Former Seattle Mariners second baseman Bret Boone was hired Monday as the hitting coach for the Texas Rangers, who are last in the American League in runs scored.

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It will be the first time Boone, the brother of New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone, is on a major league coaching staff. Bret Boone will join the Rangers on Tuesday for the opener of their three-game series in Boston.

Boone’s hiring came a day after Texas fired offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker following a three-game series against the Mariners.

In 14 big league seasons as a player, Boone was a three-time All-Star and hit .266 with 252 homers and 1,021 RBIs in 1,780 games from 1992-2005 for five teams: Seattle, Cincinnati, Atlanta, San Diego and Minnesota. His only season with the Padres was in 2000, when his manager was current Rangers skipper Bruce Bochy.

Boone discussed how his new role came to fruition on The Bret Boone Podcast. He said he recently ran into former Rangers All-Star shortstop Michael Young (who is now a member of the Rangers’ front office) at a USC baseball game, and the conversation led to Boone telling Young to give his number to Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young. He heard from Bochy soon after.

“I talked to my wife and I talked to the people close to me. It didn’t take long,” Boone said of his decision. “It’s one of those things where I didn’t know where this journey’s taking me, but if there’s a guy to get back on the field for the first time in a long time, for me … Bruce Bochy’s number one on my list.”

“Turning 2 With Boonie”… New chapter… @Rangers 👊🏼 #AllForTX #BooneApproved

🎧: https://t.co/s4K8Caxmit pic.twitter.com/ZkOGf0K3wa

— Bret Boone (@theboone29) May 5, 2025

Boone spent his first two big league seasons with the Rangers’ AL West rival in Seattle in 1992-93. He was traded in November 1993 to the Cincinnati Reds in the deal that brought current Mariners manager Dan Wilson to Seattle.

Boone returned to the Mariners from 2001-05, made two All-Star teams, won three Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers and became the club’s all-time leader in home runs and RBIs at second base. In 2001, Boone hit .331 with a .950 OPS, 37 home runs and 141 RBIs, finishing third in AL MVP voting during Seattle’s MLB-record-tying 116-win season. In 803 games across seven seasons with the Mariners, he hit .277 with a .767 OPS, 143 home runs and 535 RBIs.

Texas (17-18) had a day off Monday after an 8-1 win at home in its series finale against AL West-leading Seattle on Sunday. Even with that outburst, the Rangers were last in the AL with 113 runs. They lost 13-1 and 2-1 in the first two games of that series.

Before the win over the Mariners, the Rangers had scored just 30 runs during a 2-9 stretch, and half of those came when they finished with a season-high 15 runs against Oakland on Tuesday. They opened the series against Seattle with losses of 13-1 and 2-1.

Boone retired as a player while with Triple-A Columbus in the Washington Nationals system in 2008. He had since been involved in several business ventures, most recently his podcast focused on baseball topics. He was a roving instructor and scout in the Athletics organization in 2014-15.

Ecker was in his fourth season as the club’s offensive coordinator after being hired on Nov. 1, 2021. He helped the Rangers win their only World Series title in 2023.

Seattle Sports staff contributed to this report. 

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