Rangers fire hitting coach after rare offensive outburst amid frustrating start

The Texas Rangers announced the release of hitting coach Donnie Ecker amid ongoing struggles at the plate.Ecker, who joined the Rangers in November 2021, played a pivotal role in the team’s 2023 World Series championship season.His official title was offensive coordinator.However, the team’s offensive performance has declined since then.

Despite an 8-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners on the day of the announcement, the Rangers’ offense has been underwhelming throughout the season.“After lengthy discussions and deliberations, we feel now is the appropriate time to provide our hitters with a new voice as we pursue goals of winning the division and reaching the postseason,” said Rangers President Chris Young in a statement.The Rangers are just 17-18 this season and are ranked 25th in the league with a .228 batting average and a .359 slugging percentage.Even now, the Rangers are still toward the bottom in several key offensive metrics — their .644 OPS is the fourth-worst in the league even following their win Sunday.Meanwhile, they are seventh in ERA at 3.44.

Several key players have underperformed, notably Marcus Semien and Adolis García, while offseason acquisition Joc Pederson has struggled significantly as well.Infielder Jake Burger, another offseason addition, was recently optioned to Triple-A after batting .190 with three home runs and 12 RBIs across 30 contestsThe team has not yet named a replacement for Ecker, but they did note that the club’s hitting staff will be addressed in the coming days.

Ecker, whose four-year run with Texas comes to a close, also coached on the staff of the San Francisco Giants from 2020-2021 as well as the Cincinnati Reds in 2019....