If the Rangers start to look like the Chicago Cubs at the plate this season, it will not be a coincidence.

The Rangers brought in Anthony Iapoce from the Cubs as their sixth hitting coach in the last eight years. As overseer of Cubs minor-league hitters for the last three years, Iapoce played a major role in an organizational shift on hitting.

"It was hard for us to give him up," said Jason McLeod, Cubs senior vice president for player development and amateur scouting. "But we knew this would happen someday."

The Cubs follow the "win every pitch'' mantra, a term that Iapoce will often use.

Boiled down to the essentials, it means looking to drive your pitch in the air for the first two pitches of a plate appearance but thinking contact with two strikes. Do not give away pitches by swinging at a pitch outside your zone in the first two strikes. Do not concede with two strikes.

It worked in the Cubs' minor-league system. The Cubs have produced a trove of young power hitters, starting with third baseman and Rookie of the Year Kris Bryant.

It worked in the majors. The Cubs last season had a winning record for the first time since 2009 and won a playoff game for the first time since 2003. They had nine players with double-figure homers, three more than the Rangers.

"What separates Anthony is the mindset with which he approaches the job every day," McLeod said. "He played such as huge part in our change of culture.

"He's incredibly positive, not in a rah-rah, pat-you-on-the-back way but in a way that makes players feel positive about themselves."

Iapoce, who played at Lamar, said his arrival should not trigger wrenching change. These hitters are already doing what the Cubs stressed throughout their organization.

"That environment is already set up," said Iapoce, 42. "When you watch them play from afar, as I did last year, you could see the energy in the lineup and the dugout.

"I'm just coming in, trying to fit in, see where they need me and help out as best I can."

There are areas that need improvement. The Rangers finished third in the AL with 4.64 runs per game last season, but the lineup had shortcomings.

Start with too many ground balls. According to Stats Inc., the Rangers had the third-highest rate of grounders (46.7 percent) in the AL.

Ground balls usually mean weak contact and no damage done. Iapoce will stress to hitters to focus early in the count on a specific pitch that can be lifted. Chasing something else usually means a grounder and a wasted at-bat.

The Rangers last season were also ineffective with two strikes in a count. They hit a league-low .165 with the second-lowest OPS at .496 in that situation.

Iapoce will push for more of a make-contact swing with two strikes, similar to what Kansas City has done.

The Rangers struck out on 44.1 percent of their at-bats with two strikes last season. That included 57 strikeouts in 64 at-bats by rookie Joey Gallo. Kansas City had a 37.4 percent strikeout rate. More balls in play only help an offense.

"However each guy gets ready, it's our job to help him be successful in stressful situations," Iapoce said.

Iapoce is learning a new group of hitters at an unexplored level. This will be his first major-league job after 21 years in the minors as a player, coach and instructor. He will be different from his predecessor, the low-key Dave Magadan.

"Anthony lives and breathes it," McLeod said. "A positive guy and really intelligent. He's got this infectious side that makes you shake your head and say, 'This guy is crazy.' But it's a good crazy."

Iapoce moved from an organization that last won a World Series in 1908 to an organization that has never won a World Series. He could help end two jinxes.

Two-strike struggles

A look at the performance by Rangers regulars last season with two strikes in a count: