One of Craig Albernaz’s first tasks after being hired as manager of the Orioles was to fill out his coaching staff, and he picked a former colleague in Donnie Ecker as his bench coach.
Albernaz and Ecker overlapped in San Francisco from 2020-2021, when both were on the Giants’ coaching staff. Ecker was a hitting coach for San Francisco during that period, while Albernaz was on staff from 2020-2023 as a bullpen coach and catching instructor.
The two were part of a particularly memorable season in 2021, when the Giants won 107 games and fended off the Los Angeles Dodgers for the National League West title. Albernaz distinguished himself as a coach in the second half of the season, according to Ecker.
“We never separated in the division beyond two games, so we felt like we were playing in the playoffs from the middle of July, watching the scoreboard with the Dodgers,” Ecker said on Glenn Clark Radio Jan. 22. “I kind of knew it then that Craig was different, different just in terms of he’s so consistent as a human being navigating wins and losses and kind of going through the turbulence. It was pretty obvious to me his capacity to lead in large responsibility was going to come when he was ready for that.”
Ecker joined the Texas Rangers after his stint with the Giants, serving as the bench coach for Chris Woodward (2022), Tony Beasley (2022) and Bruce Bochy (2023-2024) before a brief stint as the club’s offensive coordinator in 2025.
The Rangers swept the Orioles in the American League Division Series en route to a World Series championship in 2023, but Ecker called the two games at Camden Yards “so far the best environment and experience” of his major league career.
Albernaz, 43, and Ecker, 39, have a chance to put their stamp on the team to help recreate that atmosphere or make it even better.
“Alby and I have talked about this. We feel like we’ve gotten to Baltimore and we’re kind of starting on third base,” Ecker said. “It’s just having the respect and really honoring a lot of work that has happened before we’ve gotten here. That’s both a lot of incredible coaches, obviously a front office with a track record of doing it multiple places and most importantly is that combination of the players we have and the city and the fans that obviously love this team.”
One of the top storylines in spring training will be whether Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman can get back on track. The 6-foot-2, 230-pound catcher hit .189/.279/.280 in his final 290 plate appearances of 2024, then hit .220/.307/.366 in 365 plate appearances around a pair of oblique strains.
Rutschman, who turns 28 in February, now has a fresh set of eyes on him. Albernaz is a former minor league catcher. Bullpen coach Hank Conger caught in the major leagues for seven years. Field coordinator and catching instructor Joe Singley caught at Coastal Carolina.
Ecker noted that Rutschman already has everything he needs to turn it around, but these three will be a good resource for him as well.
“Alby’s got so much humility that he hired and brought in Joe and even Hank to a degree to let them do their job,” Ecker said. “But it’s nice to have a manager that catchers can walk in at any time and really have those kinds of man-to-man, shooting-the-shit conversations.”
Rutschman is hardly the only Oriole looking forward to a fresh start. Shortstop Gunnar Henderson hit .274/.349/.438 with 17 home runs while playing through a shoulder issue a year ago. Outfielder Colton Cowser struck out 128 times in 360 plate appearances and missed time due to a broken thumb and concussion. First baseman Ryan Mountcastle hit just seven home runs in 357 plate appearances while missing time due to a right hamstring strain. Infielder Jordan Westburg was limited to 85 games due to three different ailments.
Everything the coaching staff does will be geared toward helping the players become the best versions of themselves.
“You’ll hear Alby say ‘for the boys’ quite a bit, and it can sound kind of like a frat house, but if you really dig deep underneath that philosophy … it’s something that anchors everything,” Ecker said. “The whole environment is truly set up for these guys to take self-ownership [of] their journey. It’s our job to obviously give them the resources and support them. The biggest thing from a high-performance standpoint is nothing can get in the way between the lines of these guys truly being allowed to be who they are. It’s kind of our job to pull that out of them.”
For more from Ecker, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Baltimore Orioles