The Rangers announced Monday that they’ve hired former big leaguer Bret Boone as their new hitting coach. The three-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger winner will take over as the top voice leading Rangers hitters. Offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker was fired just yesterday. Boone’s deal runs through the end of the 2025 season, per Jeff Wilson of RangersToday.com. The team will reevaluate at that point.
In other Rangers news, president of baseball operations Chris Young announced to the team’s beat today that they’re planning to recall outfielder Evan Carter from Triple-A Round Rock prior to tomorrow’s series opener against the Red Sox (link via Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News).
“You never know where life’s going to take you,” Boone said in announcing the news on his own podcast (video clip). “And the longer I live on this Earth, I learn that. This completely came out of left field. I went up to USC, my alma mater. I threw out a first pitch. I ran into an old buddy of mine, Michael Young, and he’s with the Texas Rangers. We just started talking, and we had a 10-minute conversation. … I get home, and the phone’s ringing, and it’s [Rangers manager] Bruce Bochy.”
Boone went on to joke that he thought Bochy, his former manager and a longtime friend, was calling to set up another appearance on Boone’s podcast. Bochy ran the possibility of a coaching position by Boone and told him to think about it. Boone explained that he spoke with his wife and loved ones but that it “didn’t take long” to decide he’d accept the position.
“If there’s a guy to get back on the field for — for the first time in a long time for me,” Boone continued, “Bruce Bochy is No. 1 on my list.”
Boone, 56, will be tasked with helping to turn around what has been one of the sport’s most disappointing offenses. The Rangers have limped to a an awful .228/.285/.359 batting line as a team. The resulting 83 wRC+ (indicating they’ve been 17% worse than average at the plate as a unit) ranks 25th in the majors. Texas hitters rank 29th with 113 runs scored, 25th in team batting average, 28th in OBP and 25th in slugging percentage. They also have the second-worst walk rate of any team in the majors.
It’s the second consecutive season the Rangers have struggled as a group. Last year, on the heels of a season that saw what was an MLB-best offense in 2023 struggle against fastballs in 2024, the front office overhauled the lineup. Nathaniel Lowe was traded to the Nationals. Jake Burger was acquired from the Marlins. Texas signed Joc Pederson to a two-year contract. Center fielder Leody Taveras was supposed to be pushed to a bench role, but injuries opened up more consistent playing time for him.
The results clearly haven’t been what the team envisioned. Burger was optioned to Triple-A recently. Taveras is on outright waivers. Pederson has been the worst hitter in baseball (min. 90 plate appearances), slashing just .o94/.181/.153 with the ultra-rare negative wRC+ mark (-4, indicating he’s been 104% worse than an average hitter). Marcus Semien and Adolis Garcia have also posted bleak offensive numbers in regular playing time.
Boone isn’t the first new voice the Rangers have installed recently. Ecker was dismissed after three years on the job, but Justin Viele was hired away from the Giants over the winter to bring in a fresh perspective. He and Boone will work with Seth Conner, who’s been an assistant hitting coach since 2022, to help turn the tide for a fourth-place Texas club that’s currently sitting at 17-18 — four games back of the division-leading Mariners.
As Young announced, Boone isn’t the only notable change. Carter will be coming up from Triple-A tomorrow and figures to step right into a prominent outfield role. He was a catalyst during the Rangers’ 2023 World Series run, debuting late in the year with a .306/.413/.645 slash in 23 games down the stretch and keeping the pace with a .300/.417/.500 showing in the postseason that year. Back injuries ruined Carter’s 2024 season, however; he slashed only .188/.272/.361 in 162 major league plate appearances and spent the majority of the season on the injured list.
Carter, still just 22 years old, has had a better showing in Round Rock this year but still doesn’t look to have recaptured that 2023 form. The former second-round pick (2020) is hitting .221/.333/.416 in Triple-A on the season. He’s hit three homers, swiped six bags and drawn a walk in a hearty 14.4% of his plate appearances but also has a 25.6% strikeout rate in 90 turns at the plate. It’s not the most encouraging Triple-A production, but the bar to clear is low, given Taveras’ .241/.259/.342 line in 82 plate appearances.
That’s great, but they still need an offensive coordinator!
Don’t forget about passing game coordinator! Run game coordinator is usually 1st or 3rd base coach.
As long as you don’t hire Lovie “Rex is our quarterback”. Or Eberfloos
We will throw Aaron in for free!
“In for free”..And Dr. Aaron Boone would be “worth” every single cent of “free”.
mlb fan even if he was free, they still wouldn’t be getting their money’s worth.
