5 potential hitting coaches if Cardinals' Turner Ward is fired

When a particular segment of a baseball team struggles, the coach is the first to blame. That has been the case this year in regard to the St. Louis Cardinals' offense over the last two seasons.

When Oliver Marmol brought Turner Ward on staff following the 2022 season, he was promoted from the assistant hitting coach position that he held in 2022. Ward is also Goldschmidt's preferred hitting coach, so he had the backing of the once-best player on the team.

Ward's focus was to get his players on base and then bring them in. Despite the push in the league toward power, Turner Ward was focusing instead on on-base percentage, perhaps a dated philosophy in this day and age. Ward's approach helped lead the 2023 Cardinals to high walk rates, low strikeout rates, and a top-11 finish in on-base percentage.

The story this year is much different, as the Cardinals have a bottom-half offense according to wRC+ (16th with a 99 wRC+), and they're not drawing walks as often as last year (24th in walk rate). Perhaps the largest determining factor of an offense's efficiency is how many runs they score per game. This year, the Cardinals rank 21st with just 4.20 runs per game; last year was only marginally better, as they ranked 19th with 4.44 runs per game.

Turner Ward's offenses have been far below average regardless of the metric or stat you choose to use. He could be a victim of some offseason retooling of the coaching staff, especially if the Cardinals miss the playoffs for the second year in a row this year. Oliver Marmol's recent contract extension buys him a bit of leash, but Ward doesn't quite have the backing of the front office that the field manager has.

Therefore, the hitting coach for the Cardinals in 2025 may be different than the man who occupied that role these past two seasons. The amount of people who could theoretically be hitting coaches in baseball is lengthy. Former players, analytical minds toiling in research departments, assistant hitting coaches with strong rapport, and even personal hitting coaches are all potential candidates.

These five individuals should be considered as candidates to become the Cardinals' hitting coach in 2025 if Turner Ward is fired.

Howie Clark

I've chosen to start this list off with an internal candidate in Howie Clark. Clark, 50, has been the hitting coach for the Cardinals' Triple-A affiliate Memphis Redbirds since January of 2023. Prior to coaching in Memphis, Clark coached for minor league teams of the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox. He got his first and only taste of major league coaching in 2020 when he was brought on to be an assistant hitting coach for the Chicago White Sox.

Clark is a former player, something that is common among specialty coaches in baseball. He was drafted by the Orioles in 1992, and he would make his big league debut ten years later in July of 2002. Clark would play in the majors for six years for teams like the Toronto Blue Jays, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Minnesota Twins.

In his year and a half as the hitting coach for the Cardinals' Triple-A affiliate, he's managed to lead an offense that is in the top half of the International League. Last year, Memphis finished 6th in runs scored, 9th in batting average, 6th in on-base percentage, and 12th in OPS. There are a total of 20 teams in the International League. The story this year is a bit different, however, as Memphis ranks 18th in runs scored, 13th in OPS, and 15th in batting average.

Clark seems to be the safe play here, as he's familiar with the organization after having coached for two years in the system now. Also, players such as Thomas Saggese, Jordan Walker, Victor Scott II, Masyn Winn, and Ivan Herrera are all quite familiar with him. These players are poised to be the young core of the roster heading into 2025 and 2026, so Clark's familiarity with this crop of young talent could bode well for his case to supplant Turner Ward.

Donnie Ecker

Donnie Ecker is currently an offensive coordinator for the Texas Rangers. This may sound like he coaches football, but in reality, he's led one of the best offenses in baseball these last two years.

Ecker, 38, is a former minor league player who fizzled out of playing in 2010. His coaching career started at Los Altos High School in 2013; while coaching at Los Altos, Ecker also worked at a college development program called California Club Baseball.

The Cardinals hired Donnie Ecker in 2015 to work in player development, and he stayed in St. Louis for three years. He was also the hitting coach for Palm Beach in 2015 and 2016 and Peoria in 2017. Ecker moved up quickly to become the Los Angeles Angels' Triple-A hitting coach in 2018. The Cincinnati Reds hired him as their assistant hitting coach in 2019. He worked as a hitting coach for the San Francisco Giants in 2020, and he's been the bench coach and offensive coordinator of the Texas Rangers since 2021.

According to an article in The Athletic (subscription required), Ecker remaining a hitting coach is a lateral move that he is far beyond at this point in his coaching career. Ecker seems to be in line for a front office position, possibly as an assistant general manager or even a general manager. Should he remain a hitting coach, he wouldn't be moving up in the baseball hierarchy.

If the Cardinals can coax Donnie Ecker to return to St. Louis as a humble hitting coach, that would be an impressive feat. Perhaps he could join the front office staff as another outside voice similar to the move that was made when Chaim Bloom was hired.

Kevin Seitzer

Kevin Seitzer is another former player who became a coach once he retired. Seitzer, 62, is the oldest on this list. At present, he's the Atlanta Braves' hitting coach, and he's held that role since 2014.

The two-time All-Star was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in 1983, and he made his debut in 1986 with the Royals. He had a relatively lengthy career, as he played for 11 seasons, and he played with players like Bo Jackson and George Brett, and his name can be found in numerous Royals' record books.

Seitzer took some time to get into the coaching scene, as he didn't return to the sport until 2007, 10 years after he retired. His coaching career began as a hitting coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2007, followed by him holding the same position for the Royals from 2009-2012. The Toronto Blue Jays brought him on for the 2014 season to be their hitting coach, and he's been the Atlanta Braves' hitting coach since October of 2014.

He's helped lead one of baseball's best offenses for a while now, and the World Series victory in 2021 is evidence of Seitzer's influence on a team. Kevin Seitzer is touted for his personal approach to hitting; rather than forcing players to conform to a particular stance or style of play, he tailors his approach to each individual player based on his needs and abilities. He's a bit old school in this sense.

Seitzer recently said he has no intentions of leaving the Braves, so pulling him away from a league rival may be challenging. The front office will have to pull some strings to convince Kevin Seitzer to return to the other side of Missouri to be the Cardinals' hitting coach.

Brandon Allen

Brandon Allen is the second internal option on this list. He joined the organization as a coach in 2017 for the Johnson City Cardinals, the team's Rookie-league affiliate. He moved up the ranks each year to become the hitting coach for the Memphis Redbirds in 2020. Since November of 2022, Allen has been an assistant hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals, and he still holds that position.

Allen is the most trusted member of the hitting staff behind Turner Ward, so his ascendancy to the top position may be a no-brainer for an organization that prefers to promote from within. As a player, Allen spent time in eight different organizations including the Oakland Athletics, Tampa Bay Rays, San Diego Padres, and finally with the Cincinnati Reds. He also spent time playing in Japan.

Since Allen has seen every level of the Cardinals' organization, he would be a logical successor to Turner Ward. He's worked his way up from the bottom of the organization, and he's familiar with what is expected of Cardinal players, coaches, and staff members.

Allen, 38, has received praise from manager Oli Marmol when the offense has struggled, particularly in an interview back in May of this year. Marmol spoke to the dedication that Turner Ward, Brandon Allen, and game planning coach Packy Elkins have when the offense is sputtering.

Promoting Brandon Allen feels like a "Cardinal" move. It isn't sexy, it isn't noisy, but it is comfortable and familiar. He's worthy of a promotion given his toiling in the lower levels of baseball, but the team's poor offensive output these past three years doesn't bode well for his case.