Rockies Finding Competitiveness Under Warren Schaeffer

Bud Black was fired as the manager of the Colorado Rockies on May 11 after a horrid 7-33 start to the season. The Rockies were the laughingstock of Major League Baseball. They were setting the wrong kind of records left and right. It was a struggle for the club to even be competitive. The team hit rock bottom, and a change was necessary. The Rockies are still dead last on June 29 with a porous record of 19-65. But there has been a noticeable change with the team since interim manager Warren Schaeffer took over.

Warren Schaeffer Takes the Helm

It is one thing to be bad. The Rockies are used to that, coming off consecutive 100+ loss seasons for the first time in franchise history. But they reached a new low this season, looking lifeless and unable to compete. In a four-game stretch from May 8-10, the Rockies had reached a breaking point. In a home double-header vs the American League leading Detroit Tigers on May 8, the Rockies were outscored 21-3. But not to be outdone, the Rockies followed that up by getting thrashed 34-9 over two home games against the San Diego Padres.

The 21-0 loss vs the Padres was the worst home loss in franchise history. The Rockies were the attention of the national media for all the wrong reasons. This was bad for baseball for a team to be this bad. Even the worst teams in baseball manage to win a series or two.

When Schaeffer took the helm as the interim, he took this personally. Schaeffer has been a member of the Rockies organization in some capacity since being drafted out of Virginia Tech University in the 38th round of the 2007 MLB draft.

The team that drafted him was at its lowest point in what has been a painful rebuild. From 2015-22, Schaeffer was the manager of several minor league affiliates for Colorado. He oversaw several current Rockies as the manager of the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes in 2021-22.

There is always an expected spark when an interim coach takes over. But the 40-year-old Schaeffer also brought a youthful energy with him. He’s determined to take on the massive challenge of restoring respect to the team that had given him his first opportunity.

Rockies Have Found Competitive Fire

The immediate change did not happen overnight. The Rockies have many problems beyond the manager. They went 2-17 in Schaeffer’s first 19 games at the helm. The offense was still horrendous, and there were still games in which the Rockies did not belong on the same field as their opponent. But that was about to change. With a team as bad as the Rockies, you have to take the moral victories.

The 8-42 Rockies had just set the modern record for the worst 50-game start to a season. The 30-19 New York Yankees were coming to town with Aaron Judge. But in one of the biggest upsets this season, the Rockies beat the Yankees 3-2 in the series opener.

However, that feeling was short-lived. The angry Yankees came out and beat the Rockies 13-1 in the middle game. Was the series opener yet another flash in the pan that was not sustainable? No. The Rockies were still losing. But it felt different.

Over the next seven games against three of the best teams in baseball, the Rockies were within at least two runs in six of them. The Rockies no longer looked like a Triple-A team against the best that MLB has to offer.

Wins and losses are often determined in the margins in the MLB. The Rockies had to learn how to win again. They were a few plays away from taking two out of three at Wrigley. The team was providing an inkling of hope that they could win again. A foreign feeling after the Rockies went 8-46 during April/May. The gates finally burst open when the Rockies swept the Miami Marlins on the road from June 2-4. The Rockies decided to combine their first series win with their first sweep. The vibes were good again and came on the road no less. The Rockies were still 12-50. But they were taking their first steps back to respectability.