SouthernWorldwide.com – Texas Rangers star and two-time World Series MVP Corey Seager is currently experiencing the most challenging slump of his Major League Baseball career.
The accomplished shortstop has gone hitless in his last seven games. This extends to a career-worst 0-for-27 streak, which also includes 11 strikeouts.
“You’re obviously still working on things and you’d like to see some better results, but you’re not getting them,” Seager commented after a recent game where he went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
Despite participating in 42 of the Rangers’ 43 games this season, the 32-year-old Seager stated that he feels “completely fine” physically. He has been in the lineup for 24 consecutive games since his only day off on April 16.
“It’s one of those things that you’re going to figure it out out there,” Seager added. “It’s always been like my focus, right, you’re going to figure it out swinging. So right now, I want to keep going out there and trying to figure it out.”
The Rangers had a day off on Thursday. During this time, Seager’s batting average of .179 ranked 167th out of 174 qualified Major League hitters.
Seager, who is in the fifth year of a 10-year, $325 million contract, has recorded 28 hits and 22 walks. However, his 50 strikeouts represent a significant 27.5% of his 182 plate appearances. He has managed seven home runs and 20 RBIs during this period.
His most recent hit was an RBI single in the fourth inning against the New York Yankees on May 6. Although his solo home run in the first inning of that game helped Texas secure a win, strikeouts in his subsequent at-bats marked the beginning of his current hitless streak.
Over his last 16 games, Seager is batting .098 with 23 strikeouts in 61 at-bats.
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This is the latest point in any of his 12 seasons that Seager, who boasts a career batting average of .285 over 4,500 at-bats and 1,173 games, has fallen below the .200 mark.
He had never finished a game below .200 in eight of his previous seasons. This includes three instances where he went 1-for-5 (.200) in season openers (2016, 2020, and 2024) before collecting at least three hits in the subsequent game.
“Corey still feels good to go,” said first-year Rangers manager Skip Schumaker. “I like him in the lineup. So I’m going to continue putting him there if his body feels good and his mind is right. And it is, so that part is good.”
Schumaker did mention that a specific date has been set for Seager to sit out a game, likely coinciding with one of the team’s off days. The manager did not specify if this break would occur during the upcoming series in Houston or on their next scheduled off day later in the month.
The Rangers had previously benched slumping first baseman Jake Burger for two games the previous weekend. Burger responded well, going 3-for-3 on Tuesday and then matching a career high with four RBIs on Wednesday, including a three-run homer and a game-tying RBI single in the ninth inning.
Last year, Seager was hitting .194 after 10 games, which was his previous lowest mark below .200. He then significantly improved, going 14-for-30 (.467) in his next eight games. He concluded the season with a .271 average, 21 homers, and 50 RBIs, despite a six-game stretch in June where he went 0-for-25.
He was limited to 102 games overall last season due to hamstring issues and an appendectomy.
“Someone told me a long time ago … that when you are in a funk, it just means you’re going to get really, really hot,” Schumaker shared. “There’s some really big names right now that have had tough months, and that’s OK to start the season. And that just means, in my opinion, that he’s going to have a really good five months.”
