The Colorado Rockies announced Thursday morning via Twitter that they have agreed to “mutually part ways” with hitting coach Dave Magadan. Additionally, the Rockies also announced that the rest of their coaching staff, including manager Bud Black, will return for 2023 with the exception of third base/infield coach Stu Cole, who has been reassigned to a minor league staff position.
This news follows a 2022 campaign in which the Rockies endured plenty of offensive struggles. This season, Colorado ranked 10th in total runs scored of any club in the NL (698) and hit the third fewest home runs of any NL team (139), despite playing in one of MLB’s friendliest hitting environments. These figures represent a significant drop from the Rockies’ outputs in 2021 (739 runs, 182 HR’s). Statcast is not kind to Colorado’s offense either, ranking both their 2022 team Barrel% and average exit velocity as the third lowest in the NL. During the four seasons over which Magadan presided over the Rockies’ offense, Colorado’s runs per game, team batting average, and team slugging percentage have all seen consistent, marked declines.
After a notable sixteen-year playing career, Magadan broke into the big leagues as a coach when he joined the Red Sox as their hitting coach in the fall of 2006. Boston made notable improvements at the plate during Magadan’s first season, increasing their team batting average, on-base, and slugging on their way to their 2007 championship. Magadan would continue on to serve as the Red Sox hitting coach until 2012. He then spent 2013-2015 as the hitting coach of the Rangers and 2016-2018 in the same role with the Diamondbacks before he was hired by the Rockies in December of 2018.
Cole has been apart of the Rockies’ organization since 1995. After managing at Colorado’s High-A, Double-A, and Triple-A affiliates, Cole was finally named to the roster of big league coaches in 2012 as the Rockies’ third base coach. As an infield coach, Cole worked with the infielders of a Rockies defense that committed the fifth most errors in all of baseball in 2022.
Though there will be no further changes to the Rockies coaching staff, Magadan’s exit and Cole’s reassignment signal a desire for some changes in leadership in Colorado. If general manager Bill Schmidt and his staff remain intent on contending in 2023, there will need to be broader changes to the roster over the coming months.
Sixth in average
Seventh in hits
Twelvth in OPS
Highest ERA
Makes sense, change the hitting coach and keep the pitching coach. That’s so Rockies
Glad to know I’m not the only one scratching my head over over this lol
It’s the rockies… nothing they do make sense
More interesting would be to compare Rockies home ERA and WHIP to visitors ERA and WHIP at Coors.
Then make that comparison when Rockies play on road.
Similarly, compare on base percentage and slugging percentage of Rockies and visitors at games at Coors.
Then make that comparison when Rockies play on road.
For road games, 15 NL teams, Rockies were 14th on-base, 15th slugging and 15th OPS, in other words firing the batting coach is fully justified.
For road games, 15 NL teams, Rockies were 13th ERA and 13th WHIP, not as bad as the hitting but still would justify firing the pitching coach, too.
They could hire two pitching coaches and it wouldn’t matter.
All of those things you mention need park adjustment
Park adjust bro
Thats combided average. rocks had .225 away average.
Middle of the road combined in a number of categories.
Probably bad at situational hitting too.
This is Magadan, who signed with bad teams (cubs, padres)
on the later half of this career.
Mutually parting ways. “Its not you, it’s me.”
Or maybe the Rockies just did not have good hitters and pitchers.
That is an often overlooked stat.
Definitely
Now you know why they don’t win
Anyone that watched the Rockies play and didn’t just look at some dry numbers KNOWS that the hitting was not good in 2022. And not just on the road. The Rockies would have big innings at times, but for the most part they were horrid with RISP and hit into WAY too many double plays.
Rockies: “Dave we think you suck”
Dave: “i agree”…
Yes, because the hitting coach is clearly to blame for the problems in Colorado. Not the trading of Arenado for peanuts, the signing of Kris Bryant, letting Story walk instead of trading him, recent questionable (at best) extensions, and the bewildering unwillingness to trade anything of value. This franchise is literally a joke.
Now come on. All the Cardinals haters said the Arenedo deal was bad for Cardinals because Gomber was going to be great and Nolan couldn’t hit outside of Coors and was in decline. They couldn’t possibly have been wrong!
I’m a Cardinals fan lol
He went out of his way to give the wrong advice. With any other hitting coach they would have won the division by 15 games.
LOL! At the end of a long day, I needed a little chuckle. Well done!
He’s Lou Piniella’s cousin. Just sayin”
Man, hitting coaches across the league took a beating this year. Apparently it’s their fault – collectively.
Never mind the fact that MLB intentionally regressed offenses.
I predict 94 wins,
Heard a rumour on radio , Bud is let out of last year on contract so he can join old Cleveland buddies Shapiro Atkins on a three year deal