LoDo comes alive with baseball fans, school kids playing hooky, office workers calling in sick, and party animals who don’t know the difference between a double play and a double cheeseburger.

Libations flow and the good times roll.

On Friday, they’ll be serving purple croissants and baseball-themed drinks at There’s a watch party at McGregor Square where fans can see the game on a 66-foot outdoor screen.

Former Rockies manager Clint Hurdle summed it up well.

“I’ve been fortunate to be a part of some special opening days in baseball in infectious cities,” he once told The Post. “But opening day in Denver will always hold a special place in my heart. It was the event that annually reignited the love affair of a football town with its baseball team.”

Oh yes, the baseball team. It plays a game on Friday at Coors Field, hosting the Philadelphia Phillies and Bryce Harper, an All-Star Colorado fans love to hate.

Friday officially marks the Rockies’ 34th home opener, but it’s really only the 33rd because the 2020 opener was fanless due to the pandemic. And while the Rockies are not a winning franchise — they own an all-time record of 2366-2822 and just five playoff seasons — they are 17-16 in home openers.

From walk-off home runs to walk-up songs, from pitching gems to offensive fireworks, the Rockies have produced memorable games inside the ballpark. Here are the 10 best Rockies home openers:

No. 10, April 10, 2023: Left-hander Kyle Freeland, a Denver native, pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings in the Rockies’ 1-0 victory over Washington.

“The butterflies were going for sure, and we’ve talked about how much this means to me, to be able to pitch in front of my home state and get a win. It means the world to me,” Freeland said.

The victory marked the first time the Rockies won a 1-0 game at Coors since July 4, 2018, vs. San Francisco.

No. 9, April 10, 2010: Left-hander Jorge De La Rosa dominated the Padres in Colorado’s 7-0 shutout. “De La” allowed one hit and one walk and struck out nine in a game that took just 2 hours, 28 minutes. It was a prime example of De La Rosa’s ability to slay the pitching beast that is Coors Field.

“I guess I just feel more comfortable at home,” De La Rosa told The Post. “I just feel like I have control there, especially with my changeup. I feel like I can throw it in any count.”

No. 8, April 3, 2006: In the Rockies’ second straight walk-off win in a home opener, they beat the Diamondbacks 3-2 in 11 innings on Brad Hawpe’s game-winning RBI to drive in Matt Holliday. Right-hander Jason Jennings threw seven innings of one-run ball.

The Hawpe-Holliday combo was a precursor of the magic that became Rocktober a year and a half later.

No. 7, April 7, 2017: Freeland made his major league debut against the Dodgers and took the mound to thunderous applause from the sellout crowd of 49,169. The Thomas Jefferson High graduate received a standing ovation when he departed after six innings, having allowed just one run on four hits, walking two, and striking out six.

“What an outing for Kyle,” first-year Rockies manager Bud Black said after the Rockies’ 2-1 win. “I think the people of Denver should be very proud of their native son.”

Freeland’s debut was the first of its kind in nearly 51 years. Before his start, the last major-league pitcher to make his debut as a starting pitcher in his team’s home opener in the state of his birth was Chuck Dobson for the Kansas City Athletics on April 19, 1966, vs. Minnesota.

No. 6, April 2, 2001: Left-hander Mike Hampton made a sensational Rockies debut, pitching eight-plus shutout innings and allowing five hits as Colorado blanked the Cardinals 8-0. It was the Rocky Mountain high point for Hampton, who had signed a then-record eight-year, $121 million contract the prior offseason.

He finished his two-year stint with Colorado with a 5.45 ERA, including a 5.73 ERA at Coors Field. Hampton became a cautionary tale about shelling out big bucks for starting pitchers in Colorado.

No. 5, April 7, 1997: The Rockies and Larry Walker walloped the Reds and Deion Sanders, 13-2. Walker, with Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” accompanying him to the plate, gave fans a preview of his MVP season.

Walker went 2 for 5 with a double and a triple on his way to batting .366 with a career-high 49 homers and 130 RBIs. Coach Prime went 0 for 4 from the leadoff spot.

As for his iconic walk-up song, Walker told The Post’s Troy Renck: “I hope the pitchers were scared … that when they were messing with their rosin bag and heard Ozzy come on, they had that feeling of, ‘Oh (crap)!’ ”

No. 4, April 4, 2005: With the score tied 10-10 in the bottom of the ninth, shortstop Clint Barmes launched Hall of Fame closer Trevor Hoffman’s first-pitch fastball into the left-field seats for a walk-off two-run homer, capping a four-hit day in Colorado’s 12-10 victory.

“I remember running the bases thinking this can’t be real,” “The next game, I was still on cloud nine, but the game slowed down for me after the home run.”

Before he was injured, Barmes had an amazing spring. On May 13, Barmes went 3-for-6, hitting two home runs with five RBIs, raising his batting average to .400.

No. 3, April 4, 2014: This was the day that Chuck got Nazty. Sporting the beginnings of his famed beard, Blackmon hit 6-for-6 with one home run, three doubles, two singles, and five RBIs in Colorado’s 12-2 rout of Arizona.

