The Colorado Rockies announced they have hired Walt Weiss to be the sixth manager in franchise history on Wednesday night. This concludes a managerial search that included Diamondbacks third-base coach Matt Williams and free-agent slugger Jason Giambi.
Weiss has no prior major- or minor-league managerial experience, though he was the head varsity baseball coach at Regis Jesuit High School in Aurora, Colorado. During his 14-year big-league playing career, Weiss hit .258/.351/.326. He was named the 1988 AL Rookie of the Year as a member of the Oakland Athletics and was a part of the 1998 NL All-Star squad.
Manager Jim Tracy resigned following the 2012 season, walking away from an "indefinite" contract extension he signed prior to the 2012 campaign. However, the Rockies went 64-98 on the year, recording the worst season in their franchise history and dwelling in the NL West basement. During the season, Colorado came under scrutiny when it made the unorthodox decision to go with a four-man rotation in an effort to spare its taxed bullpen.
Weiss played for the A's, Marlins, Rockies (1994-97) and Braves during his 14-year career.