The two childhood friends from the Miami area lacked for reinforcements. That����ap life if you’re a Marlins diehard, especially when you live on another continent.

In his crisp teal cap with the original Florida Marlins logo and a custom-made black Jose Fernandez jersey, Pellerano was easy to spot Tuesday night sitting behind home plate — a Fish out of water among Rockies purple, cobalt blue and pink.

But taking in Coors Field for the first time after visiting some 20 other MLB stadiums, he said he felt right at home. If anyone can relate to downtrodden Colorado baseball fans, it����ap those from South Florida — the fraternal twins of .

“Brothers in arms, right?” Pellerano said, referencing a line from Walt Weiss, the former Rockies shortstop and manager who owns the distinction of playing for both expansion teams, starting with the Marlins in 1993 before joining the Rockies from 1994 to 1997. “We don’t have a lot of hardcore fans, because of probably a lot of spurning. And Miami is kind of a winner’s hype town. A lot of people jump on the hype train. When your team’s consistently good, they support you in droves.

“But if you’re bad and the ownership is actively not trying to improve the team, over and over, there’s only a few baseball psychos in every city, you know what I mean? And I’m one of them.”

Denver certainly has more than Miami. The Marlins have consistently ranked near the bottom in , drawing an average per-game crowd ranging between 7,934 and 14,356 fans. Once one of MLB’s best draws, the in attendance this season while trying to avoid the stain of a fourth-straight 100-loss season.

But to look at the two franchises, it����ap a lot like looking in the mirror. The unconventional when they arrived. The two franchises have nearly identical all-time winning percentages — the , the . The gruff Jim Leyland, one of baseball’s true gems, managed both franchises during a Hall of Fame Career. And, of course, home fans in both cities have become resigned to stadium takeovers by visiting fan bases — Cubs, Yankees, Cardinals, Red Sox — in two cities that attract many transplants.

The way Pellerano talks, he sounds a lot like loyal Rockies fans who can’t quit root, root, rooting for the home team, despite all the losing. The Marlins finished June with an MLB-best 20-6 record, and even after dropping the last two games of this week’s four-game series, they sit just .

That’s despite a payroll of just $80,392,535 — the second-lowest in baseball — while playing in the same division as the Mets, who have baseball’s richest roster at $

But Pellerano has seen enough broken promises from ownership, teardowns, fire sales, and beloved homegrown players traded or lost to free agency to get too hopeful about the future of Miami baseball.

“I don’t believe you should own a major league baseball team if you’re going to view it as strictly a baseball proposition, given how many people are emotionally affected by that team’s success or the way it����ap run,” he said.

So high, so low

That����ap not to say that there haven’t been some incredible highs. Despite neither team ever winning its division in 34 seasons, the Marlins have won two World Series, while Rockies fans still savor Rocktober in 2007 when the franchise won 21 of 22 to claim the NL pennant.

But the excitement generated from that inaugural 1993 season when the Rockies set and the Marlins drew a franchise-record 3,064,847? It feels like forever ago, said Debbie and Michael Kendrick of Basalt.

Both were at the Rockies’ electric home opener in 1993 when Eric Young led off with a home run. They were there in 2007 for Game 4 of the World Series when the Boston Red Sox ended that magical run with a clean sweep. Michael loved the Rockies so much that he worked as an usher for three seasons.

But that love has been tested ever since the Rockies’ last postseason appearance in 2018. Three 100-loss seasons and the prospect of a fourth had kept them away from the ballpark until Thursday, when they arrived with grandsons in tow.

Bringing the two boys to their first big-league game outweighed the couple’s dissatisfaction with the franchise’s trajectory.

“They’ve got to not only get talent but keep talent,” Michael said. “It����ap a difficult business. I wouldn’t want to be in it.”

“Our family has not been coming to baseball,” Debbie said. “Literally, our son wouldn’t join us because we feel like the Monforts need to put some money into training and keeping pitchers once they get them.”

It����ap not just the losing, Debbie said, but the lack of competitiveness in recent years. Especially last season’s debacle, when the Rockies lost 119 games and had a run differential of -424, the worst in modern Major League history.

“They don’t have to win,” Debbie said. “But you have to go there with the idea that they might.”

Rockies fans talk about losing homegrown stars like Nolan Arenado, Troy Tulowitzki, Ubaldo Jimenez and Troy Tulowitzki the same way that Marlins fans talk about losing Miguel Cabrera, Josh Beckett, Christian Yelich, and Giancarlo Stanton.

Debbie said she was devastated when the at the trade deadline for prospects.

She couldn’t fathom how the franchise was so quick to part ways with a talent that it had discovered at 15 in the Dominican Republic and had developed into an ace pitcher.

“I was like, ‘Why would you get rid of Ubaldo?’” she said. “I forget that it����ap ‘Moneyball.’”

The ones that got away

As Brad Pitt, playing Billy Beane, said in the film version, both franchises have been .

“Every time they have a good team, every time they’ve won the World Series, they’ve always dismantled the team,” said Andy Armas, who was born in Miami but now lives in Denver.

“It����ap just like the Rockies, right?” said Jose Miranda, another South Florida transplant. “We bring them up, and they sell them. Same old (expletive) next season. And next season.”

Miranda was at Tuesday’s game with his friend from back home, Ernie Diaz. Diaz said there are always a few Marlins fans who show up at Rockies games when Miami is in town.

“There’s a handful. We’re two of those five,” he joked.

Like Armas and Pellerano, Diaz said his fandom stuck with him as a boy growing up in South Florida. He’s been stuck with it ever since.

“I became a Marlins fan in 97,” he said. “I remember my family would make a big deal about the postseason. I remember doing Angels in the Outfield as a kid. And when we won the championship in 2003, that cemented my fandom.”

“The biggest thing for me is the atmosphere at the ballpark. If you’re not winning games, it����ap a really tough atmosphere to watch a baseball game. Over the years, we have had a lot of talent. The closest we ever got was that Jose Fernandez death. We had a really stacked lineup, and him being our ace, we had a really good chance of competing, but ever since then it����ap been tough to put a really good team on the field.”

Nick Klein, who grew up in Miami and Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, moved to Denver in 2019. He said he became hooked as a fan in 2003, at 7, during the Marlins’ World Series run.

“The experience is really summed up by the old ball park, which is Pro Player Stadium, where the Dolphins play,” he said. “You’d just go to one of those games on a summer day and it’d be a hellscape. And you’d be sweating. It����ap a 70,000-seat stadium with 10,000 people in it. Even with winning the World Series, you kinda got how depressing Marlin fandom is.”

‘Not optional’

Despite it all, Pellerano said he’s grateful for every chance he gets to take in a baseball game. He returns to the United States during the winter holidays and in the summer. He always plans his summer trips around seeing his beloved Fish.

Aside from his daughter’s birth, his two greatest memories are of being at clinching World Series games. He was at Pro Player Stadium in 1997 when Édgar Rentería hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 11th inning of Game 7 to clinch the Marlins’ first title. And he was at Yankee Stadium in 2003 with his father when Josh Beckett shut down the Bronx Bombers with a five-hit, complete-game shutout, stunning the Yankees faithful.

