Jake Burger's September Slide Mirrored Rangers' Late-Season Troubles

It is hard to truly explain what a dumpster fire the American League was this season, except for the top three teams in the division, which were never the Texas Rangers.

Somehow, some way, the Rangers were still in the hunt for a playoff spot, but the team could never find a groove, and part of that was the decline of their first baseman.

The thing is, Texas is a part of the worst division in baseball, but still fell one game behind the Houston Astros, who entered the postseason as one of the more pitiful teams in the history of the MLB playoffs.

But what got them over the hump? Their stars played like stars. Look at what Yordan Alvarez and Jeremy Pena did down the stretch. There is no team in the playoffs that is not counting on a leader at the plate.

When Jake Burger leads your team in walks, you've got a serious OBP issue.
— Daniel Youngblood (@DPYoungblood) September 29, 2026

A team has to have a go-to, and while Corey Seager and Joc Pederson didn't do their part; they needed Jake Burger to have a good stretch, which was far from the case. This one is about Burger's falloffs, not the rest of the team.

Overall, this was a solid year for Burger as he led the team in both RBI and home runs while posting career highs in both runs batted in and drawn walks. He was ice-cold in the thick of a mediocre playoff race.

Major Let Down From Burger in September

Jake Burger hits a baseball in a white Rangers jersey — Rangers first baseman Jake Burger (21) drives in a run against the Red Sox.Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It is hard not to imagine what this season could have finished like had injuries not derailed many hitters' seasons, but Burger played in every game, but seven, and the highs and lows were just not sustainable in the end.

When September came around, the Rangers were in firm control of their destiny but ended up losing five of their last seven games. While this is a team game, Burger's struggles in the clutch is just not something that a manager can overlook.

The final month of the year was in contention for Burger's worst as he tallied up more than double the strikeouts as he did hits:

.173/.303/.383
.686 OPS
29 Strikeouts
14 Hits

Luckily for him, when he did make contact it was often for extra-base hits, as he hit five home runs and two doubles during that stretch. But as the team continued to struggle, it appeared to coincide directly with his own struggles.

Jake Burger hits a baseball in a grey Rangers jersey — Rangers first baseman Jake Burger (21) hits against the Diamondbacks. Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn I | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It was a disappointing year for Texas who has now missed the postseason every campaign since its 2023 World Series victory. The coaching staff needs to figure out what went wrong with the offense down the stretch and address it this offseason.

Burger is not going anywhere as their first baseman, so they just need to figure out what happened, and make sure it never happens again.

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