After the Pittsburgh Pirates struggled offensively in both 2017 and 2018, it was obvious the team needed a change in coaching. Especially following the 2018 season in which a poor offense squandered a postseason quality pitching staff, and cost the Pirates a postseason berth.
This led to hitting coach Jeff Branson and assistant hitting coach Jeff Livesey being fired on October 1st. On Friday, the Bucs hired their new hitting coach. A month and day after dismissing Branson and Livesey, the team announced the hiring of new hitting coach Rick Eckstein.
The 45-year-old Eckstein spent the past two seasons as the Minnesota Twins’ Minor League hitting coordinator.