“I lived in New York and I have my feelings about Yankees fans that aren’t super positive,” he said. “So, them being silenced in the biggest moment. Because they try and intimidate you with all their World Series championship videos before the game. And that team was undaunted. Josh Beckett was fierce. It was a crazy move by Jack McKeon to pitch him on four days’ rest. Because he knew if it went to seven, they’d probably lose. That was awesome.”

Klein said he didn’t empathize with Rockies fans, now that he’s in Denver, because the experience of being a Marlins fan is more brutal.

“At least they get people to show up to their games,” he said. “They still put out a good gameday product, and I think going to the games is actually what matters.”

Pellerano said he admired Rockies fans for sticking with their team, despite all the losing. It’s the same way he feels about his fandom, psycho or not.

“It����ap not optional,” he said. “If you’re a true baseball fan, you know it����ap not optional. Your connection with the sport and the game is something beautiful. And baseball is a beautiful game that can sometimes transcend the day-to-day. For me, I feel the same feeling that I feel about a baseball game as I do by the ocean. If you live in a city and were born in that city, you have to love that team. I’m sorry, if you change teams, except for a few extenuating circumstances, you’re a poser baseball fan.”

“Very nice,” he said, giving me a wry, knowing smile and a short laugh.

Some background is definitely required here.

In 2014, Weiss was managing the Rockies on a hazy, humid September Sunday morning at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Somehow, Weiss, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding, and I started talking about our 1970s crushes. We mentioned, of course, Farrah Fawcett and her famous poster, Cheryl Tiegs and her poster, as well as other supermodels and Hollywood stars. I said I once had a poster of pop singer Linda Ronstadt.

Then came the bombshell.

“I had a crush on Barbara Streisand,” Thomas said. “I thought she was hot.”

Walt and I were aghast. As Walt pointed out, “Babs” had a nose like his own. No way Thomas was telling us the truth, right? To this day, insists he was.

The kicker came after the Rockies lost to the Cardinals that day. Walt pulled us aside and said, “You know, when I was going out to the mound to make a pitching change, I kept thinking about Barbra Streisand. Thanks a lot, Thomas.”

The point of my ramble down memory lane? My nearly 28-year career at The Denver Post ends Wednesday when the Rockies host the Red Sox at Coors Field. I’ve covered World Series, Super Bowls, Final Fours, Nuggets games and scores of high school state championships alongside Kyle Newman. In the end, my fondest memories are not about games, highlight reels, strategy, upsets, or scoops. My fondest memories are about people. It’s what I wrote about best.

Being a baseball beat writer is the most gratifying of any of the major sports beats, in my humble opinion. You get to know the people, from owners and managers to players and clubbies to broadcasters and fellow writers. Meanwhile, the walls between the NFL and the media grow thicker and taller with each passing year. I can’t imagine Broncos beat writers talking about their boyhood crushes with coach Sean Payton.

I was hired by The Post in October 1998, joining Adam Schefter as a Broncos No. 2 beat writer, just in time to cover John Elway’s second Super Bowl title. In the summer of 2005, I was yanked off the Broncos beat and moved to the Rockies, as the No. 2 writer behind current Post columnist Troy Renck. It was a demotion for me, no doubt.

My wife, Nancy, and I were shocked by the grind of the baseball beat, especially back in the days when The Post still traveled to cover the Rockies. We eventually embraced the lifestyle, though it wasn’t easy.

Covering a team afflicted with chronic losing wasn’t easy either. I covered the Rockies for nearly 20 years, and during that time, they had five winning seasons, made the playoffs four times, and made one magical run to the World Series in 2007.

I’ve had to rewrite more deadline game stories than I can count. The adage in the Coors Field press box: “The Rockies blew another lead. And they blew another lede.”

But, all in all, it’s been quite a wonderful ride. What follows are excerpts from some of my favorite stories I wrote for The Post. The common theme is people.

McCaffrey family legacy

When I started covering the Broncos, first for the Longmont Times-Call and then with The Post, training camp was still held at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. The players stayed in one dorm, the media in another, and we shared the same cafeteria. Access to the players was incredible. I once interviewed Elway while riding in a golf cart as the fans screamed for autographs — Elway’s, not mine.

That’s how I got to know wide receiver Ed McCaffrey and his wife, Lisa. In 1999, I profiled their family’s rich sports legacy:

When 5-year-old Max McCaffrey plays soccer, his 3-year-old brother, Christian, can’t bear to watch.

“Christian is always trying to run out on the field to be with his big brother,” his dad said. “We have to keep reeling him back in.”

Christian can’t help it. The need for speed, the energy driving his little motor, the desire to follow the bouncing ball — they’re in his genes.

His grandfather won a silver medal in the 100-meter dash at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. Uncle Billy became a legend in the Pennsylvania Rust Belt and later won a national basketball championship with the Duke Blue Devils.

When she was a pixie in South Florida, Christian’s mom scored so many goals for her high school soccer team that her mug shot ended up in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd.”

Christian’s dad? All he’s done is win three Super Bowl rings, earn a trip to the Pro Bowl, develop a stiff-arm that could stop a rhinoceros, become one of the best receivers in Denver Broncos history and destroy forever the notion that white men can’t run.

Arenado’s SoCal roots

In 2016, Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado was a budding star. I traveled to his boyhood home of Lake Forest, in Orange County, California. While the Rockies hosted the Blue Jays at Coors Field, I sat in the living room of Fernando and Millie Arenado as they watched the game on TV. It was a remarkable day, topped off with a trip to El Toro High School, less than 10 minutes from the Arenado home. I spent an hour reminiscing with Mike Gonzalez, Arenado’s high school coach.

Here’s the beginning of my story about Arenado’s baseball roots:

LAKE FOREST, Calif. — The trim, stucco home looks like many others in this quiet, middle-class Southern California neighborhood. There is a basketball hoop out front and a beautifully tiled swimming pool in the backyard.

Step inside and you’re enveloped by warmth. Family photos cover every wall, every shelf, every nook and cranny. The family dog, a white Havanese named Mojito (“Mo” for short), hops up on the comfy couch to greet visitors.

Baseball is everywhere, too. Indeed, the home is something of an impromptu museum. Near the TV in the living room sits Nolan Arenado’s gleaming 2015 Silver Slugger Award. Open a nearby cabinet, and one of Arenado’s three Gold Glove Awards sits among a sea of memorabilia.

Likely more baseball stuff will be added after Tuesday night����ap All-Star Game in San Diego, where Arenado, the Rockies’ third baseman, will be appearing, the second year in a row he was voted in by fellow major-league players. Who knows? Perhaps an All-Star Game MVP trophy will be his newest baseball heirloom. At the very least, his All-Star Game jersey will find a place in the Arenado home.

Upstairs is the “Bonus Room,” as the family calls it. In the middle sits a pool table, now overflowing with framed photos, jerseys and signed baseballs. On the couch in front of a big-screen TV sits a Star Wars stormtrooper helmet. Back in the day, Arenado wore it while playing video games.

A day in the life of Buddy Black

I covered five managers in my time with the Rockies: Clint Hurdle, a force of nature and philosophy; Loquacious Jim Tracy, one of the nicest men I’ve ever met; Weiss, a fellow Bruce Springsteen fanatic; Bud Black, a walking baseball encyclopedia who’s beloved throughout the game; and current manager Warren Schaeffer, full of incredible passion and heart.