And to think he wasn’t sure he would be on the Opening Day roster coming out of spring training.

“That one game, you could almost say, single-handedly turned my career around,” said Blackmon, who became a four-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger.

No. 2, April 9, 1993: In the first home plate appearance in the first home game in Rockies history, Eric Young took Expos’ starter Kent Bottenfield deep to left-center in front of a record crowd of 80,227 at Mile High Stadium. Colorado won its inaugural home opener, 11-4.

“I had chills going through my body like crazy as I was circling the bases,” Young later told The Post. “But that home run was not just a moment that was for me — it was for the Colorado region and all the people who were excited about baseball finally being in the state.”

You think? The Rockies drew 4,483,350 fans to Mile High that season, a major league attendance record that will likely never be broken.

No. 1, April 26, 1995: The first game in Coors Field history was instantly iconic. Dante Bichette hit a walk-off, three-run homer in the 14th inning off the Mets’ Mike Remlinger for an 11-9 victory. The seesaw game that began with icy rain and 42 degrees at first pitch lasted nearly five hours.

The phrase Blake Street Bombers didn’t catch on until later that season, but Bichette’s blast planted the seed.

“With the Blake Street Bombers, what we were legendary at was, no lead was safe in our park,” Bichette said. “That homer probably was the hit that set that tone. We would go into the sixth or seventh inning down three runs, and we knew we could win that game. That was the personality of our team and what we became.”

It’s a question I field often from Rockies fans, both ardent and casual.

It’s a fair question. After all, the front office underwent a major house cleaning during the offseason, so why not bring in a new manager, too? And the Rockies posted a poor 36-86 record (.321 winning percentage) under Schaeffer as interim manager. He replaced Bud Black last May when the Rockies opened the season 7-33.

Schaeffer won over most of the Rockies players quickly, but, fielding a young, inexperienced team, Colorado limped toward the finish line, going 4-21 in September.

So there was no guarantee that Schaeffer would return, and many baseball pundits said the Rockies needed to bring in a veteran, old-school manager to clean things up.

I have my reasons why Schaeffer returned, but I wanted to find out why Walker Monfort, the Rockies’ new team president, wanted the 41-year-old back in the dugout.

Here’s what I found out:

• They have known each other since Monfort’s early days working in the Rockies’ players development department when Schaeffer was a minor league player.

“I have known Warren for probably 15 years,” Monfort said. “I used to give him meal money when I worked in minor league operations. So, I’ve known Warren for a long time. And, obviously, I’ve gotten to know him better over the last few years, when he’s been at the major league level.”

Before Schaeffer replaced Black, he served as the third base coach and infield instructor, beginning in 2023.

• Schaeffer is a “people person and that counted for a lot.

“After we replaced Buddy, I started sitting down with Warren on a regular basis,” Monfort said. “I think we met the first game of every homestand for basically the rest of the season. I wanted us to get to know each other a little better.”

Monfort also wanted to pick Schaeffer’s brain on what the team needed to turn things around.

“We talked a lot about the processes we needed and the technologies that he had heard about that we didn’t have yet,” Monfort said. “The one big thing I got to know about Warren, through conversations with him and then through conversations with players and other front-office personnel, is that he is a people person.”

In November, when the Rockies hired Paul DePodesta as president of baseball operations, one of his first tasks was to huddle with Monfort and team owner Dick Monfort (Walker’s father) and pick a manager.

“Paul, in his original interview, said that being able to relate to people and communicate is the most important thing for a modern-day manager,” Monfort said. “So ultimately, Warren was just the right fit. So when it came down to it, my dad and I had thought Warren deserved the opportunity.”

• Schaeffer has deep roots in the organization.

He was drafted by Colorado in the 38th round of the 2007 draft out of Virginia Tech. After his playing career ended in 2012, he spent 10 seasons, mostly as a manager, in the Rockies’ minor league system.

“I think everybody in the organization who came to know Warren wanted us to go this route,” Monfort said. “He’s been a Rockie for a long time.”

• DePodesta and Schaeffer were a good match.

“We wanted whoever came in (as team president) to ultimately make the call,” Monfort said. “But the nice thing was that ‘Schaeff’ has the attributes that Paul values most as a manager. So, it was fairly easy. It was natural.”

• Schaeffer’s process and work ethic.

“He’s committed and disciplined,” Monfort said. “You can see what great shape he’s in. I think that tells you something.”

• Schaeffer is super motivated.

“Motivation is the word to describe what’s going on here, and I think that’s true for all of us,” Monfort said. ” ‘Schaeff’ is incredibly motivated. He wants to prove he’s the right guy for the job.”

It was time for what the ultra-detailed spring training schedule called T.T.G. (Talking The Game). For 15 minutes, the players focused on one thing: the contact play, in which a baserunner at third base breaks for home if the ball is not hit directly at an infielder.

