DENVER (AP) -Former manager Don Baylor returned to the Colorado Rockies as hitting coach Monday.
Baylor was one of five coaches added to manager Clint Hurdle’s staff. The team also hired former major league manager Jim Tracy as bench coach and Rich Dauer as third base coach. Jim Wright becomes the bullpen coach and Brian Jordan will be strength and conditioning coach.
Baylor was the first manager in Rockies history, leading the team from 1993-98 – including a playoff berth in 1995.
Pitching coach Bob Apodaca and first base coach Glenallen Hill are the only coaches to return to Hurdle’s staff following last year’s disappointing 74-88 season.
Colorado let go of hitting coach Alan Cockrell, third base coach Mike Gallego and bench coach Jamie Quirk in early October, a year after the Rockies won their first NL pennant.
now has 16 years of big league managerial experience, in addition to Hurdle’s seven years on the job.
Baylor also managed the Chicago Cubs from 2000-02. Tracy was in charge of the Pittsburgh Pirates (2006-07) and Los Angeles Dodgers (2001-05).
“We took our time in the selection process and at the end we feel confident that we have been able to put together a coaching staff that will challenge and encourage the personnel on our club,” Hurdle said in a statement.
The 59-year-old Baylor guided the Rockies to a 440-469 record during his six-year stint in Denver, including the team’s first postseason appearance in 1995 as the NL wild card.
Baylor has a lifetime managerial mark of 627-689. He earned his 500th win with the Cubs on Sept. 12, 2000.
This will be Baylor’s sixth season as a hitting coach. He also held that position with the Seattle Mariners (2005), Atlanta Braves (1999), St. Louis Cardinals (1992) and Milwaukee Brewers (1990-91).
Tracy has been a bench coach in the past, assisting Felipe Alou in Montreal and Davey Johnson in Los Angeles.
Dauer, a former second baseman with the Baltimore Orioles, has spent the last three seasons as the Rockies’ roving minor league infield coordinator.
In addition to his duties at third base, Dauer will be the team’s infield coach and coordinator of defensive positioning.
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