Of all of the Rockies’ managers, I know Black the best. We’re near the same age and share the same sense of humor. We still text frequently. In 2018, in the midst of a race for the National League West title, Black allowed me to go behind the scenes and chronicle a day in the life of a big-league manager:

It����ap the second week of September, the Rockies are chasing their first division title, and Bud Black has former Bronco Peyton Manning on his mind.

He’s trying to figure out a way to get the legendary quarterback to appear in a video that would play on the giant scoreboard at Coors Field as the Rockies make their run to a possible National League West crown.

“I want Peyton, waving his arms up and down, to get the crowd going,” Black says. “Hey, we don’t care about the snap count! We want it loud! ‘Omaha! Omaha!’ ”

Later in the afternoon, he’ll call in Julian Valentin, the director of social media, to see if there has been any progress on Project Peyton. (Valentin tells Black that it����ap being looked into).

Black’s office, down the hallway from the players’ spacious clubhouse, contains a comfy black-leather couch and a tidy desk. Photographs of Coors Field adorn the walls, including one that captures the joy of a young boy watching a game. Encased in a glass frame is the lineup and a baseball from Black’s first game as Rockies manager. It����ap dated April 3, 2017, a game in which the Rockies beat the Brewers at Milwaukee, 7-5.

Black has plenty on his to-do list, though he goes about his chores with a relaxed, easy manner. Colorado’s second-year manager, age 61, plans to watch video, meet with his coaches, chat with some players and confer with head trainer Keith Dugger. The night before, the Rockies hammered the Diamondbacks, 13-2. With nothing to stew over and no second-guesses haunting him, he got an excellent night����ap sleep. Today, he’s open to having a reporter shadow him, from arriving at the ballpark just after noon through another critical game that night vs. Arizona.

Helton gets the call

Todd Helton is the greatest player in Rockies history. He’s a complex, moody, smart and extremely funny man. His sense of humor can be cutting and takes some getting used to. Somehow, we bonded.

In January 2024, Helton invited Thomas and me to his home outside Knoxville, Tenn., to be there with his family and close friends when he got the call that he’d been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. We all figured he’d get in, but there were no guarantees. It turned out to be one of the most memorable days of my career:

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Todd Helton, arms folded across his chest, nervously paced the living room of his home Tuesday afternoon.

“I haven’t been superstitious for 10 years, not since I retired,” the Rockies’ iconic first baseman said. “Today, I’m superstitious. I didn’t look at anything, I didn’t watch anything, I didn’t look at the internet.”

He could have spared himself the angst.

Because, fittingly, at 5:17 p.m. Eastern time, No. 17 got the call of a lifetime. Told that he had been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Helton pumped his fist and finally took a deep breath.

“It����ap the greatest honor you can get as a baseball player,” Helton said. “Getting your number retired and getting elected to the Hall of Fame are the two greatest achievements you can get.”

Still, Helton wasn’t quite ready to let it all go.

“I’m going to go (crazy) when y’all leave,” he said.

The sweet-swinging Helton, the beloved heart and soul of the Rockies for 17 seasons and one of the most accomplished players of his era, received 79.7% of the vote, clearing the 75% bar required by the Hall of Fame and the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

Matzek, ‘The Yips,’ and me

We’ve all got something. Mine is anxiety and depression, something I’ve dealt with for much of my adult life.

That’s why I was so interested in Tyler Matzek’s story. The former Rockies pitcher had such a bad case of the yips, brought on by performance anxiety, that it nearly ruined his baseball career. In December 2015, we met in a Southern California coffee shop and talked for nearly three hours. He was remarkably candid.

In 2021, he won a World Series as a shutdown reliever for the Braves. But before that, I wrote this story:

LAGUNA HILLS, Calif. — On Sept. 5, 2014, at Coors Field, Tyler Matzek pitched a three-hit shutout against the San Diego Padres. Poised and confident, and throwing a 94 mph fastball with graceful ease, the Rockies’ rookie left-hander was dominant. Over his final six starts, Matzek went 4-2 with a 1.55 ERA. He looked like the Rockies’ ace of the future.

Yet demons lurked in the corners of Matzek’s mind, and by the time he took the mound for the Rockies’ 2015 home opener April 10, he was headed for trouble.

“Even when things were going the right way, there was this overwhelming stress inside me that just kept building and building and building,” Matzek said recently while sipping coffee at a Starbucks in Southern California. “(Then) I just couldn’t hold that stress any longer and my game collapsed.”

Matzek was suffering from performance anxiety.

It wrecked him on the mound and even began to creep into his everyday life.

“My wife, Lauren, said it was our worst time, relationship-wise, because I was so tight, so stressed, just waiting to explode from this thing,” Matzek said. “She knew it wasn’t about her, but it was hard.”

But the quiet, intelligent 25-year-old confronted his condition head-on, confident he would fulfill the promise that prompted the Rockies to make him the 11th pick in the first round of the 2009 draft. He is determined to compete for a job in the Rockies’ starting rotation in spring training.

Thanks, mom

The day after I cover my final Rockies game, Nancy and I are flying to Southern California. We’ll join my extended family to scatter the ashes of my mom, Anita, and my dad, Dusty, in Laguna Beach, their favorite vacation spot.

This is my final chance to say thanks, sharing past stories with you:

Somewhere up there, my mom is smiling.

Ryan McMahon hit a home run for the Rockies in their 4-3 win over the Giants on Thursday night. McMahon broke out of a horrendous slump.

“RyMac” was my mom’s second-favorite Rockie, right behind Todd Helton. Why? Partly because he’s Irish, mostly because I like RyMac.

She was thrilled when Helton invited me to his Knoxville, Tenn., home to witness his Hall of Fame phone call in January 2024. When my wife, Nancy, and I were invited to Helton’s party in Cooperstown last July, my mom felt like she was there.

During her last years, I watched Rockies road games with her when I could. She rarely asked why the team was winning or losing. Strategy was not her thing. She always asked, “Is so and so a good guy?”

That����ap the kind of sports fan my mom was. She knew nothing about OPS, yards after catch, 3-point percentages, or point spreads. She just liked how players played and hoped they were good people. She loved Dr. J, Nolan Arenado and Floyd Little.

In the Broncos’ infancy, when Little was their only star and the game plan was “Little off left tackle, Little off right tackle,” my mom would shout, “Don’t hurt Floyd!”

In her later years, she’d tried to stay up late enough to watch manager Bud Black’s postgame news conference, not because she wanted to hear his explanations but to hear me ask a question.

Thanks, dad

I wrote this journal a few months before my dad died in May 2022:

What do you get your dad for his 90th birthday?

I’ve been pondering that question for the past few weeks. I kept striking out.

Then, as I perused the web, I came across a cool T-shirt. Cardinals red, the shirt displays the image of Stan Musial, leaning on a baseball bat. The script simply reads: The MAN.

How many sports-related T-shirts, sweatshirts and books have I given my dad over the years? I’ve lost track. It doesn’t matter. My dad’s going to love his “Stan the Man” T-shirt.

