CARLSBAD, Calif. -- Rick Eckstein felt he was a "good fit" shortly into his first conversation with Pirates management.
The Pirates had the same feeling, so they hired him as hitting coach last Friday. He replaces Jeff Branson, who was fired earlier this month.
"I was extremely excited to hear the vision that Neal (Huntington), Clint (Hurdle) and Kyle (Stark) have for the organization," Eckstein told DKPittsburghSports.com by phone Wednesday. "It was something that really interested me, something I wanted to be a part of. I'm really excited about this opportunity."
The Pirates finished 19th in the major leagues with an average of 4.30 runs a game and 25th in home runs with 157 this year. However, Eckstein does not come to Pittsburgh professing to have a magic solution that can turn the offense into a juggernaut.
"There are some foundation things in hitting that I believe in, but I also believe in tailoring coaching to each individual player," he said. "Not everybody is the same. What you want to do is find what is unique to each guy, and then find ways to leverage what he can do in a lot of different ways. There is an umbrella of a lot of different concepts, and I believe in giving players freedom to move around under that umbrella. If they step outside of the umbrella and start getting wet, then it's time to sit down and talk about getting back to the foundations of hitting."
Eckstein has already talked to various people in the organization to learn about the hitters. He plans to call each one individually in the coming weeks to become acquainted. The 45-year-old also plans to watch plenty of video between now and the start of spring training in February.
"I think it's important to connect with each player, open up a conversation and say hello," Eckstein said. "I've consulted with a lot of coaches on the staff to get their perspectives on each player. I've listened to what Clint has to say, what Neal has to say, what Kyle has to say, so I can get perspectives from each domain within the organization."
This will be Eckstein's second stint as a major league hitting coach. He served in the same role with the Nationals from 2009-13 before being fired.
Since then, he has been the assistant hitting/player information coach with the Angles (2014), the University of Kentucky's hitting coach (2015-16) -- where Eckstein was reunited with Gary Henderson, his coach when he played at the University of Florida --- and the Twins' minor league hitting coordinator the past two seasons.
"I could talk about Rick all day," Twins chief baseball officer Derek Falvey said with a smile Tuesday during the General Managers meetings at the Omni La Costa Spa & Resort. "We really hated to lose him, but I'm so happy he's getting another major league opportunity. He has such a great understanding of both the physical and mental aspects of hitting, and a great way of communicating. He made a real impact in our organization, and I'm sure he'll do the same with the Pirates.
Eckstein says he has learned a lot in the five years since leaving the Nationals.
"For me, baseball is something that is ever-evolving," he said. "I'm always trying to learn, always trying to continue to grow. Having different responsibilities in different organizations allowed me to see things from some different perspectives."
Perhaps Eckstein was always meant to work for the Pirates.
His brother, David, was a second baseman in the major leagues for 10 seasons from 2001-10. He was the MVP of the 2006 World Series when he helped the Cardinals beat the Tigers. David Eckstein once told me he was so infatuated with baseball at such a young age that he could recite the 1979 World Series champion Pirates batting order as a 4-year-old.
"That's true. He loved that team," Rick Eckstein said with a chuckle. "We are a family with great faith, so maybe this opportunity truly was meant to be."