Rangers hire Bret Boone as new Hitting Instructor

The Rangers announced Monday they are bringing in 14-year veteran, three-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger Bret Boone to become the club's lead hitting instructor for the remainder of the season. The news comes less than 24 hours after the club announced the firing of Donnie Ecker, the former lead hitting instructor, whose role Boone will now take.

Boone is no stranger to success in the major leagues, spending his 14-year career with Seattle, Cincinnati and some very brief stints with Atlanta, San Diego and Montreal in the latter half of his career. He slugged 20 or more home runs six times, hitting 35 or more in two of those seasons.

Bret Boone revealed on his podcast that this all started when he went to his alma mater, USC, to throw out the first pitch. He happened to run into his friend Michael Young, a Rangers legend and adviser. After their discussion, Boone told Young to give his best to CY and Bochy, with whom Boone had ties and a great relationship, having played under Bochy for one year in 2000. It appeared Young, CY and Bochy then had some conversation about bringing in the former slugger as a hitting instructor, as Bochy would then call Boone and offer him the role.

Not only does Boone bring a rich history of baseball with him, but he has been around some of the game's best hitters in his career, including Ichiro, Ken Griffey Jr., Kevin Mitchell and Barry Larkin, to name a few. Boone will bring a deep understanding of the pitcher-batter battle, both mentally and physically, when stepping into the batter's box.

Boone has no prior coaching experience, and his hiring will be a risk for the Rangers. Just because a player is successful on the field does not mean he will excel at coaching others to replicate that success, as every hitter is different physically and mentally when stepping up to the plate. However, having a successful career certainly does not hurt the resume, and CY and company surely know that.

CY stated how Viele and Ecker had the same style and virtues in coaching and may have caused the lineup to focus too heavily on one side of the plate rather than balance out and become a more complete lineup and hitters. He is hoping Boone can be what Mike Maddux is for the pitching staff and how he instills confidence in them. “It is a good parallel. Mike has a unique skill set. One of the most important things is his ability to instill conviction, confidence and belief in a pitcher. My belief is Bret will be able to coach in a similar fashion and have a similar impact on our hitting group.”

This will be a big change for the Rangers hitting staff and will take effect immediately, as Boone is set to join the club in Boston when the Rangers take on the Red Sox. As much as fans and the Rangers will want to see results immediately, things like this are going to take time, especially when switching over just a month into the season. Between his playing years and family history, it is hard to find a player who is as deeply rooted into the game of baseball as Bret Boone.

The deal Boone signed is only for the remainder of the season and will be reevaluated once the season comes to an end. Now the Rangers will wait and see if Boone can instill some magic back into the Rangers lineup and provide a pitching staff that has been dominant with some much-needed help.

CY is officially taking swift action, and an early May coaching switch sure does prove it. Now time will tell if they hired the right person for the job.