Donald Joseph Ecker (born March 9, 1986) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

. He played college baseball for

California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), also known in athletics as Long Beach State University (LBSU), is a public teaching-focused institution in Long Beach, California, United States. The 322-acre campus is the second largest in the ...

and

Lewis–Clark State College Lewis-Clark State College is a public college in Lewiston, Idaho, United States. It was founded in 1893 and has an approximate annual enrollment of 3,600. The college offers more than 130 degrees. History In 1893, Governor William J. McConn ...

. The Texas Rangers selected Ecker in the 22nd round of the

2007 MLB draft The 2007 Major League Baseball draft, was an annual choosing of high school and college baseball players, held on June 7, 2007 and June 8, 2007. The first day session of the draft included the first 25 rounds and was scheduled to be broadcast "l ...

. He has coached in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

, and Texas Rangers.

Early life

Ecker graduated from Los Altos High School in

Los Altos, California Los Altos (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Heights") is a city in Santa Clara County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 31,625 according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Most of the city's growth ...

, in 2004. He played baseball and football at Los Altos, and received an athletic scholarship to the

University of Nevada The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada, United States. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded ...

for football. The

(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.

College career

He enrolled at

and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the

Long Beach State Dirtbags The Long Beach State Dirtbags baseball team is the college baseball program that represents California State University, Long Beach. Although all Long Beach State sports teams are officially known as the Beach, the baseball team is typically refe ...

as a freshman, for whom he was 2-for-12 with a double in 2006. He transferred to

in Idaho and continued his college career for the Lewis–Clark State Warriors, for whom he was 1-for-7 in 2007.

Professional career

Draft and minor leagues

The Texas Rangers selected Ecker in the 22nd round of the

. He played in the Rangers organization in 2007 and 2008, batting .268/.360/.371 in 97 at bats for the Rookie-level

AZL Rangers The Arizona Complex League Rangers are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Texas Rangers, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona. The team is composed m ...

and the Class A Short-Season

Spokane Indians The Spokane Indians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Spokane Valley, the city immediately east of Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The Indians are members of the High-A Northwest League (NWL) as an affiliate of the Co ...

. He then played in the

Frontier League The Frontier League (FL; French: ''Ligue Frontière'', LF) is a professional baseball league in North America composed of 18 teams – 15 in the United States and 3 in Canada. The FL is one of the eight independent baseball leagues in North Ame ...

, an

independent baseball league An independent baseball league is a professional baseball league in the United States or Canada that is not overseen by Major League Baseball or its affiliated Minor League Baseball system (historically referred to as organized baseball). Inde ...

, batting .291/.391/.401 in 172 at bats in 2010 in Illinois for the

Windy City Thunderbolts The Windy City ThunderBolts are a professional baseball team based in Crestwood, Illinois. The ThunderBolts compete in the Frontier League (FL) as a member of the Midwest Division. The team is owned by Franchise Sports LLC, playing its home games ...

and the Gateway Grizzlies. He retired as a player prior to the 2011 season.

Coaching career

He coached baseball at Los Altos High School, first as an assistant for two years, and then as coach for two years from 2013-14.

Bakersfield College Bakersfield College (BC) is a Public college, public Community colleges in the United States, community college in Bakersfield, California. BC serves about 31,000 students each semester or 46,500 annually, and offers associate degrees, certifica ...

hired him as an assistant coach in 2014. In addition to coaching at Los Altos High School, Ecker coached at the prestigious college development amateur baseball progra
California Club Baseball (CCB)
from 2011-2014. During his time with CCB, Ecker helped lead his teams to three COLT World Series titles along with mentor future major league players Kris Bubic, James Outman and Trevor Larnach. In 2015, the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

of MLB hired Ecker to work in player development, a position he held for three years. In 2015 and 2016 he was the hitting coach for the Class High-A

Palm Beach Cardinals The Palm Beach Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in the town of Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home games at Roge ...

, and he was then the hitting coach at Class A Advanced

Peoria Chiefs The Peoria Chiefs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The team was established in 1983 as the Peoria Suns. They are located in Peoria, Illinois, and are named for the Pe ...

in 2017. In 2018 Ecker was the hitting coach for the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

' Triple-A affiliate the

Salt Lake Bees The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team that plays in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. Based in South Jordan, Utah, the team plays its home games at The Ballpark at Am ...

. The

hired Ecker as their assistant hitting coach in November 2018. The Reds added the title director of hitting to Ecker's responsibilities following the 2019 season. The

hired Ecker as one of their two major league hitting coaches prior to the 2020 season. The Texas Rangers hired Ecker as their

bench coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decision ...

and offensive coordinator on November 1, 2021. He spent the 2022-2024 seasons in that role. Prior to the 2025 season, Texas removed his bench coach duties for him to focus solely on the offense. On May 4, 2025 the Texas Rangers dismissed Ecker from the organization.

References

External links

*
Cincinnati Reds coaching bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ecker, Donnie 1986 births Living people Baseball players from Bakersfield, California Baseball infielders Arizona League Rangers players Spokane Indians players San Angelo Colts players Windy City ThunderBolts players Gateway Grizzlies players High school baseball coaches in the United States Minor league baseball coaches Cincinnati Reds coaches San Francisco Giants coaches Texas Rangers coaches Major League Baseball bench coaches Major League Baseball hitting coaches Long Beach State Dirtbags baseball players Lewis–Clark State Warriors baseball players Bakersfield Renegades baseball coaches