Texas Rangers Outfielder Takes Blame After Blowing Game With Costly Error

Texas Rangers center fielder Leody Taveras is an elite defender. Just watch him roam the expanse of the outfield with top-end speed and range, tracking down fly balls in the alleys to rob hitters of base hits with his glove.

The stats back that up. According to Baseball Savant, Taveras is in the 85th percentile among outfielders in range, 84th in arm strength, 81st in fielding run value and 77th in sprint speed. That defensive prowess of one of the reasons the Rangers can live with his subpar bat.

But when the leather lets the club down, it’s felt. Taveras’ costly error in the ninth inning on Thursday night helped set the table for Texas' 4-3 loss to the Athletics in West Sacramento, Calif.

“No excuse,” Taveras said, according to Kennedi Landry of MLB.com. “That’s a play I have to make to win the game. I just missed it...That’s a play I have to make. It’s bad. It’s a bad feeling. I cost us the win.”

The A’s rallied with two runs in the final frame off closer Luke Jackson. With one out, Jackson walked Max Schuemann to put the tying run on base. Luis Urías followed with a routine single to center, which Taveras charged but failed to field cleanly.

The ball bounced off his glove and went slightly behind him. Adolis García came over from right field, picked up the ball and fired it into the infield, but it was too late as Schuemann scored easily.

Jacob Wilson walked it off two batters later with a hit to score Urías and win the series for the A’s.

The miscue is part of an uneven trend for Taveras to start the season. He’s already misplayed several balls this season and has two errors. He only had three in all of 2024 and one in 2023. His current .961 fielding percentage is a career low.

“He’s had a couple mistakes,” manager Bruce Bochy said, according to MLB.com. “It's unlike Leo. It's just about focus. That's a big play at that point. It's the last thing we can let happen there."

The Rangers (14-11) dropped into a tie with the Seattle Mariners atop the American League West. Texas opens a three-game series at the San Francisco Giants beginning Friday night.