A father and son bonding over sports is not unique, but it is different for every father and son.

Walter Patrick “Dusty” Saunders was born on Sept. 24, 1931, in Denver. He was a lonely kid. His father died when he was 9 years old, and his mom died when he was 10.

In the 1940s, my dad’s companions were the radio, books and sports. He became a St. Louis Cardinals fan because he could pick up the strong signal from KMOX radio in St. Louis. Musial was his favorite player.

In 2006, my first full year on the Rockies beat, I took my dad to St. Louis for Father’s Day to watch the Rockies play the Cardinals in the first year of the new Busch Stadium. He chatted with Clint Hurdle and Todd Helton. After the game, my dad, MLB.com Rockies beat writer Thomas Harding and I had dinner at former Cardinal Mike Shannon’s restaurant. Thomas and I still talk about that day.

“You don’t make any money doing any of that stuff,” Peter Bayer said with a laugh.

His heart and hope lie inside a grey warehouse a few miles from Highway 34 in Weld County, his heaven a canvas of black netting and neon-green paint. A symphony of popping balls and pinging bats alternate solos while a low, angry chorus of whirring fans wage a losing battle against a 94-degree afternoon.

“These bigger names, they all focus on the college-and-above market,” Bayer, a former Regis Jesuit baseball standout, explained. “What I want to bring is this amazing big space as an oasis to take 13- and 14-year-old kids and build them up, to just have an awesome space to have access to all these things.”

Head 7 miles east of the Scheels in Johnstown, turn right in the middle of nowhere, and you’ll eventually run into the , a 22,000-square-foot indoor training facility that opened Saturday to more than 200 curious kids, parents, coaches, and patrons in its first 90 minutes.

The place puts the “art” in state-of-the-art. It’s wired with Trackman technology, the same kind used at Major League stadiums across North America, including Coors Field. Two new HitTrax machines are on the way. The bulk of the complex is taken up by six long batting cages, at least four extendable pitching mounds and a 100-feet-by-30-feet practice field.

“If I was 12 years old, what would I want to do?” “And that’s what I’m trying to do here.”

“Do the parents of those 12-year-olds know?” I wondered, “that it’s run by a guy on Major League Baseball’s ineligible list?”

“I get it every so often,” Bayer said. “It’s obviously less now than it was before … it’s not like I’m out there lying to kids about what I did. At least this way, I can be a positive role model.”

***

Bayer turned 31 in March. The way he sees it, the baseball gods put him on the scenic route to his life’s calling: Teaching. Kids. Paying it forward.

He grew up in Parker, under the shadow of Ponderosa High School. He grew into a 6-foot-4 fireballer, a righty who helped anchor Regis Jesuit’s state title winners in 2011. Atlanta Braves manager Walt Weiss was a family friend and mentor.

His college chapter started at Richmond and ended at Cal Poly Pomona. He discovered Driveline, one of the country’s cutting-edge baseball labs. His fastball velo max went from 88 mph before Driveline to 95 mph after. Tampa Bay selected him in the ninth round of the 2016 MLB amateur draft.

“‘OG,’ that’s what the kids call me,” Bayer chuckled. “‘You’re like a Driveline OG.'”

The Rays traded him to the Athletics in 2018. Two years later, COVID-19 shut down the minor-league season entirely. A $400 stipend wasn’t cutting it. Bayer delivered for DoorDash. He wasn’t just looking for a quick buck. He was looking for any buck. He took up online betting. He went to online forums. He found betting experts. It became a short-term, competitive fix.

“You get your sport taken away from you, so you resort to something else to fulfill a competitive thing in your mind,” Bayer says. “This was something I could do. I was sitting at home and going crazy because I couldn’t play my sport.”

MLB’s investigation found he had conducted 100 baseball-related wagers from May-August 2020. It accused him of placing at least 25 wagers worth $1,000 or more, and at least a dozen involving the A’s, his organization at the time.

Bayer doesn’t deny the action. He denies the volume and specifics of MLB’s report.

“I think I had a stupid mindset,” he said. “(It was), ‘I have nothing left to lose. I can’t play.'”

In February 2021, Major League Baseball launched an investigation into the pitcher and placed him on administrative leave. In April 2022, he was moved to the ineligible list.

A spokesperson for Major League Baseball emailed the following statement to The Post: “After a thorough investigation, it was determined that Mr. Bayer repeatedly bet on baseball in violation of Major League Rule 21 and MLB’s Policy on Sports Betting and engaged in other misconduct that was not in the best interests of baseball. Therefore, he was placed on the ineligible list, where he remains.”

Rule 21 (d) (1) says that any “player, umpire, or Club or League official or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has no duty to perform, shall be declared ineligible for one year.”

Bayer applies for reinstatement every November. Kids he’s worked with shot video testimonials pleading on his behalf. Former teammates did, too. , now with the University of St. Thomas, has worked with Bayer since 2019 and was so moved that he emailed MLB commissioner Rob Manfred directly last fall to ask for clemency.

“He’d be great as a college coach,” Phillips says. “The decision (MLB) made to not even let him be a coach, it was tragic. He could still be a player, even. He’s really special.”

Initially, he was told it would be a one-year suspension. Only that one year keeps marching into perpetuity.

“The thing that was unfortunate, to be honest with you, was that my mental health got really (expletived),” Bayer said.

“Anybody in my shoes, it’s like, ‘Oh, man.’ You’re just holding onto hope. It was a lot. So ultimately, it was like, I don’t know. I had to move on.”

He played independent ball. Mexico. The Rocky Mountain Vibes in Colorado Springs. Dancing around the periphery, staying sharp in case a window opened up. It never did.

“The insane thing is, if I try to go to Coors Field and say, ‘Hey, I want to work for the Rockies as a sales rep,’ and sell tickets, I can’t do that,” he says. “I literally can’t be involved.”

Friends and former confidants on college baseball staffs still went out of their way to recommend him. He’d inquired about becoming a coach at a collegiate program at least three times since 2022.

“The (athletic department) would say, ‘With his background, we don’t want to risk it,'” Bayer said.

“And I’m not saying that this isn’t justified. Or isn’t fair. But there are so many MLB players out there that did horrible things and they’re just, ‘Oh, whatever, that’s fine.’ As bad as the thing is, there are still a lot of people in my corner, a lot of friends who know the type of person I am.  And that I am a good person. I just get to now build this (facility) out, so now that’s where my focus is.”

***
Bayer can still bring the heat. Quietly. He was at Coors Field a couple weeks ago and took a turn at the speed-pitch booth, just for giggles.

BAMI

Ninety-six. No warm-up.

“I know, 100%, I could still play professional baseball,” Bayer says. “That’s the crazy part of it.

“It’s been a whirlwind of life. A whirlwind of a 10 years. A lot of people would’ve lost their mind or would go off the deep end. I obviously did that in 2020 for a little bit. But I think (I’m) slowly but surely picking up the pieces. I’m doing the right things.”

With the right people. Pete got the coaching bug early. He worked with 40-45 players last year as an independent contractor. His clientele included two players from greater Loveland who were driving all the way to Centennial for workouts. One of them was the son of Endless Garage owner and entrepreneur Justin Summers, who knew of a warehouse in southwest Greeley already set up for softball training.

