Fastball

Texas Rangers Introduce Former All-Star Slugger Bret Boone as New Hitting Coach

Bret Boone, who made a name for himself with the Cincinnati Reds and Seattle Mariners in the 1990s and 2000s, is set to replace Donnie Ecker as the Texas Rangers' hitting coach.
Sam Connon|
Seattle, Washington, USA; Former MLB All-Star Bret Boone hits a home run during the All Star Celebrity Game at T-Mobile Park.
Seattle, Washington, USA; Former MLB All-Star Bret Boone hits a home run during the All Star Celebrity Game at T-Mobile Park. | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

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Texas RangersSeattle MarinersCincinnati Reds

The Texas Rangers have hired Bret Boone as their next hitting coach, the club announced Monday afternoon.

The move comes in the wake of the Rangers firing offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker after four seasons on Sunday. Under Ecker's leadership, the Rangers opened the 2025 campaign ranked No. 25 in batting average, No. 27 in OPS and No. 29 in runs.

As for Boone, he will join the Rangers ahead of their series opener against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on Tuesday.

Boone was a three-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger and four-time Gold Glove winner, spending the majority of his 14-year MLB career with the Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds. He is the older brother of New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone.

Boone doesn't have any big league coaching experience under his belt, despite retiring as a player in 2008. He managed four games for the Victoria Seals of the Golden Baseball League in 2010.

On Monday's episode of "The Bret Boone Podcast," Boone explained that he got a call out of the blue from Rangers manager Bruce Bochy. He had recently reconnected with the Rangers' special assistant to the general manager, Michael Young, who helped orchestrate the move behind the scenes.

Texas is less than two years removed from winning the World Series, and many of the same bats have hung around in the lineup. Boone doesn't have a championship ring of his own, but the 56-year-old has plenty of experience that the Rangers are hoping can help turn things around for their offense.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a staff writer covering baseball for “Fastball on SI.’’ He previously covered UCLA Athletics for On SI’s All Bruins site, and is a UCLA graduate, with his work there as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for On SI’s New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk. Sam lives in Boston.

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