When Corey Seager signed with the Texas Rangers, it was with the understanding he would be given the space to do things his way, not that much different from when the Miami Heat added free agent LeBron James.
Because Seager is one of the best hitters, and shortstops, in baseball, the Rangers agreed, even if they were unaware of exactly what “his way” means.
This is not uncommon in free agency; the Heat famously agreed to a long list of “his way” details in order to sign LeBron. The Dallas Mavericks were not so fond of the “his way” with Luka Doncic, so they traded him.
Turns out, “his way” for Seager includes a pre-game routine that is pretty much separate from his teammates — he hits on his own before first pitch, in an indoor batting cage. He can also be hard to find sometimes for team employees. Where is he? No one knows. Off doing his own thing.
This sort of behavior is not even that uncommon any more in baseball. Between the influx of personal trainers, personal coaches and personal nutritionists, baseball is numb to the player whose routine is not that of his team’s.
What the Rangers have learned is that when the game starts, the results are Hall of Fame production, and once the game ends, it’s Class A Ball obscurity that has almost no equal in this market, or this era of present-day sports. Corey Seager is the invisible face of the Texas Rangers.
Seager is set to begin his fourth season with the Rangers, and there is a decent chance that, unless you are a loyal and die-hard fan of the team, you may not even know who he is.
Of the many great players who currently work in the area, none is more of an enigma than Seager, the man who powered the team to its first World Series championship all the while often projecting an image that he’d rather be anywhere other than here.
Fox Sports recently released a poll of the “10 Biggest Athletes in Texas.” It’s a cliche-ridden list:
10. Texas QB Arch Manning
9. Astros OF Yordan Alvarez
8. Mavs center Anthony Davis
7. Mavs guard Kyrie Irving
6. Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb
5. Astros 2B Jose Altuve
4. Texans QB C.J. Stroud
3. Cowboys DE Micah Parsons
2. Spurs C Victor Wembanyama
1. Cowboys QB Dak Prescott
There is no science to these subjective lists. They’re harmless fun, and for debate. NFL and NBA players will always dominate “most-popular athlete lists.”
This list reads like it is based an algorithm that includes “Google Search” and social media traffic, which is why there is zero mention of a player who was a first round draft pick, the National League Rookie of the Year, a five-time All-Star, a World Series MVP both with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Rangers, and finished in the top 3 of MVP voting in different leagues.
Ask the AI platform ChatGPT to produce “Scott Boras Client” and the print out be Corey Seager. Great player. Not a problem. Cooperative. Anything above on-the-field production will likely come with a new line item on the bill. No one in sports monetizes every aspect of their client more than Boras, who has a line of hopeful players at his door praying he represents them.
The parallels between Seager and another infamous Rangers shortstop are eerie, with the striking difference that one of them is actually OK wearing his current uniform.
In the winter of 2000, Alex Rodriguez signed his record 10-year, $252 million contract with the Rangers. In the winter of 2021, Seager signed his 10-year, $325 million contract. Both deals were negotiated by Boras.
A-Rod never wanted to be a Ranger, and at best he acted resigned to his decision that he came to Arlington for a giant pile of money. Despite All-Star production, the team wasn’t good. He didn’t much care for the team; he won the AL MVP in 2003 and was traded shortly thereafter to the Yankees because then-owner Tom Hicks could no longer afford the contract.
Seager is not A-Rod. Seager is more of an introvert who just really doesn’t say much, and he does it “his way.”
It’s why two moments when he showed some personality are eternally cherished for the Rangers, and their fans.
No. 1: When he hit his game-tying home run in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 1 of the 2023 World Series in Arlington, he let out a primal scream on contact. There was nothing about Seager’s personality that previously suggested he had more than a “yawn” in his lungs.
No. 2: At the conclusion of the Texas Rangers’ World Series parade, Seager took the microphone in front of the hundreds of thousands of fans and said, “Everyone was wondering what was gonna happen if the Rangers didn’t win the World Series. I guess we’ll never know.”
The line was a direct shot at Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman, and was another home run. There was nothing in Seager’s previous public time that suggested he would say anything more than, “Thanks. Go local sports team.”
Would people love to see more of this personality, and emotion, from Seager? Yes.
Would the Rangers prefer if he hit batting practice in the cage with his teammates before a game, and wasn’t so hard to find for this and that? Yes.
You’re probably not going to get it.
He does it his way.
This story was originally published March 21, 2025 at 4:00 AM.
Mac Engel
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
817-390-7760
Mac Engel is an award-winning columnist who has covered sports since the dawn of man; Cowboys, TCU, Stars, Rangers, Mavericks, etc. Olympics. Movies. Concerts. Books. He combines dry wit with 1st-person reporting to complement an annoying personality.