggers and having core stars in their primes. The pitching staff has shown significant improvement, with Cy Young-caliber production from Jacob deGrom and a strong bullpen. However, the team's hitting issues remain troubling, leading to a position just above .500. Hitting coach Bret Boone acknowledges the challenges of improving hitting but aims to encourage and facilitate better performance without expecting immediate results.
Bret Boone, the former All-Star second baseman who was installed as the team's hitting coach in early May, has been tasked with fixing that -- but he is also realistic. "I'm not gonna come in here and 'abracadabra,' he said, waving his right arm as if wielding a magic wand. "That's the big misnomer about hitting. Hitting is really hard. The bottom line is -- you can prepare as much as you want, but when you get in the box, it's just you and that pitcher."
Despite back-to-back wins over the first-place Detroit Tigers this weekend, the Rangers find themselves only a game over .500, seven games out of first place and 2 1/2 games out of a playoff spot, because they can't do the one thing they were expected to do best: hit.
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