“(Summers said), ‘There’s this amazing facility up here, we think you’d be the perfect guy to run this,'” Bayer recalled.

“It’s kind of how it was supposed to happen. In a crazy, weird, stupid way, maybe this was all kind of happened for a … I don’t know.”

“For a reason?” I asked. “For a purpose?”

“I can’t obviously change the past. But I can make the best out of every day and build the future. That’s what this is about.”

With that, a staffer in glasses closes in, just behind Bayer’s right shoulder, and hovers. Question for the boss.

“Sorry to interrupt,” he said. “But do you know where the microphones are?”

Bayer points to a far wall. Then he cocks his head back wearily and smiles, the grin of a man who bet on himself. And won.

The Rockies‘ outfielder launched two more home runs on Sunday afternoon at Coors Field, giving him 11 in Colorado’s first 35 games and extending his hitting streak to 16 games.

Still, a formula for consistent success continues to elude the reimagined Rockies. Their 11-6 loss to the Braves on Sunday afternoon at Coors Field provided the latest example. And gave the Braves a three-game sweep.

Colorado got plenty of hits (11), including a solo blast by rookie first baseman TJ Rumfield (3 for 5) and a triple by Jake McCarthy to complement Moniak’s big day.

Don’t mess with Walt Weiss: Beloved former Rockies player, manager has Braves playing inspired baseball

Moniak reached 11 home runs in his first 27 games played, the fastest Rockie to hit 11 homers since Trevor Story launched 11 in his first 27 games of his 2016 rookie season. Moniak is the first major league player to record four multi-homer games in a team’s first 35 games since Toronto’s Carlos Delgado in 2001.

"It's unbelievable watching that guy every single day and seeing what he does," Rumfield said. "It's impressive. You think he's going to hit a home run and -- boom! -- he does it.

"I see a complete baseball player, I see a cerebral player; a guy who knows what he's going to do when he gets in the box. He looks calm -- all the time. That's something I try to take in as a younger player."

Moniak, who's slashing .377/.441/.770 (1.211 OPS) with six doubles, six home runs, and 16 RBIs during his hitting streak, said he's in a comfortable place at the plate.

"I just think I've found a good routine on a daily basis," Moniak said. "It gives me the confidence to be able to go into the game, and instead of worrying about my swing or anything like that, I just focus on what the pitcher is going to do and try to execute a game plan."

But while Moniak continued to play like a player destined for the Midsummer Classic on July 14 in Philadelphia, Colorado's missing ingredient on Sunday was solid pitching.

Atlanta tagged starter Kyle Freeland for six runs on eight hits over his 4 1/3 innings. Right-handed reliever Antonio Senzatala, nearly untouchable this season, gave up two runs on three hits in 2 1/3 innings. And multipurpose right-hander Jimmy Herget got rocked for three runs on three hits and a walk in the ninth inning.

And so the Braves improved to 25-10 under first-year manager Walt Weiss for the best record in baseball. The Rockies lost their fourth straight, and the boost from their recent 4-2 road trip is quickly disappearing in their rearview mirror.

Two innings illustrated Freeland's off-kilter day.

In the second, light-hitting Johan Heim hit a two-out, two-run homer. It was Heim's first home run of the season. Jorge Mateo immediately followed with a solo blast that hugged the left-field line. Entering Sunday, Freeland had served up only two homers across four starts.

In the fifth, Freeland uncharacteristically walked three, including walking Eli White with the bases full to force in a run. Freeland had walked only five batters in his first four starts.

However, manager Warren Schaeffer lauded the Braves' powerful, deep lineup and said  Freeland pitched a decent game.

"I wouldn't characterize his entire outing as 'uncharacteristic,' " Schaeffer said. "The majority of the time, he was really good. He attacked the strike zone. Good pitch mix. ... In the fifth inning, I just thought he lost some battles there with the walks."

Freeland gave himself a mixed review.

"In that second inning, I had a couple of mistake pitches that got punished, but then I was able to kind of keep them at bay until the fifth when walks started piling up," he said. "I had guys in advantage counts and couldn't put them away. I wasn't executing very well."

Freeland, whose ERA sits at 5.04, added, "I thought I battled really well throughout the entire game, but there in the fifth was uncharacteristic of me, walking those guys. In situations like that, with runners on and less than two outs, you have to make sure you are staying on the attack. And I was running out of gas there in the fifth, and I wasn't able to execute and put pitches where I wanted them to be."

The Rockies open a three-game series vs. the Mets on Monday afternoon at Coors Field. The game was originally scheduled for 6:40 p.m. but was moved up three hours due to anticipated inclement weather.

Pitching probables

Monday: Mets TBA at Rockies RHP Tomoyuki Sugano (3-1, 2.84 ERA), 3:40 p.m.
Tuesday: Mets RHP Freddy Peralta (1-3, 3.52) at Rockies RHP Michael Lorenzen (2-3, 6.09), 6:40 p.m.
Wednesday: Mets RHP Christian Scott (0-0, 4.26) at Rockies LHP Jose Quintana (1-2, 4.07), 1:10 p.m.
Thursday: Off day

TV: Rockies.TV
Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM

There were hugs all around from those Rockies who knew Weiss back in the day.

And jokes about his newfound internet fame.

“You don’t mess with Walt, as everybody has seen now,” Rockies longtime trainer Keith Dugger said with a laugh.

The thing is, the 62-year-old Weiss never expected to go viral. But there he was, sparking memes, inspiring T-shirts, “Come put on the pads, Skip.”

In case you missed it (how could you?), that broke out between the Braves and the Angels in Anaheim, Calif., on April 8.

As fists started to fly between Braves pitcher Reynaldo Lopez and Angels designated hitter Jorge Soler, Weiss sprinted from the dugout, flipped off his hat, and tackled the 6-foot-3, 235-pound Soler.

The 6-foot, 180-pound Weiss, who still lives in Parker during the offseason, is a soft-spoken gentleman. But just beneath the surface flows white-hot competitive intensity. Sporting biceps like Schwarzenegger’s, Weiss goes to the gym nearly every day. He’s a martial artist with a black belt in taekwondo and has training in MMA, including jiu-jitsu.

Soler was the 2021 World Series MVP for the Braves when Weiss was the bench coach. But that didn’t matter in the heat of the moment.

“I love Soler. We were teammates here,” that night. “But that����ap a big man, and so I just felt I’ve gotta get him off his feet because he’s gonna hurt somebody. And so that was my instinct, just to get in there and get Jorge off his feet, yeah, because he was on a warpath.”

Weiss is way past all of that now, but the moment inspired the Braves.

“We could not get enough of it,” said Braves reliever Tyler Kinley, who pitched for Colorado from 2020 through part of 2025 before he was traded to Atlanta. “Guys rally around different things throughout the year, and that, for us, was huge. Guys already knew that Walt was tough and a bad dude.

“I mean, everyone knows that Soler is a big dude, and he’s not a gentle giant. To see Walt zone in on Soler, find him, and then take him down and end the whole scrum was amazing. Guys were already ready to run through a brick wall for Walt.”

