Tuesday night was a big night for Will Venable.

The former Texas Rangers bench coach — who took on the Chicago White Sox as manager in 2025 — was named the American League manager of the year for 2026 after he guided the franchise to a playoff berth two years after it lost more games than any team in MLB history.

It was a stunning turnaround, and Venable was worthy of the award. He worked for Bruce Bochy as bench coach for two seasons and was part of the Rangers 2023 World Series team.

Bochy’s replacement, Skip Schumaker, did not receive a vote after guiding Texas to an 80-82 record in his first season. But how close is he to the award? Let’s explore.

Skip Schumaker, Future AL Manager of Year?

One thing to note is that only six managers received votes for the award. All six of them guided their teams to the postseason. Even Houston manager Joe Espada received one third-place vote. The Astros won the AL West with an 81-81 record, the first time a team won a division title with a .500 record.

But it shows that the voters for the award — the Baseball Writers Association of America — puts a premium on winning. Getting your team to the postseason is a sure-fire way to get a vote.

In that regard, Schumaker may not be that far away. Texas only missed tying Houston for the division lead by one game. The Rangers would have needed two wins to claim the division due to a tiebreaker. But that’s how close he was to getting a vote this year.

If Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young pulls the right strings, he can provide Schumaker the talent he needs to overcome the Astros and win the division. Then, it’s up to Schumaker to pull those strings during the games.

One reason Venable won the award was how he guided Chicago’s turnaround from 2024, when they won only 40 games. The White Sox went from 60 wins in 2025 to 84 wins and an AL wild card berth in 2026.

Schumaker had that edge in 2023 with the Miami Marlins. He took at team no one expected to the postseason and won the NL manager of the year award. He won’t have that advantage next season. His Rangers only finished four games below the White Sox in the overall standings.

That means the Rangers probably need to win the division convincingly to give Schumaker a shot. Tampa Bay’s Kevin Cash was second in voting. The Rays went to the World Series, but this is a regular season award. Cash led Tampa Bay to the best overall record in the AL. Had the White Sox not done what they did, he likely would have won the award.

The reality is Schumaker isn’t that far away from winning the award. He needs a better team that can win at least 90 games in 2027 to give him a shot.