2025 Texas Rangers Spring Training | Bailey Orr/Texas Rangers/GettyImages
The Texas Rangers are still struggling to hit consistently as they hit the one-month mark in the season. The 15-run outburst in support of Jacob deGrom’s best outing in three years was fool’s gold as the squad has scored one run and was shut out in the two games that followed, losing the four-game series to the A’s 3-1.
This is definitely not the way new hitting coach Justin Viele wanted to start his tenure in Arlington, and it’s time to examine the background and credentials of the 2024 import who served as the hitting coach for the San Francisco Giants last season. He replaced Tim Hyers, who also struggled to get the engine revving after the 2023 World Series season.
If the ineptness at the plate continues, fans are going to be looking for heads to roll sooner rather than later, and with Bruce Bochy likely not going anywhere, it is Viele’s head who may be first on the chopping block. Offensive coach Donnie Ecker is not far behind. Both should, at the least, be updating their resume.
Viele served under Ecker in San Francisco in ’20 and ’21, and it is Ecker who brought Viele into the fold with the Rangers this season. General Manager Chris Young has confirmed that of the numerous candidates interviewed for the job, Viele’s previous relationship with Ecker stood out.
Viele told MLB.com in February, “Donnie has been like an older brother to me over the years. We’ve stayed in touch weekly over the years when we weren’t coaching together. I just know his personality, and he’s so fun to be around. I just want to come to a place where we can really enjoy who we’re working with and enjoy what we do every day.”
The 35-year-old baseball lifer was drafted in the 39th round of the 2013 MLB draft by the Baltimore Orioles. After a couple of less than stellar campaigns bouncing between Single-A and the rookie league, Viele suffered an injury and was released in 2015, ending his playing career.
He segued immediately into a coaching career with the Orioles, landing an assistant role with the minor league Frederick Keys, before returning to coach at his alma mater, Santa Clara, for three more years. He continued to pay his dues within the Los Angeles Dodgers organization before landing the hitting coach job in San Francisco in 2020.
In his final season as the coach with the Giants in 2024, the team hit an underwhelming .239 with a modest OPS of .701. Both were well below the league average. The Rangers have gone six straight games without a home run. A dubious statistical distinction that hasn’t happened since 2021.
Chris Young has proven that he isn’t afraid to pull the trigger and hold people responsible for underperforming. It’s only 33 games into the season, and he may want a larger sample size before making a move, but if I were Viele or Ecker, I’d be walking softly through the vast corridors of Globe Life Field right about now.