An evolution from player to skipper

Weiss’ baseball card is impressive. He played 14 years in the majors and was the American League rookie of the year in 1988 with the Oakland A’s, with whom he won three pennants and the 1989 World Series. He played shortstop for the Rockies from 1994-97. He was an All-Star with the Braves in 1998 at age 34.

After retiring as a player in 2000, Weiss served as a special assistant and instructor with the Rockies from 2002 to 2008. He managed the Rockies for four seasons (2013-16) and was Atlanta’s bench coach for eight years before replacing Brian Snitker as manager.

Former Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd hired Weiss to replace Jim Tracy after the Rockies’ 98-loss season in 2012. The Rockies went 283-365 under Weiss, and while owner Dick Monfort wanted him to continue after the 2016 season, Weiss resigned because of his strained relationship with Jeff Bridich, the GM who replaced O’Dowd.

The Rockies improved to 75-87 under Weiss in 2016, and many of the building blocks were in place for the 2017-18 Rockies teams that made the playoffs under Bud Black, most notably an infield that included third baseman Nolan Arenado, shortstop Trevor Story, and second baseman DJ LeMahieu, as well as All-Star outfielders Charlie Blackmon and Carlos Gonzalez.

“The circumstances are worlds apart,” Weiss said Friday when asked what he learned managing the Rockies. “The first time I did this, back here, I had been out of the game for four years, which is an eternity in this league. I mean, I was coaching high school football (at Regis Jesuit) when I interviewed for that job.

“I had a lot to learn, had to learn on the fly. But I had a good staff around me that helped me through those early years.”

Weiss has evolved a lot since then.

“I saw the game probably more through a player’s eyes back then, because that’s what I leaned on,” he said. “In some ways, that’s good. In some ways, probably not so good.

“I was the bench coach (with the Braves) for eight years, so I know this team very well. The trust has been established. But this is a very different scenario. This is a team that’s built to win, right now. I’m certainly more comfortable in my own skin, in this role, right now.”

The Braves beat the Rockies 8-6 in comeback fashion on Friday night and entered Saturday’s game at Coors with a big-league-best 23-10 record and were 9-0-1 in series this season.

A hard-nosed ‘father figure’

Weiss steered his club through some early-season turbulence.

During spring training, the Braves lost right-hand Spencer Strider to an oblique strain. He’s scheduled to make his season debut on Sunday against the Rockies.  Starters Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep went down with elbow injuries and have yet to return.

Catcher Sean Murphy was sidelined with a hip labral tear, and shortstop Ha-Seong Kim tore his finger tendon. Both players are expected to return in the next few weeks. But outfielder Jurickson Profar was suspended for the second time for PEDs and is done for the season.

“Walt is very consistent with what he does, and he puts a good, positive outlook on everything for everybody,” said Atlanta utility infielder Kyle Farmer, who played for the Rockies last season. “He’s a very good communicator and checks in on guys all the time.

“For a bench guy like myself, he lets me know what’s going on. Our roster is loaded with talent, but for a guy like me who doesn’t play every day, he’s been very considerate and approachable.”

Utility player Mauricio Dubon, who hit a three-run triple in the eighth inning against Colorado on Friday, called Weiss a “father figure.”

“Walt’s ability to relate to guys and speak the players’ language is unique,” Kinley said. “He shows up every day and is diligent about what he does. He has an intention for everything he does. He understands it’s not an easy game, and he knows how to communicate with guys. He’s amazing at that.

“And Walt walks the walk. He’s in there, busting his butt with us in the weight room. He’s intense,  and guys feed off that.”

As a player, Weiss was hard-nosed, so he expects the same from those who play for him. He also expects them to be on time, work hard, and hustle — all of the time. Arenado found out about that when he played for Weiss.

In July 2014, Arenado was benched after jogging to first base on a groundout against the Pirates at Coors Field. Arenado had failed to hustle up the first-base line several times in the minors, and Weiss wasn’t about to accept that in the majors.

“You don’t know how a player is going to take that, especially someone as good as Nolan,” Weiss told The Denver Post in 2019. “It can go either way. Managers and catchers almost always show up to the ballpark earlier than the players, but the next day, there’s Nolan, waiting in my office. I really didn’t know how that was going to go. Was he mad because he thought I had embarrassed him?”

“But then Nolan actually thanked me for benching him. Imagine that? He was there early to tell me how much he appreciated me pulling him out of the game.”

When Arenado was feuding with Bridich near the end of his career in Colorado, one of the people he sought counsel from was Weiss, who has a sterling reputation throughout the game.

“One of the finest men I’ve ever known in baseball,” Dugger said. “One of my favorite people — ever.”

Vinny Castilla, a member of the famed Blake Street Bombers and a Rockies special assistant for the past 21 years, has known Weiss for 32 years. During Weiss’s first managerial stint, Castilla saw signs pointing to success if Weiss ever got another gig.

“He’s a players’ manager, and he’s going to do whatever he can to protect them,” Castilla said. “He’s a very nice man, and I love him, and I miss him. But he’s a black belt, so don’t mess with him.”

Hey Patrick, I have a general curiosity question about MLB front-office structure and, more specifically, job titles. I know and assume that all front offices are different and have their own uniqueness to them, but can you tell me what the difference is between the “president of baseball operations” and the “general manager?”

For the Rockies, we all know Paul DeDodesta is the new head honcho in the front office, but from the outside looking in he has all of the traditional responsibilities of a general manager (trades, free-agent signings, etc.) but not the job title, and his preceding front office leaders (Bill Schmidt, Jeff Bridich, Dan O’Dowd, etc) had the title of GM. Why doesn’t DePodesta have the job title GM? And if he is the final authority on baseball decisions, why hire a “GM?” Seems like with DePodesta in charge, our new GM has the job title in name only. I am just curious if you can elaborate on the differences between the roles?

— Douglas, Denver

Douglas, excellent question that I have been trying to answer myself. I know that DePodesta and new GM Josh Byrnes will work hand in hand, even though DePodesta is the actual boss of the front office. The title of “president of baseball operations” vs. “general manager” is often a matter of semantics.

Anyway, this is what Byrnes told me when I forwarded your question to him:

“At this point, I think most teams have those two titles. As you know, it’s a big operation. Internally, we are both involved in major league club roster decisions, scouting, player development, R&D, performance science, etc.

“In addition, we need to communicate with ownership, media, agents and other clubs. So, we divide responsibilities on all of those things.”

And this is what DePodesta said:

“My view is that Josh and I are partners in this. Both of us will be involved across the baseball operation, with each of us being a bit more involved or a bit less involved in certain areas at particular times of the calendar.”

What new systems, etc., will this front office deploy at the minor-league levels? How will spring training be run differently from the previous front office?

— Logan, Grand Junction

Logan, that remains to be seen. The Rockies’ new front office has said it’s working to get everybody on the same page. That’s been Job 1, and it entails using similar analytics and technology at all levels. Going forward, the franchise would like to add more coaches at the minor league level. We’ll see how that plays out.

As for spring training, manager Warren Schaeffer will have a huge role in structuring a new camp. I know he’s eager to lay out his plan. “Through the roof,” is how he put it. Schaeffer has thus far declined to reveal specifics about how spring training will change, other than saying he wants to focus on improving Colorado’s base running. We’ll know more soon.

