He was at the helm for the most successful period in Texas Rangers history, which was ten years ago. He was at the helm for the least successful period in Texas Rangers history, which is now.

He made the greatest trades in franchise history when he dealt Mark Teixeira. He had one of the worst track records at the draft.

He made the greatest free agent acquisition when he signed Adrian Beltre. He had a complete inability to develop pitching.

Jon Daniels was at times the best general manager the Rangers have ever had. He was at times the worst.

In the end, riding on the fumes of a successful past was no longer enough to overcome the sinking ship of today.

Much is made, rightfully so, of the golden years in Rangers history. The World Series teams of 2010 and 2011. The Best Team in Texas Rangers History of 2012. The playoff years of 2015 and 2016. That was seven years of heaven for this franchise.

But the other fact is the Texas Rangers are currently suffering through their worst period in franchise history. Texas is going to finish under .500 for the sixth year in a row. Never have the Rangers been that bad for that long. 

The farm system is highly ranked. But it has been highly ranked in the past and has yet to produce a bona fide star. There is nothing to say this one will.

Jon Daniels’s takes with him a conflicting legacy. He was the youngest general manager in major league history who enjoyed early success and acclaim. There’s no taking away his accomplishments. But there’s also no denying that, as the brain trust around him moved on—Nolan Ryan, Thad Levine, AJ Preller—Daniels’s decision-making ability, and success, went with it. He was, to use a word he used so often to describe the sorry rotations he foisted upon the ticket buying public, “exposed.” 

After years of selling hope, ownership unwrapped the gift and realized what was in side. A big box of BS.

Yesterday he was fired.

Chris Young takes over. Yes, it’s a franchise that’s looking up. But it’s not just looking up a few feet. It’s miles below sea level, looking up at the moon. 

And it never should have gotten to that point in the first place. Which was, in the end, the point of letting Jon Daniels go. 

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