Rockies' Ownership Acknowledge Past Mistakes in Building New Front Office

Amidst years of losing, the Monfort family has charted a new path for the Colorado Rockies.

A Colorado Rockies fan expresses his displeasure with the direction of the organization. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

In the midst of seven straight losing seasons and three straight campaigns of more than 100 losses, Colorado Rockies owner Dick Monfort and his son, executive vice-president Walker Monfort, decided that enough was enough.

Colorado's league-worst 43-119 record last season prompted the resignations of both club president and CEO Greg Feasel and general manager Bill Schmidt, two men who had spent a collective 56 years within the organization. While their departures left a large hole, it also offered an opportunity for some much-needed change.

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The Monforts went outside of the Rockies organization to hire Paul DePodesta as head of baseball operations in November, following the long-time executive's decade-long tenure with the Cleveland Browns. From there, the front office was fleshed out with the external additions of GM Josh Byrnes, assistant GMs Ian Levin and Tommy Tanous, and senior vice president and chief revenue and strategy officer Nicky Schmidt.

Rockies Look Outside of Organization For Help

Colorado Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta / Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK

The fact that all of DePodesta (Browns), Byrnes (Los Angeles Dodgers), Levin (New York Mets), Tanous (Mets) and Schmidt (Cleveland Guardians) were outside hires was not a coincidence. Dick Monfort admitted being aware of criticisms related to the franchise's trend of promoting from within.

“Our fans and the media believe we’re too insular, and maybe they’re right,” Monfort told Sports Business Journal. “We’re going to find out.”

The move to seek out executives who were not affiliated with the Rockies represents a pivot from a long tradition of developing from within. Feasel was promoted to team president in 2021 after joining the organization in 1996. Schmidt began his Rockies' tenure in 1999, taking the GM reins from Jeff Bridich, who himself spent 17 years with the club.

That track record of long-standing relationships extends to Colorado's managerial history. Clint Hurdle, Jim Tracy, Walt Weiss and, most recently, current manager Warren Schaeffer all had a previous history with the Rockies before becoming the team's bench boss.

The Monforts should be commended for their loyalty. Unfortunately, after four consecutive last-place finishes in the NL West, something had to give. With DePodesta, Byrnes, Levin, Tanous and Schmidt in tow, there are plenty of fresh eyes to help guide the franchise.

Rockies Hoping New Management Sparks Innovation

Colorado Rockies logo / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

In line with this newfound focus on looking outside the organization for help came another acknowledgment from ownership: that the Rockies have lagged behind the rest of baseball when it comes to innovation and new ideas.

“We haven’t innovated at as fast a pace as other organizations have in MLB,” Walker Monfort admitted to Sports Business Journal. “So what we’re looking to do on the business and baseball side is catch up a little bit, modernize our business and use technology more on both sides to help us make the right decisions as we move forward.”

Colorado's new brain trust serves as a direct response to this deficiency.

DePodesta is widely recognized as one of the primary drivers of the "Moneyball" analytics revolution with the early-2000's Oakland Athletics. Meanwhile, Schmidt served as an integral part of a Guardians' front office that ranked highly within the majors in terms of data and analytics innovation.

There is, of course, no guarantee that DePodesta and company are able to right the ship for the Rockies. But given the franchise's doormat status in recent years, ownership's recognition of its own mistakes and efforts towards fostering change are already a step in the right direction.

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