Well, sadly, you can’t hire Billy Martin again.
Maybe you can talk Lou Pinella off the golf course.
Lou’s busy selling condos to retirees.
I’m imagining Lou’s meltdown when he gets rejected.
Come on down to Shag.
Aaron can fire up the Rangers offense with his own Boone-isms!
“It’s right in front of Adolis.”
“Semien is ready to turn the corner.”
AFTER LAST NIGHT’S DECISION TO PULL CRUZ AFTER 2 PITCHES, DOUBLE YES.
HAVE DEVIN WILLIAMS TOO.
🙁
How about Bob and Daniel?
Great to see Bret back in the game.
Will he bring his HGH guy with him?
He should! It worked for him!
Can’t spell hittingh without HGH!
I wonder if the rangers will start to have GI Joe forearms now
Man if adolis gets on Bret’s juice…
If this works…..tbe phones of Luis Gonzalez, Brady Anderson and Sammy Sosa should be ringing.
HGH is a peptide hormone, not a steroid..
Those who take it sure are peppy.
Pepto Bismo morelike
That guy worked hard in 2001
Well, he had a wRC+ of 101, so he was 1% above league average for creating runs. Not sure how that relates to actually hitting the ball, though. He should be called the offensive coordinator instead.
Believe it or not, but hitting coaches don’t transfer their stats to players. It’s why nobody has committed a billion dollars to Barry Bonds to have him teach their team to do 73 home runs every year.
the Marlins did hire him fwiw, just at a much more modest salary than a billion dollars
See, it is possible to replace your hitting coach. This is an example the Nationals should learn from.
Angels need to do the same thing.
Hitting coach is just the easiest scapegoat. Every individual hitter has their own personal hitting coaches because they all have unique swings and timing mechanisms. Patience is a virtue.
Bret’s father Bob Boone was a long time cat her in MLB (age 24 to 42!) who stressed flexibility leading to less injuries and a longer career. He caught
142 games at age 41 and hit well. If he’d had any power he’d be in the HOF…..
So would 1,000 other guys.
I saw Bob play a lot. A good player but definitely not HOF worthy even with extra power.
Grandfather Ray Boone was a very good SS/3B in his own right.
@jorge78 His defensive bWAR, career, was 25.8, Up there with the best in the game including Molina, Ivan, Carter and the tier above Bench.
He didn’t need power so much as he needed to hit. Even a league average bat and he’d probably be in the Hall by now. Yadi’s 96 OPS+ bat would probably do it.
He was a cat? How did he hold the bat, between his paw and whiskers
Bob was a good one
Bob Boone and Tim McCarver made up an incredible catching duo in the late 1970s. Boone was at his peak from 1976-1979, and McCarver had the best offensive rate stats of his career in 1976 and 1977.
Tim McCarver was Steve Carlton’s catcher.
He caught 2,264 games in his career. I’m not sure if that’s the career record for catchers or not but it’s close…..
Bob Boone caught 2,225 games and 18,459 innings as catcher. Both rank #3 all time
baseball-reference.com/leaders/Gm_c_career.shtml
Fisk passed Boone by one game! Impressive! (IIRC, the White Sox essentially let him pass Boone, then not so gently eased him out the door immediately.)
Good ol’ boys.
lol the Rangers are about to get JACKED
Carter had a slow start at AAA but has gotten hot lately. .271/.327/.500 in his last dozen games. He still isn’t hitting lefties and he might always be a platoon guy. But the Rangers will take any kind of offensive production against any kind of pitching right now.
Don’t much care about Bret Boone one way or the other because I don’t think that hitting coaches make much of a difference. Maybe there will be some kind of effect just from a new face in the clubhouse, but I’m not holding my breath.
If yesterday’s game against the Bosoxs ( 6 to 1 victory and 16 hits) was any indication of a change in the dugout then Boone had to be the catalyst.
Hope he doesn’t give them whatever he was taking with the 2001 Mariners
My guess is that the Rangers brass will be watching Boone like a hawk because of his reputation as a juicer. The last thing this team needs is an 80-game suspension for one of their hitters.
As bad as their offense has been, it might be worth the risk
So you think Boone will act as a drug dealer, trying to get players addicted to PEDS? That’s…an interesting take.
Sure. Yeah right.
Some of their hitters perform like they’re on an 80 game suspension.
I saw his Mariners bobble head at an antique store for $8
“Each of Marcus Semien, Adolis Garcia and Kyle Higashioka have posted bleak offensive numbers in regular or semi-regular playing time.”
