How Warren Schaeffer’s managerial style aims for better results for the Colorado Rockies

DENVER, Colo. –– Warren Schaeffer will never be mistaken for Jim Leyland.

Sure, both men spent several seasons playing in the minor leagues before eventually reaching the Majors on the coaching side. With the 9-3 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night, Schaeffer joined Leyland as the only Colorado Rockies managers to lose their first game in Denver. 

That’s where the similarities end for now. 

If you’ve seen photographs or remember the gray-haired Leyland in his 40s with the Pittsburgh Pirates during the late-80’s, he looked about 70. Schaeffer, 40, is in such great shape that it wouldn’t be surprising to see him celebrate his 70th birthday like fitness guru Jack Lalanne: swimming 1.5 miles in handcuffs and shackles while pulling 70 boats filled with 70 people.

Schaeffer has his hands full — and not handcuffed — with the team he’s inherited.

On pace to go 27-135 with a run differential -506, there’s simply not enough magic for Colorado to avoid their third consecutive 100-loss season. As Dave Roberts eloquently put it, “I don’t think Casey Stengel could change the outcome of that ballclub.”

The first-year interim manager has been a skipper before, albeit in the minors. His big league coaching dates back to 2023 as the infield instructor and third base coach for the Rockies. Being one of 30 in the fraternity of big league managers has definitely been different for Schaeffer.

“Over the past couple years, I had a job at hand to do at third base, which is really difficult,” he said on Monday. “As far as the first week, I would say just dealing with the media has been easier than I expected. You guys have been great. I always worry that maybe that would be a difficult point for me to get used to, and I’m still going to evolve with that.”

On Tuesday, before a 7-4 defeat courtesy of the Phillies again, Schaeffer had five individual media sessions before talking to Denver media in the dugout three hours before first pitch. 

The Virginia Tech alum added that his preparation for games is a lot different than when he was the third base coach. Focusing on the strength of the outfield arms, catcher’s blocking abilities and the like of the opposing team. 

“Here, I’m preparing for matchups on both sides of the ball, which takes a long time. Preparing for conversations I’m going to have throughout the day with players, (like) the previous night’s starter,” he said. “There’s a lot more going on. And it comes back to me slowly from doing it in my minor league days. A lot of it doesn’t change from that. It’s just been a while since I’ve done that.”

Schaeffer loves his staff of coaches. Co-hitting coach Jordan Pacheco is one of Schaeffer’s best friends. Nic Wilson, the other hitting coach, is building rapport with players after working as the minor league hitting coordinator for the past three years.

Coupled with Clint Hurdle moving from hitting coach to bench coach and Andy González going from assistant hitting coach to third base coach, it’s five members of the coaching staff in new roles.

All in all, the 40-year-old father of two is relying on his staff during this transition period. Delegation, in his opinion, has been part of his learning process. Especially when it comes to working with the infielders, hitting fungoes, and other tasks of his previous role.

“I love delegating,” he said Monday. “There are some certain things where I’m going to have to pull back on because I’m used to doing a lot of physical labor, which I love to do. I’m just gonna let Andy handle the infield and try to be calm and back off.”

As a man who has been with the organization since being drafted in the 38th round of the 2007 MLB Draft, he’s rather familiar with everyone on the Rockies roster, including several more in the minor leagues. Thanks to those relationship and his incredible work ethic, the Rockies clubhouse feels he’s the man for this job. 

“That’s humbling,” Schaeffer said. “First of all, I love those guys, and I’m glad that they feel that way because I feel like there’s a lot of guys in there that are part of the solution moving forward.”

A Changing Perspective

The statistics do not paint a nice picture for Colorado. 

The offense struggles to score runs (29th in MLB) and steal bases (last in the National League) and put the ball in play (30th in strikeouts). The bullpen has been adequate (4.47 ERA, 20th), but the starting rotation (6.95 ERA) is the worst in the game by nearly a full run. 

The strikeouts — 473, 17th-most in baseball history through the first 48 games — seemed to have improved somewhat, but it’s still holding back the club from run-scoring opportunities.

“We have challenges every night and the boys, I know they relish the challenge.” Schaeffer added about their approach, “It’s just a matter of a couple of things for me: relaxing, not trying to do too much at the plate, being who you are and battling with two strikes.”

A fresh set of eyes has also shifted a few players around in the lineup. Jordan Beck has served as the leadoff hitter and Brenton Doyle, mired in a month-long slump, has dropped to fifth.

“I asked (Doyle) a couple days into the job whether he was committed to the leadoff spot. Did he love it? Because it’s a big deal,” Schaeffer said. “And he told me that he wasn’t crazy about it and he needed a little time. I said, ‘All right, let’s go. I’m gonna bump you, and it’s gonna be good for you. It’s gonna be good for the team.’ For me, it’s a win-win.”

Schaeffer has also been utilizing the bench a lot more. Colorado made a commitment during the offseason to bolster this part of the club in hopes of getting more out of the likes of Doyle, Ezequiel Tovar and Ryan McMahon. On days in which they don’t start, the hope is that the dropoff won’t be as severe.

“I look across the league at the ways some guys have managed games, and I feel like the more you get your whole team involved, your whole offensive team, the more they feel like they’re a part of it (and) the better off that we’re all going to be.”

More Challenges Ahead

Colorado won’t play a team with a record under .500 until next month when they travel to Miami for a three-game set against the Marlins. They won’t host a game against a sub-.500 club until July when the Chicago White Sox come to town.

Such is life when you’re the only team in MLB without double-digit wins in late May.

Colorado, which had a .537 winning percentage at home entering this season, has struggled at Coors Field, failing to win two in a row in Denver in 2025. After two more with the Philadelphia, they welcome another first-place club in the New York Yankees this weekend.

“It doesn’t matter who we play. We need to play our game, which is fundamental baseball moving forward,” Schaeffer said. “I look for the boys to do that, and it’s a great challenge to be able to play the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees. I think all the boys are looking forward to it.”

Schaeffer may not be getting the results he feels his club deserves, but his positive outlook on building momentum can be felt even following the losses.

“The culture that we’re trying to create, it can’t be just something that happens every now and then,” he said Monday night.

“Like the extra 90 (feet) that we take if they’re available. We need to take them. Ff we can shut down the other team’s extra backside 90s and whatever it may be, we need to stop them on a consistent basis. So when teams come in and play at (the) Rockies, they need to know this is what they’re in for. They’re in for fundamental baseball that’s going to come at you strong every night.”