After yet another year under .500 baseball, Walt Weiss resigns as manager of the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies looked to be making a slight playoff push before Trevor Story went down for the rest of the season. After that, various other injuries, and the bullpen faltering down the stretch, the Rockies finished under .500 for the sixth straight year. The Rockies will now look for a new skipper as the team turns to 2017.
Walt Weiss Resigns as Rockies Manager
Weiss played thirteen season in Major League Baseball, and was the starting shortstop for the Rockies during their first four years of existence. He started in the manager’s role in 2013, and failed to achieve a winning season. In a top-heavy division, his Rockies teams never really figured out how to compete through all 162 games.
This season seemed to have the most promise. A very young squad and multiple breakout players has most Rockies fans excited for the future. Trevor Story’s season-ending injury didn’t help. His injury, along with various injuries all around, completely derailed their season. They seemed to be gaining in the Wild Card race, then it all fell apart.
A Look To The Future
The Rockies have a plethora of top prospects within their system, and the challenge of developing those young players should make the Rockies job one of the most sought-after openings this offseason. Their team’s average age is 27.8 years old. Here are three candidates that the Rockies should look at to replace Walt Weiss.
Ron Wotus
Wotus has been the bench coach on the San Francisco Giants since 1999. His most recent years as the bench coach under Bruce Bochy make him one of the top managerial candidates this offeseason. Wotus has deserved a manager role for a while, but got passed up many a time. He also is the Giant’s infield coach. The Giants have had one of the best defensive infields in baseball since 2009. Beyond that, he’s been to the World Series four times and won three. He’s an experienced man and should be a top candidate for this opening.
Sandy Alomar Jr.
Alomar has been in the Cleveland Indians organization since 2009. He’s been the first base coach, assistant manager, and even the interim manager for the final six games of 2014. He’s also a former star player. MLB has a “Selig Rule” much like the NFL’s “Rooney Rule.” That rule is that minority candidates must get an interview for every front office and managing position. An interview with Alomar Jr. would be more than a formality, and he might be a great fit.
Bud Black
Black is a familiar name due to NL West connections, much like Wotus. His tenure as the manager for the San Diego Padres started when Bochy left to San Francisco. Black spent eight-and-a-half years managing a team in the dysfunctional organization that is San Diego. Black battled the dysfunction and mostly had the team playing as the third-best in the NL West. Only once was he able to get the Padres to break the top two, falling to the Giants on the final day for the NL West title. The Giants, of course, went on to begin their dynasty with a World Series title in 2010. It would be interesting to see how well Black would do in Colorado. The roster he’d be given has more talent and promise than anything San Diego ever handed him.
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