Hey Patrick, a couple of questions. First, I am surprised by what is happening. I never thought that (owner) Dick Monfort would bring in outside help. If Monfort lets the new kids on the block run the show their own way, how long would it take to see the effects? I am guessing two to three years before we see anything, but I could be wrong.

Also, how do you think Walt Weiss will pan out in Atlanta? The Braves were my team before the Rockies existed (it was either them or the Cubs, as they were the only ones on TV. Yes, I am dating myself).

— Del, Lamar

Del, I think we are already seeing changes: cutting loose first baseman Michael Toglia and catcher Drew Romo; trading for outfielder Jake McCarthy and lefty reliever Brennan Bernardino; and bringing in free-agent starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen. There are no blockbuster moves there — I didn’t expect any — but I think they are solid decisions.

I don’t expect the Rockies’ record to dramatically improve in 2026, but maybe they can avoid their fourth consecutive 100-loss season. Baby steps. In the best of all possible worlds, the Rockies could sniff .500 in 2027 and make a playoff push in 2028.

You have to give Walker Monfort (Dick’s son) credit for the changes in the front office. I was skeptical he would go outside the organization to rebuild the team, but he did. Kudos to him.

As for Weiss, I’m a big fan. Every player I’ve talked to about Weiss has had positive things to say about him. He’s a solid baseball man, and he learned a lot during his time with the Rockies, as he told me during baseball’s winter meetings. With Weiss at the helm, I expect the Braves to be a contender in the NL East in 2026.

What do you think of the Rockies’ moves so far? Jake McCarthy seems like a cheap pickup for a flyer. I’m not hating on the additions of (pitchers)  Michael Lorenzen and Keegan Thompson either. I mean, they’re not going to make us a .500 team, but at least we’re slowly moving in the right direction.

— Jeffrey, Parker

Jeffrey, McCarthy’s athleticism makes him an intriguing player. Over his five-year big-league career, McCarthy has slashed .260/.324/.381 with 46 doubles, 20 triples, 24 homers and 139 RBIs. He has swiped 83 bases and hit 20 triples. His 29.9 feet/second sprint speed in 2025 was tied for fifth-fastest in the majors among players with at least 200 plate appearances.

But he needs to rebound from a disappointing season that saw him sent down to Triple-A.  After playing in 142 big-league games in 2024, he played in just 67 in 2025, slashing .204/.247/.345 (.591 OPS, 67 OPS+). The trade has a chance to be positive, but if it doesn’t work out, the loss of minor league Josh Grosz is not a big deal. Also, the Rockies have a surplus of young outfielders, so I imagine they will make another trade before spring training begins on Feb. 11.

Finally, while the additions of Lorenzen and Thompson aren’t game-changers, they give the Rockies some needed depth while they look to develop pitchers in the system.

Do you think we’ll try using Michael Lorenzen as a two-way player, maybe like a poor-man’s Shohei Ohtani? He can pitch and eat up innings and play in the outfield.

— Mike, Denver

Mike, Lorenzen will only be a pitcher for the Rockies. The club has more than enough outfielders, and they need starting pitching. I suppose he could be an emergency outfielder or a pinch-hitter.

Which young player is going to make a splash for us this year?

— Mark, Arvada

Mark, my pick is third baseman Kyle Karros. He’s just 23, and he’s still filling out his 6-foot-5, 220-pound frame. I think he’s going to get stronger and hit for more power. He won’t be a prodigious home run hitter, but he’ll show more pop than he did in his late-season debut last season, when he hit just one homer in 31 games (156 plate appearances).

With his strong arm and agility, Karros has the skills to be a solid third baseman with Gold Glove potential. At the plate, he slashed .226/.308/.277 (.585 OPS, 58 OPS+) with a 26.3% strikeout rate. That’s sub-par, but he has a good swing, and he’s going to improve at the plate.

Plus, Karros loves the game and is mature and disciplined. I think he’ll make a quantum leap in 2026.

My second choice to make a big improvement is left fielder Jordan Beck.

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.

Weiss, who turns 62 on Nov. 28, has been the Braves’ bench coach since 2018 and was on Snitker’s staff four years ago when they won the fourth championship in franchise history. Snitker also was an internal hire, coming from Triple-A Gwinnett in 2016, when he replaced Fredi González midseason and then got the full-time job the following year.

This is Weiss’ second major league managing job after going 283-365 in four seasons with the Colorado Rockies from 2013-16. They did not make the playoffs during that time.

Weiss got back into a dugout when the Braves hired him in ’18. It was a return to Atlanta, where he finished his playing career as a shortstop with the Braves from 1998-2000, including an All-Star Game appearance as a starter during that stint.

A native of Tuxedo, New York, Weiss played parts of 14 seasons with Oakland, Florida, Colorado and Atlanta from 1987-2000. He won the World Series as a player with the Athletics in ’89.

Weiss previously worked for the Braves as a special assistant to the general manager from 2002-08.

Snitker, 70, announced in early October that he would not be returning for an 11th year with the club. GM Alex Anthopoulos said at the time that he did not have a list of candidates but wanted to move quickly to make a hire.

Former Braves catcher David Ross said last month he was ready to manage again and that getting the job “would be amazing.” It was not clear how seriously, if at all, Ross was considered for the job before Weiss was hired.

Weiss and Anthopoulos are scheduled to hold a joint news conference at Truist Park on Tuesday.

With Weiss’s promotion, only San Diego and Colorado remain uncertain about their managerial spots heading into the offseason. Texas hired Skip Schumaker, Baltimore went with Craig Albernaz, San Francisco pulled Tony Vitello from the college ranks, the Angels picked Kurt Suzuki, Minnesota chose Derek Shelton and Washington selected Blake Butera.

In splitting a four-game series against the Dodgers, the Rockies snapped a 10-game losing streak against their Los Angeles bullies.

As happy as that made the Rockies’ interim manager, that wasn’t what left Schaeffer positively buoyant. Rather, it was seeing the offense Schaeffer envisioned produce more unselfish at-bats, fewer strikeouts and aggression on the basepaths.

Home runs are great, of course, but Schaeffer doesn’t view them as a be-all, end-all. He wants an offense that not only dominates at Coors Field, but also gives the Rockies a fighting chance on the road.

“I couldn’t care less about that, to be honest,” Schaeffer said when asked about his players’ home run swings after shortstop Ezequiel Tovar went deep in Monday night’s series-opening win. “I care about guys who put the ball in play on a highly consistent basis. That plays in this yard.”

In that game, Colorado beat L.A., 4-3, on rookie first baseman Warming Bernabel’s hard-hit, walk-off groundball single to center.

Two days later, the Rockies dominated the Dodgers, ripping off 16 hits and knocking superstar Shohei Ohtani out of the game after four innings en route to an 8-3 victory. In the fourth inning, the Rockies smacked five consecutive hits off Ohtani.

It was a distillation of the approach Schaeffer wants to see every night at 20th and Blake.

“We had a good plan against (Ohtani) and we executed our plan throughout the game,” he said. “He went soft a lot, and it seems like the boys didn’t spit on the balls outside the zone. We kept him in the zone.