Bench coach Jeff Pickler, third base coach Andy Gonzalez, first base coach Doug Bernier, assistant hitting coach Jordan Pacheco and Schaeffer all took players aside to point out the nuances of the contact play.

Schaeffer acknowledged that the Rockies were bad at baserunning — and many other baseball basics — during Colorado’s miserable 119-loss season in 2025. He is intent on changing the narrative, and it starts with a back-to-basics approach at the team’s Salt River Fields complex.

“The individual skills and defensive work and baserunning work, it’s all tailored to what the players need,” Schaeffer said. “(We have) a higher coach-to-play ratio now. We are teaching the game, and players are getting what they need.

“Players aren’t just going out there and taking groundballs just for the sake of it. There is real, intentional work going on.”

A fresh approach

Schaeffer, the interim manager for much of last season after taking over when Bud Black was fired in May, is running a big-league camp for the first time. He believes major changes are necessary for the Rockies to break out of a seven-year losing streak that includes three consecutive 100-loss seasons. Schaeffer sought counsel from all his coaches, especially new bench coach Jeff Pickler, as he formulated his spring training blueprint.

Of course, it’s still very early — Wednesday marked just the second full-squad workout, and Colorado’s first Cactus League game is Friday — but the players are giving a hearty thumbs up to “Camp Schaeffer.”

“The energy around here is great,” center fielder Brenton Doyle said. “The vibes around here are really good; something I haven’t felt around here in previous years. There is a lot of good stuff going on, and I think a lot of people are going to buy into it.”

One thing’s for sure: Players are going to get more sleep during their 42-day stint in the desert. In recent years, the players were often in the batting cages by 7 a.m, trying to hone their swing with sleep still in their eyes. Schaeffer changed that, aiming for the Rockies to be fresh when they open the regular season on March 27 in Miami.

“No. 1, everything is important,” the manager said. “So, we’re pushing the guys’ morning schedule back and giving them time to get ready for the day, and not having to wake up at 5 a.m.”

Doyle, 28, welcomes the change.

“I used to be able to roll out of bed and just go play,” he said. “It’s different for me now. I’m glad things have changed, and the schedule is much better than in the past. ‘Schaeff’ has given us time to get warmed up and get ready, so that when we do go on that field, it doesn’t feel rushed. Camp is very scheduled and very detailed. There is not a lot of wasted time.”

Catcher Hunter Goodman, Colorado’s lone All-Star last season, came to Arizona determined to get better defensively and to become a better game-caller. He welcomes the chance to hone his craft.

“I need this, 100%,” he said. “There is a lot more time in the schedule for individual stuff. Our catchers’ work, for example. We are getting 25-30 minutes a day, just working on catching stuff and not doing anything else. It’s a change, for sure.

“In the past, we would just be catching bullpens and trying to do our own work in between bullpens. Having a set time to do individual work has been nice. I think they are giving us the tools to succeed.”

Goodman slashed .278/.323/.520 with 31 homers last season, while starting 97 games behind the plate, and lining up as the designated hitter 39 times. Schaeffer believes there is more offensive firepower in Goodman’s game, and he wants the catcher to find it this spring — and hold onto it.

“Historically, catchers have always just gotten through spring training,” Schaeffer said. “It’s like, ‘Let’s get through this.’ Now, (we have) intentional time built into the day for them to get better at their craft.

“They’re still going to catch their bullpens; the day’s set up for that. And that’s valuable. But they have time to work on their defense and their hitting. A lot of times in spring, the catchers’ hitting gets neglected. And our catcher is the best hitter on our team. So, we can’t neglect that time.”

Blending technology and old-fashioned instruction

Among Colorado’s weaknesses last season, starting pitching was the most glaring. A 6.65 ERA for the starting rotation, the worst in major league history, crippled the team’s ability to compete. In an attempt to fix that, new pitching coach Alon Leichman, assistant coach Gabe Ribas, bullpen coach Matt Buschmann, and pitching coordinator Matt Daniels were brought on board.

They’re tasked with using technology, analytics and old-fashioned instruction to fix the problems. Right-hander Chase Dollander, who has the best pure stuff on the staff, struggled last year as a rookie, going 2-12 with a 6.52 ERA in 21 starts. Dollander said he welcomes his spring training tutorials.

“There is definitely a lot more individual teaching going on,” he said. “The coaches are doing a deep dive into the analytics and the mechanical stuff that you need. They present it to you in an understandable way.

“Of course, it’s also up to you to approach them and talk about certain things that you need to understand. But it’s been great. These are smart guys with smart stuff.”

On Wednesday, lefty starter Kyle Freeland, right-handed starter Ryan Feltner, and closer candidate Victor Vodnik threw in the main stadium at Salt River. The Rockies wanted to take advantage of the Statcast-applicable tracking technology in the ballpark.

Of course, there is always the danger of paralysis by too much analysis. Schaeffer, however, doesn’t think that will be a problem. He’s confident his pitching coaches can translate spin rates, biomechanics data and grip adjustments in language the pitchers will grasp.

