SARASOTA—Next Saturday, Donnie Ecker will manage half of an Orioles split-squad against the Atlanta Braves in North Port while Craig Albernaz will manage in Sarasota.
Don’t expect much to change.
“The players know when they’re talking to Donnie, they’re talking to me, and when they’re talking to me, they’re talking to Donnie,” Albernaz said. “He’s another set of eyes for me. I can’t be everywhere.”
Ecker brings a slim playing resume and an extensive major league coaching background to the Orioles.
He played just 36 games in the Texas Rangers organization in 2007 and 2008 but will be beginning his seventh season as a major league coach. Stints with Cincinnati, San Francisco and the Rangers preceded his hiring last fall.
Ecker, who’ll turn 40 on March 9th, coached with Albernaz in San Francisco under Gabe Kapler in 2020 and 2021 and kept in touch when he moved on to the Rangers.
With Texas, Ecker was their bench coach and offensive coordinator from 2022-2024. He was let go by the Rangers last May after shedding the bench coach responsibilities before the season.
Now, he’s back with Albernaz and he couldn’t be more delighted.
“He’s been somebody I’ve been able to bounce questions off of,” Ecker said. “We try to challenge each other and learn from each other every offseason.”
Seven new coaches and four returning ones form Albernaz’s first Orioles staff.
“A part of my role is to be there and have that nine inning or longer conversation that never stops,” Ecker said. “If he’s managing the second inning, it’s my job to be managing the sixth inning, so if I can stay ahead of the sticks for him, make sure he can still feel the game out while I’m mapping out some possible scenarios that are ahead of us.”
With the Rangers, Ecker worked under Chris Woodward and Tony Beasley in 2022 and was retained when future Hall of Fame manager Bruce Bochy took over in 2023. Under Albernaz, some of his duties will change.
“I think some of the responsibilities, a lot more involved on the pitching side as well as the hitting side, baserunning and being connected to the entire game,” Ecker said. “In Texas, I was mostly focused on offense. This is a little more being connected to the whole operation, the run game, really just connecting the whole game.”
His early impressions of the Orioles are positive.
“It’s been great. Just moving this club along. Alby’s got a really clear vision of what this looks like,” Ecker said. “Now it’s really just about being present.”
Ecker knew he was working with a future manager in San Francisco.
“Oh yeah, absolutely. Detailed, always prepared, loves to bring really good energy every single day and he’s just exceptional with people, so it’s a pretty good recipe for that,” he said.
Ecker watched the Orioles closely in 2023 when the Rangers swept the Division Series in three games and went on to an unlikely World Series win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. That could happen with the Orioles, Ecker believes.
“I’m putting no boundaries around this clubhouse at all, and with that being said, we just need to stay completely head down right now and focused and make sure everything we’re doing is about building the identity and building the process that leads to the identity,” Ecker said.“We believe we have the people in there, and now it’s really about blocking out everything and just getting right to work.”
Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman remain from that 2023 team. So does Kyle Bradish, and he likes the additions the team has made.
“Rightfully so, the position player group gets a lot of attention,” Ecker said. “There’s a lot of talent in there, and there’s a lot of personality in there and some guys with some pretty impressive resumes.
“For me, it’s actually been the pitching group. I think we’re underestimating it. Definitely not inside of our building, but industry-wide, so there’s a lot of really great leadership in there. I think there are some dudes that are going to take the next step in their journeys. That pitching group is one that I’m pretty excited about.”
Ecker has been on staffs in the National League Central, West and American League West. It’s his first team in arguably the toughest division in baseball, the American League East.
“Absolutely, wouldn’t want it any other way,” Ecker said. “I don’t really care about what’s over there. The only time I’m really focused on their names is when we’re thinking about how we’re going to go against them, exploit them. During that, our whole focus is on the Baltimore Orioles.
“Alby and I have been in a division where all the attention has been on the Dodgers and we never talked about them, so when I went to Texas, I knew the bull’s-eye was on Houston. Part of your job when you go to these new divisions, you have to get in the octagon with these teams, and you have to go punch-to-punch, so that’s going to be our mentality.”
Albernaz has high praise for Stephen Vogt, under whom he coached in Cleveland. The two seasons as bench coach and associate manager were invaluable, and he hopes that experience will be duplicated for Ecker and the other members of his staff.
“That’s what I want out of my bench coach as well,” he said. “I’m going to lean on Donnie throughout the year. I learned so much from Vogty in Cleveland, and I hope the same with Donnie.”
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