Donnie Ecker

Donald Joseph Ecker (born March 9, 1986) is an American professional baseball coach. He is a hitting coach for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Playing career

Ecker graduated from Los Altos High School in Los Altos, California, in 2004. He played baseball and football at Los Altos, and received an athletic scholarship to the University of Nevada for football. The Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB) selected him in the 28th round of the 2004 MLB draft. Though Ecker did not sign with the Reds, he opted to focus on baseball. He enrolled at California State University, Long Beach and played college baseball for the Long Beach State Dirtbags as a freshman. He transferred to Lewis–Clark State College continued his college career for the Lewis–Clark State Warriors.

The Texas Rangers selected Ecker in the 22nd round of the 2007 MLB draft. He played in the Rangers organization, batting .268/.360/.371, and in the Frontier League, an independent baseball league.

Coaching career

Ecker retired in 2012, and coached baseball at Los Altos High School for two years. Bakersfield College hired him as an assistant coach in 2014. In 2015, the St. Louis Cardinals of MLB hired Ecker to work in player development.

The Cincinnati Reds hired Ecker as their assistant hitting coach after the 2018 season. The Reds added the title, Director of Hitting, to Ecker's responsibilities following the 2019 season.

Ecker was hired by the San Francisco Giants prior to the 2020 season, as one of their two major league hitting coaches.