“That’s why we hired these guys,” Schaeffer said. “They are extremely smart, and they all know that data. They might go in different directions sometimes, but they come together in the best interest of the player. It’s been fun to watch, so far. They can give it to (the pitchers) in layman’s terms, which is huge. And it’s huge for me, too.”

The club announced Monday that it is retaining veteran coach Ron Gideon, third-base coach Andy Gonzalez and assistant hitting coach Jordan Pacheco.

Gideon’s role is changing. He will now be an assistant bench coach, making the move after serving as the Rockies’ first base and outfield coach for the past seven seasons.

Gideon, 61, is heading into his 35th season in professional coaching and 31st with the Rockies’ organization. He joined the major league staff as a coach in 2017 and was named first-base coach in 2019.

Additionally, bullpen catchers Kyle Cunningham and Chris Rabago will remain in those roles in 2026. Cunningham will continue to do game-planning duties, while Rabago will add additional responsibilities as Colorado’s catching instructor.

The five holdovers from the 2025 team will join five new coaches: pitching coach Alon Leichman, bullpen coach Matt Buschmann, bench coach Jeff Pickler, hitting coach Brett Pill and assistant pitching coach Gabe Ribas.

The only position that remains unfilled is first base coach.

The 2026 season will be Schaeffer’s first full season as manager. He took the job on an interim basis last May to replace Bud Black. Schaeffer was retained by Paul DePodesta, the new president of baseball operations, in November.

On Wednesday, the club announced that former Reds and Twins coach Jeff Pickler will become the bench coach under manager Warren Schaeffer.

“We are beyond excited to bring Jeff Pickler onto the staff,” Schaeffer said in a statement. “His experience on the bench and the way he sees the game are going to be of immense value to the players, the rest of the staff, and me personally.

“He embodies a tireless work ethic and is obsessed with finding solutions. ‘Pick’ is a big addition for the Rockies. I can’t wait to get to work with him.”

Pickler, 49, is the latest addition to Schaeffer’s staff, all of whom come from outside the Rockies organization.  Others hired include hitting coach Brett Pill, pitching coach Alon Leichman, assistant pitching coach Gabe Ribas, and bullpen coach Matt Buschmann.

Pickler spent the previous six seasons with the Reds organization, most recently serving as the Reds’ bench coach and major-league game planning and infield coach in 2024. He was the Reds’ game planning and outfield coach from 2019–22.

The Reds fired Pickler in September when the club ousted manager David Bell, the man who hired Pickler.

Before his time in Cincinnati, Pickler spent the 2017 and 2018 seasons with the Twins as outfield coach and coordinator of major-league development.

A native of Garden Grove, Calif., Pickler was selected by Milwaukee in the 11th round of the 1998 draft out of the University of Tennessee. He played eight seasons in the minors with the Brewers (1998-2001), Rangers (2002-04) and Rockies (2005) systems.

Pickler has worked closely with Josh Byrnes, who was recently hired as Colorado’s general manager. Pickler was a scout for the Diamondbacks and Padres when Byrnes was the GM of those teams, and also worked alongside Byrnes with the Dodgers as a special assistant in player development and scouting from 2014-16.

Former Rockies and Pirates manager Clint Hurdle worked as Schaeffer’s bench coach for most of last season. When Colorado fired Bud Black and bench coach Mike Remond in May, Schaeffer was promoted from third-base coach to interim manager. Hurdle, who replaced Hensley Meulens as hitting coach in April, became Schaeffer’s bench coach in May.

Hurdle will likely continue to have a role with the Rockies, but the club has not announced what that role might be.

The sports jockey blasted the Rockies’ decision to hire Weiss as their manager, essentially saying the Rockies made a minor league move by “hiring a high school coach.” I thought it was a ridiculous take, and I said so.

Last month, Weiss became the Braves’ manager after spending eight seasons as their bench coach under Brian Snitker, who led Atlanta to a World Series title in 2021.

I thought about all of that on Tuesday afternoon during Weiss’ media session at baseball’s winter meetings. Weiss, who played shortstop for 14 big league seasons, fielded questions with humor and aplomb.

An Atlanta reporter teased Weiss, asking, “As the only manager with cauliflower ear, are you going to be continuing your MMA training?”

Weiss grinned and quickly shot back: “I’m not winning any beauty contests, I know that.”

For the record, Weiss was, indeed, a high school coach for a time, stepping away from his job as a Rockies special assistant to spend more time with his family and coach his sons’ baseball and football teams at Regis Jesuit High School.

But his baseball pedigree is solid, even if he had four losing seasons managing Colorado from 2013-16 (283-365 record) and never made the playoffs. But people tend to forget that Weiss helped lay some of the groundwork for the team that manager Bud Black inherited in 2017 and took to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.

“The record wasn’t great back then, obviously, but I’m proud of some of the things we accomplished in those four years — culturally, especially,” Weiss said Tuesday.  “A lot of great lessons learned.”

