ARLINGTON, Texas -- The cliché is the Rockies offered their players a different voice by boosting Warren Schaeffer into the interim manager role. So the first words from that voice are of utmost importance.
“My message is we’re going to go out there and play free – and see how you can play by playing free,” said Schaeffer, 40, a former Rockies Minor League player, coach and manager, and the third-base coach since 2023 until Bud Black was relieved of managerial duties on Sunday. “Because I think there’s a lot of tightness going on out there. I can see it with my own eyes.”
The challenge continued Monday night in Schaeffer’s managerial debut. Rookie righty Chase Dollander went six innings and held the Rangers to one hit. But a Wyatt Lankford two-run homer was the difference in a 2-1 decision – one that ended with Kyle Farmer grounding into a double play with the bases loaded in the ninth.
“That’s all right – they gave themselves a chance to win tonight and I felt the energy all night,” Schaeffer said. “I thought something good was going to happen tonight.”
At 7-34, the Rockies are tied with the 1988 Orioles, 1932 Red Sox and 1928 Phillies for worst start in the Modern Era (since 1900). Also, the 1895 Louisville Colonels had the same mark, but the 1884 Kansas City Cowboys and the 1876 Cincinnati Reds were a game worse.
So Schaeffer is the man to try to loosen up a team that is bound by its record, following the defeat in his managerial debut.
So who is he? Here is some information that will help explain Schaeffer's mentality and approach:
• A 38th-round pick in 2007 who didn’t make the Majors helped him develop a key coaching trait.
“It’s just a curious mindset,” Schaeffer said. “There’s always somebody better than you that you can learn from. If you have the ability to look at yourself and say, ‘Hey, I need to work on this' … Same goes for a coach. There are other coaches that I look at and want to be like."
• He learned preparation standards from two of the Rockies’ best – Nolan Arenado and Charlie Blackmon.
“I was an older player and Nolan was coming up, and he was the first guy I really saw who loved to practice more than me,” Schaeffer said. “It made me check myself. Nolan was an incredible player. I was a Minor League infielder who prided myself on how I prepared defensively. But when Nolan showed up, he loved to play so much that I thought to myself, ‘Dang, do I love it that much anymore?’ That was my last year playing, but what a pleasure it was to watch Nolan Arenado play the game. I came up with Chuck – the ultimate professional. He morphed his way of preparing as he got older. That was incredible, what he did and how long he could play doing that.”
• Those familiar with Schaeffer laud his ability to reach the modern, social media-aware player -- no small trait with a younger squad.
“I don’t have Instagram or Twitter,” Schaeffer said, laughing. “It just takes time to learn the individual person. If you really, truly care about somebody, no matter what line of work you’re in, you find a way that makes him tick.”
A couple of players elaborated.
Relief pitcher Jake Bird, whom Schaeffer managed in Albuquerque: “Every once in a while, you hear something that really resonates, whether it’s a mental skills thing such as creating separation away from the field, instead of taking everything home with you, or an approach on the mound.”
Third baseman Ryan McMahon: “He’s very genuine. There are certain guys you’re really drawn to, and ever since I’ve known him I’ve been drawn to him.”
• Monday’s batting order had five players who debuted in 2022 or later, and rookie Chase Dollander made his seventh Major League start. Like during his coaching and managing in the Minors, Schaeffer embraces teaching.
“We’re in a situation where we can’t afford not to develop,” Schaeffer said. “We have to get better. Everybody in that room agrees with that 100 percent. The veterans need to get better. The young players need to get better. The coaches need to get better. We need to get better, collectively.”
• Schaeffer said the pregame work rate is fine, but learning has to happen. And what’s the point in absorbing the early-season losses if you’re not learning – even if it’s from the opponent?
“If you’re not doing that, shame on you, if you’re not watching the other team and picking up good qualities from them,” Schaeffer said. “For example, Sunday, we played the Padres and Gavin Sheets read a dirt ball [pitch that bounced] and got second base [in the Rockies’ 9-3 win]. “That’s winning baseball. They teach it, and Mike Schildt holds them accountable to that stuff. That’s the goal here.
• Schaeffer knows that his job is building confidence.
Standout pitcher Kyle Freeland said one of the biggest charges for the club is showing confidence.
“With young guys, it’s getting up here and showing I can play big league baseball -- I can get eighth-year, five-time All-Star guys out; I can get rookies out, I can get out veterans hanging on by a string, or I can hit whoever the pitcher is,” Freeland said. “You don’t want to be playing up here to survive, because then it turns into you’re doing the minimum to stay. You want to thrive here.”
Taking this team from struggling to thriving is a key part of Schaeffer’s assignment.
“It’s a daily grind that needs to be upheld," Schaeffer said. "It’s very easy when you’re losing to slip into, ‘We don’t need to do this. We don’t need to do that.’ We need to stay after it. Then you’ll see the tides turn.”