Rangers pick up Woodward's 2022 option

The Rangers have exercised manager Chris Woodward’s 2022 contract option, general manager Chris Young and president of baseball operations Jon Daniels announced Wednesday.

Woodward was hired as Texas’ 19th full-time manager in club history on Nov. 3, 2018, following a three-year stint as third-base and infield coach for the Dodgers. He’s since put together a 100-122 record through two seasons.

“Chris Woodward’s passion, dedication and total commitment to the Texas Rangers organization has been obvious from his first day on the job,” Daniels said. “He provided strong leadership in dealing with the challenges of the 2020 season, and we believe he will be an instrumental part of building a winning culture here in Texas.”

Daniels said picking up the option was a bit of a formality as a way for the organization to emphasize its commitment to Woodward and the culture that he’s working to create.

Woodward was challenged with overseeing a rebuild through the Rangers' organization when he was hired, and he’s been committed to the growth and development of young players.

“One of the single most important things that we need to happen this year is for that young group at the big league level to improve,” Daniels said. “Player development at the Major League level and for them to create a foundation that we can then add to, I feel very confident in him and the rest of the staff to accomplish that stuff.”

Young said that players up and down the organization have responded well to the culture that Woodward has been establishing. He said he has seen a collective buy-in from both young players and veterans alike.

Woodward is happy with the commitment that Daniels and Young made to him, but he emphasized that he doesn’t like to focus on himself when he does his job -- his attention goes to connecting with the players in the organization.

“We're very connected in our vision and what we're trying to create,” Woodward said. “I'm just honored they put the trust in me, and I feel like we're making a ton of progress, especially from a cultural standpoint.

“It isn't about me; it's about getting these 26 guys, or however many guys we have in the organization to believe in the same thing and to be going in the same direction.”

Woodward said earlier in the week that he judges his own success on the successes of his players, which is much more important to him.

“You know, and I know why I do this job,” Woodward said. “It's not about me; it's about getting those guys to become champions and that's everything we do every day.”