Bottom line: Weiss earned his chance to manage again and was ready for a second chance. Consider: As a player, Weiss’s first big league manager with the Athletics was Hall of Famer Tony La Russa, and his last was Hall of Famer Bobby Cox with the Braves. Weiss spent nine years learning the game from them.

Weiss, who owns a home in Parker and still calls Colorado his “home base,” said he’s much better prepared to manage now than he was 13 years ago.

“The circumstances couldn’t be more different from the first time I did this,” he said. “In Colorado, when I got hired, I’d been out of the game for four years. I was coaching high school football. I was out of baseball.

“I took the interview just to experience it. I had never done that. And I end up getting the job. I’m like, ‘Now what?’ ”

Plus, Weiss took over a team that had lost 98 games in 2012.

“There was a lot of on-the-job training, but we had a good staff in Colorado that helped me along the way,” he said. “But it was very different then. I didn’t even know what was important to me as a manager the first time around because I hadn’t done it.”

Weiss said his years as a bench coach in Atlanta helped prepare him for his new job.

“It’s so very different now — eight years as a bench coach with a team that is built to win now,” he said. “I know this team like the back of my hand. I walked into that first situation in Colorado completely blind. I wasn’t even in the game, let alone knowing our team.”

Atlanta should have a strong core in 2026, led by former MVP Ronald Acuna Jr, first baseman Matt Olson, third baseman Austin Riley, future star catcher Drake Baldwin and a rotation featuring Chris Sale, Spencer Strider and Spencer Schwellenbach. The Braves slumped to fourth place in the NL East in 2025, but expect to be a playoff team again in ’26.

Did Weiss think he’d get another shot to manage?

“I didn’t know, and I didn’t have to know,” he said. “I didn’t have to do this again. And I loved being ‘Snit’s’ bench coach. I loved being back in the Braves uniform. And I think it’s fairly well documented that I turned down some interviews over the last several years, because it was going to have to be really good to pull me away from what I was doing.”

Now the former “high school coach” gets his second chance.

The club announced Monday that the 40-year-old Schaeffer will be retained as manager of a team facing a daunting rebuild in 2026. The club did not release the terms of the contract, but a source said it was a “mult-year deal.”

“We’re confident Warren is the right person to lead our club moving forward,” Paul DePodesta, the Rockies’ new president of baseball operations, said in a statement. “He has established strong relationships with our players, understands the culture of this franchise and embodies the energy and work ethic we want on and off the field.”

Schaeffer was named interim manager on May 11, replacing veteran Bud Black, who was fired after the Rockies began the season with a 7-33 record. Schaeffer becomes the eighth full-time manager in club history. The club did not disclose the length of Schaeffer’s contract.

“I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to continue leading this team,” Schaeffer said. “My focus remains on continuing to build a strong, unified culture based on accountability, hard work and trust. We have a group of guys who care deeply about competing the right way, and my goal is to keep strengthening those relationships while leading a team that our fans can embrace and be proud of.”

Under Schaeffer, the Rockies went 36-86, finishing with a 43-119 record. The Rockies are coming off three consecutive 100-loss seasons and have not posted a winning record since 2018. The Rockies are hoping for a fresh start after becoming the first team with three straight 100-loss seasons since Houston from 2011 to 2013.

Although Colorado’s record was among the worst in Major League Baseball history, several Rockies players said at the end of the season that they appreciated Schaeffer’s communication skills and attention to detail, and hoped he would return.

Veteran left-handed pitcher Kyle Freeland said Monday that he believes it was the right move.

“I’m very excited for ‘Schaeff’ and his family and our organization with him at the lead,” Freeland said. “We love playing for him and the type of mentality and passion he brings to the field every day.”

Catcher Hunter Goodman, the club’s lone All-Star in 2025 and a Silver Slugger winner, said that Schaeffer’s youthful energy is what the Rockies need.

“I think it’s really good for the team, especially with all of our young guys,” Goodman said. “He’s a younger manager. He’s got a great relationship with all of our guys. His level of communication with me, throughout the season, was awesome.

“As far as a leadership role, he shows up every day with the drive to get better and I think that’s what we need.”

Retaining Schaeffer is the third significant move the Rockies have made this year. In June, Walker Monfort, the oldest son of owner Dick Monfort, was promoted to executive vice president. Earlier this month, the club named DePodesta as president of baseball operations. He took over for general manager Bill Schmidt, who stepped down on Oct. 1. The Rockies are still expected to hire a GM to work under DePodesta.

Schaeffer’s first job in the Rockies organization was as the hitting coach for Short-Season Tri-City (Pasco, Washington) in 2013. He kept climbing the organizational ladder. He managed the Asheville Tourists from 2015 through 2017 and Double-A Hartford in 2018 and 2019.

He was tabbed to manage Triple-A Albuquerque for the 2020 season, but it was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He managed the Isotopes in 2021 and 2022. In November 2022, the Rockies promoted him to their major league coaching staff as third base and infield coach for the 2023 season.

