With horrid hitting history, Rockies finally make long overdue move

With a 3-15 record to begin the season and an MLB-low 52 runs scored, the Colorado Rockies parted ways with hitting coach Hensley Meulens on Thursday afternoon. Former Rockies manager (and hitting coach) Clint Hurdle has been named as the team's hitting coach and will be tasked with finding a way to shake a sluggish offense from its doldrums.

"This has been an incredibly frustrating and disappointing start to the season, especially offensively," said Colorado general manager Bill Schmidt in a press release. "While all of us share responsibility, I felt a change was necessary, and that a new voice was needed to give us the best chance to perform as we move forward in the season. Clint’s 30-plus years of baseball experience, especially over the past three-plus seasons working with our young players throughout the Minor Leagues, put him and our club in a place to be successful moving forward."

The move was long overdue. Colorado has struggled mightily as a franchise since Meulens was hired prior to the 2023 campaign as the Rockies have set records for offensive futility since his arrival. Last season, Colorado’s .242 average, .304 on-base percentage and .704 OPS were all the lowest in franchise history while the team's 1,617 strikeouts were the most in club history.

How bad has it been for the Rockies? Coors Field, considered a hitter's haven playing a mile above sea level, has been anything but home-field advantage for the Rockies under Meulens' watch. The team's 95 homers in Denver were the eighth-fewest in a full season and their fewest since 2013 (88 home runs).

This season, Colorado's offense has been keeping pace with last season's futility at the plate, with the Rockies striking out in 29.6 percent of their at-bats, the highest number of all 30 MLB teams.

Pair all of the head-shaking offensive numbers — along with Meulens prompting an inquiry by the Federal Aviation Administration last season after posting a video of himself in the cockpit as the Rockies were flying to Toronto — and there have been multiple reasons why a change at hitting coach was much-needed. It took the Rockies getting off to the worst start in franchise history for it to actually happen.

Whether the move to fire Meulens will ignite Colorado's offense remains to be seen. Two of the team's offensive stars, Brenton Doyle and Ezequiel Tovar, have been slowed by early-season injuries. Additionally, rookies Zac Veen (3-for-28, 11 strikeouts), Adael Amador (2-for-14, six strikeouts) and Braxton Fulford (0-for-4, four strikeouts) have looked overmatched against MLB pitching so far.

After going 0-6 on a road trip against the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers, Colorado opens a home series against the Washington Nationals on Friday. Cold temperatures are expected throughout on Friday and Saturday in the Mile High City, with snow in the forecast, adding another layer of difficulty to Colorado's urgent need to warm up at the plate.