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Giants pluck young, fast riser from Reds as new hitting coach [report]

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Joe Camporeale | 2019 Feb 19


Meet Donnie Baseball, the Giants’ reported new hitting coach.

Tasked with overseeing an offense that scored the third least runs in baseball last season is Reds assistant hitting coach Donnie Ecker, The Athletic first reported.

Ecker, a Southern California native, is a fast riser, leaping from being the batting coach for the Angels’ 2018 Triple-A affiliate to Cincinnati’s assistant coach to the Giants gig.

The 33-year-old rocketed up the ranks, a high school coach beginning in 2012, coached at Bakersfield College in 2014 before jumping to the Cardinals’ organization. He was a minor leaguer from 2007-10.

The second known coach under Gabe Kapler — Ron Wotus will be returning as third-base coach — will take his place as a wunderkind, one of the new, fresh faces who hopes to successfully pull off a radical regime change, as president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and first-year manager Kapler make their choices for the staff.

Ecker will be replacing Alonzo Powell, who, after working under Bruce Bochy, found his new job in Japan.