A former graduate of Los Altos High School, Donnie Ecker was able to move back to his native Bay Area in taking the job as the Giants' new hitting coach. A lifelong fan of the San Francisco 49ers and the team he now works for, Ecker is quite pleased to be back among familiar surroundings, and while he admits there are certain downsides, the opportunity was one he couldn't pass up.
"It's a responsibility," Ecker described Thursday on KNBR's "Papa & Lund" podcast. "I think there can be a lot of outside noise when you come home. People you went to school with that you haven't talked to in 15 years are asking about season tickets. So, just managing some of the noise is a part of any job, but in this case, the way I've always described it is one of those responsibilities you dream of. And in this case, it's to play a part with an incredible staff to see if we can restore some of the excellence that has been here for so long."
Ecker had a few weeks to develop a familiarity with Giants hitters at the start of spring training in Arizona, but with the MLB season indefinitely paused due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, they've since been separated. So, how does the coaching staff operate given the current shelter-in-place guidelines?
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In addition to utilizing the technology at their disposal, both coaches and players alike have been forced to get creative to find ways to work on hitting during this unprecedented time, and Ecker believes that process alone can have long-term benefits.
"As much as we're staying connected with guys and how important that is," Ecker said, "it has been great to step back and give them a platform to be really creative in their own sense. So, the way guys are training with their wives and they're finding ways to hit in the backyard and train, there's an element to that -- it's almost like being a child again in your backyard. And I think there are some really nice habits that can come out of that. So, it's a balance of staying on course and on schedule while also, you know, let's not miss the opportunity that's in front of us to be really creative."
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While Ecker and the players are making the best of the current situation, he knows there's a limit to how effectively they can mirror a true game environment. As such, the focus is more on overall fitness than hitting.
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"We know that, no matter what, it's really difficult to replicate 98 miles an hour and 90 mph sliders," Ecker explained. "So, we really prioritize keeping our bodies in the best shape as we can, and just really leaning on Brad Lawson and our strength and conditioning team and our medical staff to keep these guys in really good shape, so that when we do come back, we're not spending our time ramping them up physiologically and we can kind of get back to work and hopefully accelerate that a little quicker."
When MLB does return -- and that's anyone's guess -- Ecker will be able to get back to work with his hitters and instruct them in person, rather than on the phone or over a video call. The Giants have a long way to go to catch up to the top offensive teams in the league, and it will partly fall on him to help get them there.
So, is there someone in particular he would like the hitters to model their swing after?
"We put Barry [Bonds] on a pedestal here," Ecker said with a chuckle. "The things he did were -- everything about it from game-planning to body mechanics to pitch selection -- it was as good as we have ever seen in the game."
Obviously, not everyone can swing it like the greatest power hitter of all time, so Ecker takes a more case-by-case approach, depending on the body composition and movement of the player in question.
"We would individualize based on how the guy moved, how long his arms were ... so finding comparable body levers is a really big deal. And then you're looking at movement capabilities. So, if a guy is a really stiff mover like a Mike Trout, we may have him model and look after certain guys who move that way. Or, if he's a really loose, long-lever, high-flexibility guy, we may have that guy model his move and his swing after somebody that's more comparable."
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Hopefully, Ecker and the Giants' hitters can re-commence that process sooner rather than later.