Schaeffer was born and raised in Vandergrift, Pennsylvania, a former steel mill town. He attended Greensburg Central Catholic High School. As a senior, he hit .554, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette named him its East Player of the Year. Harvard and Princeton recruited him, but he chose to chase his baseball dreams at Virginia Tech.

He was a starting shortstop all four seasons for the Hokies, slashing .292/.351/.402 as a senior. Colorado, hoping for a diamond in the rough, selected him with the 1,143rd overall pick. He was a college senior with a degree in history and a minor in English, with dreams of playing in the majors. He signed for $1,000.

But Schaeffer never made it. He climbed as high as Triple-A, playing for the Colorado Springs Sky Sox in 2010 and 2011. Overall, he slashed .214/.273/.285 in 461 minor league games, with nine home runs and 137 RBIs.

Wanting to stay in baseball, he decided to turn to coaching.

The husky Hill played Peter Brand in “Moneyball,” the 2011 movie about the Oakland Athletics’ celebrated use of sabermetrics during the 2002 season. Brand’s character was only partially based on DePodesta, who was a deputy under A’s general manager Billy Beane. DePodesta, for the record, is not husky. In fact, DePodesta was an athletic Harvard graduate who played both football and baseball in college.

But I digress. For DePodesta, fixing the 119-loss Rockies is going to be a lot more difficult than rebooting the ’02 A’s, who won the American League West title, not only by relying on analytics (as exaggerated in the movie), but because their starting pitching trio of Tim Hudson, Barry Zito and Mark Mulder was terrific.

My first set of questions for DePodesta: How much autonomy will you have to shape your front office? Will you be allowed to bring in your own people, or will the Monforts — owner Dick Monfort and his son Walker, the executive vice president — resist your efforts?

It’s a natural question, but even more relevant considering Walker’s statement on Friday when the Rockies made DePodesta’s hiring official.

“Hiring Paul is an essential first step to the evolution of our baseball department, and we’re confident that he will not only maximize our current personnel but will also bring in additional leaders from outside the organization to help lead us forward,” Walker said.

I’m wondering what “maximize our current personnel” means. Is it a red flag? Will the Monforts stand in the way if DePodesta wants to sweep some folks out the door? Or will they embrace new faces and ideas?

My second question is more basic: “Will you keep Warren Schaeffer as your manager, or will you bring in someone new to lead the team on the field?”

Schaeffer was the interim manager last season after taking over for Bud Black. Schaffer’s record (36-86) was terrible, but he didn’t have much major league-ready talent to work with. He did connect with the Rockies’ young players, and he kept the team’s spirits high amid a disastrous season. At the very least, Schaeffer should get an interview, and he should get a chance to be the bench coach if he wants that job.

Schaeffer would be a valuable bridge to the team’s future. Because let’s face it, the Rockies’ rebuild is going to take a while, so why hire a pricey, veteran manager who’s going to end up pulling out his hair?

The third set of questions revolves around DePodesta’s choice for the Rockies’ new general manager.

• Will you consider hiring former Twins GM Thad Levine, who was your boyhood friend in Virginia?

• How will you divide duties between you and the incoming GM?

• Since you have a deep background in analytics, will you hire a GM with a different skill set?

Fourth set of questions: When it comes to baseball decisions, what will be the hierarchy in the Rockies front office? In other words, when it comes to trades, free-agent signings and drafting, what’s the pecking order?

The fifth query is crucial. Given that DePodesta has been out of baseball for a decade while working for the NFL’s Cleveland Browns as their chief strategy officer, it’s only fair to ask, “Are you up to speed on baseball?”

“I have always kept my eye on baseball, and this is an incredible opportunity to help make an impact in the next chapter of the Rockies,” DePodesta said in a statement on Friday.

When DePodesta was in Oakland, he used sabermetrics to give the small-market club a chance to compete against wealthier teams. He was cutting-edge two decades ago.

However, baseball has now fully embraced technologies such as data analytics and AI for performance analysis. And teams utilize tracking systems, such as Trackman and Rapsodo, that measure pitch speed, spin rate, and other key metrics. A lot has changed in baseball over the last decade.

So, the question for DePodesta is, “How knowledgeable are you with baseball technology, and will the skills you used in the NFL transfer over?”

Finally, there is this. Since Cleveland hired DePodesta in January 2016, the Browns are 56-99-1. So the question: “Why do you think you can turn around the Rockies’ fortunes?”

Grandview High School alum Kevin Gausman, one of the best starters in baseball over the last half-decade, pitched a scoreless seventh inning that preceded George Springer’s ALCS-winning home run in the bottom of the frame. And former Rockies pitcher Jeff Hoffman came on two innings later to shut the door, becoming only the second hurler ever to face and strike out all three batters in the last inning of a Game 7.

An emotional Hoffman let out a scream and raised his arms to the sky after getting Seattle’s Julio Rodríguez to swing and miss at a 3-2 slider for the game’s final out. Eventually, he found himself embracing Blue Jays manager John Schneider in the postgame celebration.

