After 195 strikeouts in 18 games, the Rockies finally hit on something — common sense.
General manager Bill Schmidt fired hitting instructor Hensley Meulens on Thursday, replacing him with Clint Hurdle. Yes, that Clint Hurdle. The former Rockies manager who led the team to its only World Series in 2007.
Meulens had to go. He left the Rockies, a franchise famous for remaining loyal to incompetence, no choice. The decision they made last offseason finally cost them something beyond games. Like their dignity.
Even for a shameless organization, the 3-15 record is embarrassing. While the blame should not fall on Meulens alone, there was no whiny excuse suitable for this offensive mess.
The Rockies have zero identity. No team in franchise history profiles worse for Coors Field. They don’t do anything well. They don’t hit for average. And they make up for their lack of power with no speed.
But ultimately it is hard to score runs — they were shut out in a three-game series vs. the Padres last weekend — when you cannot even make contact.
Therein lies the reason Meulens was canned. The Rockies rank second in strikeouts and first in swing-and-miss rate at 32.5 %. First baseman Michael Toglia remains the posterboy for this ineptitude with 32 Ks in 64 at-bats.
Hopefully this move wakes the players up.
If not, Hurdle, in charge for the rest of the season, definitely will. He is a human siren, heard before seen. He brings a booming voice, positive reinforcement and the resolve to create consequences. This group will improve under his watch, and not just because they can’t get any worse.
The fact that Hurdle wanted to return is surprising. He is 67, though his energy draws comparisons to Raiders coach Pete Carroll, and hasn’t been in a dugout since 2019.
“When Clint and I talked before he took the job, I asked him, ‘Do you really want to do this with all the work and travel?’” Rockies Hall of Famer Todd Helton told The Denver Post. “He told me, ‘At this time, this is the best way I can help the Rockies. And I just want to help anyway I can.’ I loved that statement.”
An argument can be made that this job is beneath him. If owner Dick Monfort was smart, he would have made Hurdle the team president years ago, creating a buffer of sanity between himself and baseball operations. There’s no way in my mind that Hurdle, for instance, would have signed off on signing Kris Bryant.
And let’s be honest. This is a comfortable hire. Bringing back a former Rockies fan favorite is good PR — my cynical side wonders if Hurdle will replace manager Bud Black before the season is over — and he knows baseball at altitude.
But Revlon doesn’t have enough lipstick to put on this pig of a start.
Hurdle is returning to his roots. He served as the Rockies hitting coach from 1997-2002, working under Don Baylor, Jim Leyland and Buddy Bell, kept aboard because players campaigned for him to stay.
Hurdle will demand hard work of himself and his players. He excels at building confidence, while making himself available to stars and role players alike. Their success is personal to him.
“Clint will be up there battling with them every at-bat. He cares about every single one,” Helton said. “And when you have a guy that you know is in your corner like that, you are going to listen to what he says.”
The core principles of Hurdle’s philosophy have long focused on quality at-bats, productive outs, and a thought process and plan of attack before stepping into the batter’s box.
This will be jarring for some Rockies hitters. Expect the Rockies to advance a runner to third with less than two outs. And if history is any indication, they will actually have a two-strike approach that doesn’t involve launch angle and swinging hard enough to see a chiropractor.
The days of feeling good about mindless 0-fers are over. Hurdle will teach them to hit through his wit, and won’t be afraid to challenge this collection of underachievers.
He is a coach, however, not a panacea.
Schmidt bears a significant amount of responsibility for this team’s failings the past two-plus seasons. The Rockies lineup lacks talent. And he put this roster together.
They have cornered the market on fourth outfielders and utilitymen. And when Nick Martini and Kyle Farmer are your best players, not top prospects, it speaks volumes of the challenge facing Hurdle beginning with the Nationals on Friday.
Schmidt and Black told us at fanfest that the rotation would receive a boost with German Marquez and Antonio Senzatela back, that the young players would take the next step, and that Bryant would be a huge part of this heavy lift (that is when anyone with eyes stopped taking them seriously).
Monfort must continue his audit beyond Meulens. The Rockies are in a youth movement, and the kids are not getting better. Rockies executives and coaches have an annoying habit of taking credit when prospects hit and blaming the players when they don’t. It has left Schmidt and Black coated in Teflon.
That has to change. Nobody should feel safe over the next five months.
Hurdle will be a hit. And hopefully his success inspires a years-overdue reality check for a franchise that too often whiffs on accountability.
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