Given Higashioka is a catcher, I don’t see how a 93 OPS+ is “bleak” on offense. It’s 11 points higher than his career norm.
Yeah, Higashioka is hardly the problem. The team can’t do much about Semien because of his contract. But they’re definitely sending a message to Garcia with the Taveras and Carter moves. Either Adolis starts hitting or he starts sitting.
Honestly, that was just a brain lapse for me. I had the Rangers’ team batting stats up, was looking at Kyle Higashioka’s name as I was intending to type Taveras and just goofed on it. Higgy hasn’t been great but has generally been fine, as you said.
The core of a good offense is there. 5 hitters w OPS+’s of 108 to 165 and two more roughly league average.
Burger, Pedersen, and Semien are killing the lineup. It’d be surprising in September to see that Semien’s simply done, but the hitting profile of MIs in their mid-30s is ugly, even for HOVG players with HOF peaks.
Might be time for him to stop playing 162 games a year and sit once every 10 games. Still, his xBA is .241, his xSLG is .383, and he’s still fast. He should be all right.
Is he going to teach them how to hit on steroids?
Would steroids enhance his teaching performance?
I am surprised with the passing of his son he would accept this job already. Unless he wanting to take his mind off of that tragedy.
Just kidding I thought he was Brett Gardner sry lol need to pay attention.
“Passing of his son..of that tragedy”…As someone who likes to joke and poke fun at baseball in general; “tragedies” and deaths really aren’t that funny and you’ll more likely receive condemnation and criticism instead of laughs.
Okay, Mr. Gloryhole.
Delete this comment.
I commend Mr. Adams for describing Joc Pederson’s miserable wRC+ as “ultra-rare”. Most any other sportswriter would have described it as “incredible”, Anyone who spares me even one exposure to the use of the word “incredible” is a swell guy!
Awesome post.
wsj.com/opinion/the-incredibly-massive-number-of-h…
Tommy Pham has entered the chat
I swear to god if any Rangers start doing that obnoxious bat flip he used to do they should all be getting drilled
OK boomer
You mean OK Boomer Sooner
😢
As a lifelong Mariners fan i hope he is successful but the rangers lose. Its funny to think he was an average player until he showed up to Mariner spring training looking like Tarzan then destroyed the leagues pitching for a couple years. Wonder what his batting advice will be lol
Some guys just lift weights.
Also, creatine was among the legal supplements. What was sometimes taken for ‘roids was just creatine in numerous cases.
Ive lifted my entire life. Creatine just helps hold water in the muscle. It takes hard work and you hit a plateau as you age. Without steroids I highly doubt he would have added all that muscle over one off season while never having the same type of muscle gain at any time in his life. But its not proven he did anything wrong so its just a theory.
Yeah Cansecos theory.
Look guys, this is where the needle goes
We need a cannon to get this offense going and we got a BB instead.
Maybe there’s a way we can still get that cannon though if he knows a way to really amp up the power fast…
Hmm they are going to let a guy that resorted to steroids to make him a relevant player to help players hit that can’t use steroids. Interesting strategy.
A little strange that they hired someone who has no coaching experience even with the solid MLB pedigree. So what would you say you actually “do” here?
Brett Boone isn’t going to fix Burger or Pederson’s swing, there is a rift in that clubhouse, a coaching change might being the group together.
Would love to see Rudy Jaramillo back.
Darn, I wish it were the Mariners 🙁
I’d rather have Edgar coach the hitters, the Mariners have been one of the top 5 offenses in baseball since he came back to the dugout.
Who’s next, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Jose Canseco?
Yeah, because if it’s anyone whose hints are perfectly credible, it’s surely Jose Canseco.
Fire others for your own mistakes.
That’s the American way.
Juice em up Boone!
Bret Bucking Boone
Regarding Joc Pederson’s -4 wRC+, is that even mathematically possible? Presumably a dead guy would have a wRC+ of zero.
Lol yeah, seems like you’d have to get a hit for the other team to produce a negative figure.
Former juicer
May as well give it a shot. Maybe Boone can be the injection the team’s offense needs. Surely he will enhance their performance.
Hopefully he’s over Ichiro robbing him of the MVP.
Ok, I get it. Fix a swing with a little sting. Welcome Brett.
Sounds like the Rangers put a lot of research and due diligence into that decision. Must have been an impressive 10 minutes.
Brett Boone’s advice:
“You gotta get the meat on your butt when you’re injecting the steroids”
Will anyone attempt to replicate his goofy two strike stance?