“This is what full-circle looks like,” Hoffman told FOX’s Ken Rosenthal after he was asked about his hug with Schneider.

With that, the Blue Jays booked their first World Series appearance since 1993 — a showdown that begins Friday at Rogers Centre against the favored Los Angeles Dodgers. Gausman and Hoffman, both cast to the scrap heap at different points in their careers, will play key roles in Toronto’s hopes for an upset.

“You get whacked around a little bit, you get a little shaken, and it takes time to really understand how you’re going to get your outs (in the majors),” observed Bud Black, who managed Hoffman in Colorado and frequently went against Gausman during the latter’s tenure with the Giants. “Those guys have finally done that, after patience was required and adversity was overcome.”

Gausman, drafted fourth overall out of LSU by the Orioles in 2012, showed promise over six years with Baltimore. But then the O’s traded him to the Braves at the deadline in 2018. Roughly a year later, Atlanta designated him for assignment. He was picked up by the Reds and sent to the bullpen, and he posted a 5.72 cumulative ERA in ’19 — his career going in reverse.

But then he signed with the Giants in 2020, a move that jump-started his revitalization. Over two years in San Francisco, he posted a 3.00 ERA in 45 games (43 starts), ditched the wind-up to pitch out of the stretch full-time, and became an All-Star by the time the game returned to Coors Field in ’21.

“When the Giants got ahold of him, they leaned heavily into the analytical stuff,” explained Gausman’s brother, Brian. “They basically told him that he needed to throw everything off of his splitter. That he needed to stop playing an east-west game of going in and out. He needed to play a north-south game — raise the hitters’ eye level, and then throw his splitter down.”

Gausman’s been doing that ever since, finding success as a two-pitch starter with a fastball and which drops off the table so much that the pitch earned the nickname “The Waterfall” during his days at LSU.

Black said the Rockies twice tried to sign him in free agency but “couldn’t quite get there financially.” Instead, he wound up in Toronto after his time in San Francisco and has built a career north of the border. Now in his fourth year there, Gausman has a 3.48 ERA in 125 regular-season starts for the Blue Jays. He’s been even better during Toronto’s 2025 postseason run with a 2.00 ERA over 18 innings.

Gausman throws his fastball 54% of the time, his splitter 38% of the time and mixes in an occasional slider. In the seventh inning of Game 7 against Seattle, he threw his splitter five straight times to Jorge Polanco to induce a groundout to end the frame and strand two runners on base.

“The book is out on me,” Gausman acknowledged to reporters on Oct. 3. “These guys kind of know what they’re going to get. There’s different ways where I can kind of throw a wrinkle into their mind, but I’m going to throw my best two pitches, and I’m going to throw them a lot. If I can throw my fastball to where I want to and locate my split when I need to, I feel pretty confident that I can get any righty or lefty out in the game.”

Hoffman’s road to the World Series is even more unlikely.

The No. 9 overall pick of the 2014 draft came to Colorado in 2015 as a centerpiece in the blockbuster trade for shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. But Hoffman never truly found his footing as a Rockies starter. Colorado finally moved him to the bullpen in 2020, when he posted a 9.28 ERA in 16 games before being traded to the Reds that offseason.

He showed promise as a full-time reliever in Cincinnati, with a 3.83 ERA in 35 games in ’22. But then his roller-coaster began. Hoffman was non-tendered by the Reds and signed a minor-league deal with the Twins the following spring training. His Minnesota tenure lasted a month after he didn’t make the opening day roster.

Hoffman signed with the Phillies three days later, the start of a turnaround that Rockies pitcher and close friend Kyle Freeland called “something special.” Hoffman had a 2.28 ERA over 122 relief appearances in two seasons in Philadelphia, earning an All-Star nod last year and leading to his three-year, $33 million deal with Toronto ahead of this season.

“The talent and potential was always there,” Black said. “The Blue Jays saw it as a first-round draft pick. The Rockies saw it as a key piece in a trade. … He gained confidence as he logged each season, and finally it all crystallized in Philadelphia.”

Black believes Hoffman’s changes to his arm action led to more consistency. Hoffman — who ranks in the in baseball in chase percentage, 90th percentile in whiff percentage and 88th percentile in K percentage — led the majors with 59 games finished this season (33 saves). This postseason, he has a 1.23 ERA and two saves in six outings.

“When we first got him, he had a naturally long, loose arm, and that caused him to be a bit too inconsistent,” Black said. “So he went from a longer circle in the back to a drastic change, a much shorter one, and now it’s evolved to something in between. He’s found an arm stroke that’s really efficient and works for him.”

Moments after recording the final out of the ALCS, Hoffman said he “couldn’t be happier” with how his career has panned out. But he and Gausman’s challenge in the World Series will be the steepest yet, with a lineup featuring future Hall of Famers Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman awaiting them.

Gausman is the likely candidate to start Game 2 after Schneider announced that the Blue Jays will roll out rookie Trey Yesavage to start opposite Blake Snell . Hoffman would, of course, be the one who closes the door in the ninth.

