The Texas Rangers on Monday named former major league infielder Bret Boone as their new hitting coach.
His will join the team Tuesday when it plays the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Boone replaces Donnie Ecker, who was fired Sunday after the team’s extended struggle scoring runs.
Boone, 56, played 14 seasons in the majors and was a three-time All-Star, including in 2001 with the Seattle Mariners when he led the American League with 141 RBIs. He had a career .266 batting average and hit 252 home runs with 1,021 RBIs. He is the older brother of New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone.
Bret Boone played for Rangers manager Bruce Bochy on the 2000 San Diego Padres and hit .251 with 19 home runs and 74 RBIs that season.
The decision to move on from Ecker, who held the title of offensive coordinator, was announced after the Rangers won 8-1 on Sunday in their series finale against the AL West-leading Seattle. Even with that outburst, the Rangers (17-18) are last in the American League with 113 runs.
Before the win over the Mariners, the Rangers had scored only 30 runs during a 2-9 stretch, and half of those came when they finished with a season-high 15 runs against the Athletics on Tuesday. Texas opened the series against Seattle with losses of 13-1 and 2-1.
The 39-year-old Ecker was in his fourth season as the club’s offensive coordinator after being hired Nov. 1, 2021. He helped the Rangers win their only World Series title in 2023.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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