Colorado Rockies Continue Shakeup, Release Four Coaches

The rebuild of the Colorado Rockies is in full effect.

According to a source quoted by Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post, four coaches from the Colorado staff will not be coming back for the 2017 season.

It is said that the Rockies will not be bringing back bench coach Tom Runnells, hitting coach Blake Doyle, catching coach Rene Lachemann and first base-outfield coach Eric Young. They join skipper Walt Weiss as now former members of the Colorado Rockies coaching circle.

We had mentioned Young as a possible managerial candidate in an article shortly after Weiss resigned his position. It now appears that that is no longer an option.

While the four coaches mentioned above are gone, three other members of the coaching staff seem to still be with the Rockies … at least for now. Pitching coach Steve Foster, bullpen coach Darren Holmes and third base coach Stu Cole remain with the team.

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Each of the coaches let go had been with the organization for at least three seasons.

Doyle just finished his third season as the Rockies hitting coach. He was brought in to the Rockies before the 2014 season with no Major League playing or coaching experience. Prior to his stint in Colorado, Doyle spent 36 years helping run a baseball school in Orlando, Fla.

“My job is not fix swings or tell them, ‘Here’s what you’re doing wrong,'” Doyle told Thomas Harding of MLB.com in 2014. “My job is to be the guy they can come back to and says, ‘Now you know my swing, you know my routine, what are you seeing different?’ Let’s get back to what’s right. We can go crazy trying to figure out what you’re doing incorrectly. You may never figure out what was incorrect. Who cares? Now we’re back doing the right thing again. Every hitter is different. That’s why it takes time to build a relationship.”

Lachemann, who had spent the past three seasons as the Rockies catching coach and defensive coordinator, was the coach with the most experience on the team. He had just concluded his 53rd consecutive campaign as a coach in professional baseball.

Runnells completed his seventh full season, and eighth season overall, as Colorado’s bench coach. This past season was his 13th with the Rockies organization.

Next: The 5 Biggest Games on Colorado's 2017 Schedule

Finishing his third season as the first base coach for the Rockies, Young spent plenty of time with the organization. He played with Colorado in 1993-97 and had tremendous success during his days on the field in Denver. He was not only the team’s first base coach, but also oversaw the club’s outfield and baserunning instruction.