A World Series ring would cement Gausman as the third pitcher in the trio of gold-standard Colorado arms alongside National Baseball Hall of Famers Roy Halladay (Arvada West) and Goose Goosage (Wasson). Gausman wears No. 32 with Toronto as an homage to Halladay, who wore that number in Philadelphia (Toronto retired Halladay’s No. 34 in 2018). But even the A-West legend never got a chance to pitch in the Fall Classic.

“If the Blue Jays win the World Series,” said Chris Baum, the coach who taught Gausman his splitter at Grandview, “Kevin would definitely be third on that list.”

Don’t credit the Rockies for doing the right thing by forcing him out as general manager. Wait until they do the best thing for this franchise, the fans.

Autonomy for the next leaders — plural — provides the only avenue to fix this tire fire.

Hold your breath at your own risk.

Walker Monfort understands the need for change. But can he convince his father, Dick Monfort, the team’s owner, to step away from all baseball decisions? His meddling is central to this mess. If he refuses to relinquish control, then Schmidt becomes the norm, a baseball lifer who failed upward by doing whatever the boss asked, including signing Kris Bryant.

Even letting Schmidt quit on his own terms shows how deeply flawed the Rockies’ process is, where loyalty remains valued over competency.

A strong case can be made that Schmidt is one of the worst talent evaluators and general managers in major league history. As GM, counting from the moment he took over as interim on May 3, 2021, the Rockies posted a 295-486 record. The 2025 team posted a minus-424 run differential, a nadir in baseball’s modern era. Calling this a rough season is like referring to the Titanic’s collision with the iceberg as a fender bender.

Worse, the players drafted by the Rockies over the past 10 years have accumulated a 9.8 WAR. That is the worst for any franchise during this time, and it’s not close.

Schmidt, even after he became GM, oversaw the selections in case you were wondering. It is why he should have been fired before the draft this summer or before the July 31 deadline, touchstone dates in a season to reshape a franchise.

A consultant should have been added in May when manager Bud Black was canned to conduct an independent audit. Had that happened, the Rockies would already have new leadership in place, or at least understood the changes needed. It is really hard to identify solutions when you don’t know the problems.

Which brings me to Thad Levine.

He makes a lot of sense for the Rockies, given their lean toward the familiar and how they value relationships over everything. They know Levine. He worked in Colorado’s front office from 1999 to 2005 in a variety of roles.

But he should not be the next GM. He must be named president of baseball operations with Walker Monfort in charge of the business side.

The Rockies need a cultural reset, and Levine is capable of orchestrating this, but only if he is given independence without interference. Levine brings a wide range of experience, spending 19 years working outside the organization successfully with the Texas Rangers and Minnesota Twins.

He also knows the unique challenge of baseball at altitude. It will forever make windows to win smaller because of how it impacts pitching. But it must be your ally, not your enemy.

The blueprint is simple: Load the lineup with powerful homegrown bats and a few niche free agents, fill out the rotation with No. 3 and 4 starters, and put together a nasty bullpen featuring velo and multiple arm angles.

Why does Levine fit? He brings positive energy and is an outstanding communicator. The Rockies need a mission statement, a vision and a chain of command. For this to work, Levine would report to Walker Monfort and Walker Monfort to Dick Monfort.

They need to trust Levine like they did Keli McGregor. When the Rockies were at their best, McGregor, who passed away in 2010, served as a buffer between baseball ops and ownership. McGregor also had a disarming personality that made him a great listener. Levine, too, is like this. And unlike McGregor, he brings baseball expertise.

This is where things get complicated without humility and self-awareness from Family Monfort.

Levine, alone, will be nothing more than a pebble on the beach without significant help and power. He needs authority to hire his hand-picked GM — his first calls should be to front office assistants Andy McKay (Mariners), Matt Kleine (Brewers), Alex Slater (Dodgers) and former GMs Dan Evans (Dodgers) and Jon Daniels (Rangers).

He must be allowed to bring in an assistant GM and scouting director. Adding analytic specialists is also long overdue.

The problem is that what makes Dick Monfort an outstanding businessman makes him an awful owner. He focuses on immediate return on investment, and he knows more about ROIs than RBIs. So, the party deck and McGregor Square were easy for him to view as successful ventures.

He has never understood how infrastructure is just as important in baseball as business, how extra scouts, mining data correctly and top minor league coaches can translate into victories at the major league level. Unlike a construction project, it is hard to see the value and progress on a daily basis.

The Rockies need to hit CTRL-ALT-DEL on their drafting philosophy and scouting.

This is why Dick and Walker Monfort must let baseball people make baseball decisions.

Levine will know what he doesn’t know and will surround himself with quality people. Given the looming labor stoppage following the 2026 season, the Rockies will likely act conservatively, not approving wholesale changes until a new CBA is in place.

So bring in Levine with five new lieutenants and use next season to change the culture, create new standards and fix the process.

And the only way this happens is if Dick and Walker Monfort cede control and give the next baseball president and GM full power.