“They took the ball the other way, took what was given to them. That’s been a huge key for us. Taking the ball the other way and not trying to yank everything like we were doing earlier in the year.”

Schaeffer’s future in Colorado is uncertain. While the Rockies (37-91 entering the weekend) are no longer tracking toward setting the record for most losses in a season, they will undoubtedly lose 100 games for a third straight year. There is no guarantee Schaeffer will return, especially if the Rockies shake up their front office.

Colorado’s starting pitching is a mess with a 6.60 ERA and a .317 batting average against. A cleanup looks far away. But Schaeffer’s Colorado blueprint is clear, and he sees the Milwaukee Brewers as his template. The Brewers, with the 23rd-highest payroll in the game, entered the weekend with a major league-best 80-48 record.

“I like the way the Brewers play the game,” Schaeffer said.

There’s a lot to like. The Brewers are among the leaders in average (.258, second), stolen bases (138, second), and on-base percentage (.332, third). Their 20.5% strikeout rate is the fifth-lowest, and their 3.48 walks per game ranks fourth.

The Rockies have had several identities over the years, most famously the Blake Street Bombers. The 1996 Bombers remain the only team in major league history to hit 200 or more home runs (221) and steal 200 or more bases (201) in the same season. The 2018 Rockies, the last team to make the playoffs, batted .256, hit 210 homers and stole 95 bases.

Walt Weiss, who played shortstop for the Rockies from 1994-97 and managed the club from 2013-16, likes Schaeffer’s vision, but notes that it’s not unique in Rockies history.

“My thought, when I managed there, was that I wanted to overwhelm teams at Coors Field,” said Weiss, who’s served as the Atlanta Braves’ bench coach since 2018. “I wanted to be a multi-dimensional offense, and I wanted to push the tempo all of the time.

“I tried to make Coors Field the biggest home-field advantage in baseball. I always said that. The Rockies need to capitalize on that.”

Hall of Fame outfielder Larry Walker, a member of the Blake Street Bombers, says the key for the Rockies must be developing hitters in the farm system.

“You just can’t go out and purchase or (spend) a ton of money on players, or trade off a lot, because then you are left dry,” Walker said last September when he was in Denver to celebrate Coors Field’s 30th anniversary. “So the farm system needs to be built up a little bit to have that pool of young players that you can call up.

“I think, perhaps, they are running a little bit thin right now in that department. That����ap a process that����ap got to start. It doesn’t happen over a couple of years. It����ap going to take some time.”

Of course, now the question becomes, do the Rockies keep loading up on big, strong power hitters like first baseman Michael Toglia — a first-round pick in 2019 who was demoted to Triple-A Albuquerque because of his exorbitant 38.3% strikeout rate? Or like Charlie Condon, who’s slashing .258/.370/.469 with six homers in 36 games since his promotion to Double-A Hartford?

Or will the Rockies buy into Schaeffer’s vision of drafting and developing faster, athletic, put-the-ball-in-play players?

“A lot of how you play is based on your personnel, of course,” Weiss said. “You can’t put a square peg in a round hole, so you have to have the right personnel to play the type of game that the Brewers do.”

Dan O’Dowd, Colorado’s general manager from September 1999 through the 2014 season, says the Rockies need to find the right combination of on-base guys and power hitters.

“Very simply, they have to have guys that can hit and hit with at least average power at every position on the field, with a few aircraft carriers mixed in that can absolutely mash,” said O’Dowd, an analyst for MLB Network. “We were the Brewers in 2000, and a lack of power got us.”

The 2000 Rockies finished 82-80, and their non-pitchers hit .304. But Hall of Fame first baseman Todd Helton was the only real masher on the team. Helton hit 42 homers, while right fielder Jeffery Hammond was a distant second with 20.

Earlier this season, the Rockies were a disaster, and their offense had no identity, save for its ability to pile up strikeouts.

Through their first 18 games, they hit .209, led majors with a 29.6 strikeout percentage, ranked 27th with a 7.3 walk percentage, and were tied for 29th with 12 home runs. During a three-game series at San Diego from April 11-13, they were shut out in three consecutive games for the first time in franchise history. Colorado managed just nine hits (12 baserunners), the fewest in any three-game series.

Last season, the Rockies struck out a team record 1,617 times, the most in franchise history and the third-most in major league history. Clint Hurdle made it a priority to cut down on the Ks when he was brought back into the fold in April.

“It can’t be an elephant in the room that we aren’t going to talk about,” Hurdle said early this season. He was named the hitting coach after the team fired Hensley Meulens three weeks into the season, and then became the bench coach when Bud Black was fired and replaced by Schaeffer.

“Bottom line, I don’t think there is enough angst in the game about striking out,” Hurdle said. “I see it in our men, as a group. If you punch out 12 times in a game, you have watched the pitcher and catcher play catch in front of your dugout for four innings. Now you’re asking yourself to beat the other team with five innings of offensive baseball.”

The Rockies have improved their approach, albeit slowly. By the All-Star break, the team was slashing .230/.291/.378 with a 26.5% strikeout rate. Still bad, but better. Moreover, players started buying into Hurdle’s preaching and Schaeffer’s preferred style of play.

“When the second half came, we had a meeting and we said, ‘Hey, let’s flush the first half,’ ” said outfielder and leadoff hitter Tyler Freeman. “We said, ‘We’re not going to give at-bats away. The record may not show it yet, but we’re getting better, we’re really getting gritty.’ ”

Since the All-Star break, Colorado slashed .273/.320/.451 with a 21.5% K rate going into a weekend series at Pittsburgh. Schaeffer said the drop in strikeouts is the result of personnel changes and a better approach at the plate.

“It’s a combination of both,” he said. “Because we have certain guys up here now. You have (rookie) Kyle Karros at third and Bernable at first, and both of their biggest strengths are putting the ball in play. And they are replacing ‘Mac’ (Ryan McMahon traded to the Yankees), who’s a great player but a high strikeout guy (31.0%), and Toglia, who’s a high strikeout guy. Naturally, those strikeout rates are going to go down.

“But, yes, our approach has gotten better. It’s a testament to the work of our hitting coaches (Jordan Pacheco and Nic Wilson). The boys love working together with those guys. When there is a good collaboration going on, the sky’s the limit.”

Freeman is Schaeffer’s philosophy personified. He entered the weekend hitting .297 with a .372 on-base percentage. True, he’d hit just two homers, but his strikeout rate was a minuscule 9.6%.

Last year with Cleveland, he moved to center field but batted .209 in 118 games in a season shortened by a left oblique injury. He was in line for the Guardians’ starting second base job before the Rockies acquired him for outfielder Nolan Jones in spring training.

“My mentality coming into this year was getting back to who I am,” he said, admitting that he’d previously fallen into the trap of swinging for the fences. “I wanted to concentrate on doing the smaller things — bunting, stealing bases, little things like that, not worrying about the long ball. Coming over here with a fresh start was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. I found myself again.”

Freeman won’t have the All-Star impact that Charlie Blackmon did in 2017 when Blackmon won a batting title with a .331 average, 37 homers and 14 triples, mainly from the leadoff spot. But Schaeffer believes Freeman is the type of player the Rockies need to set the table.

“I love the way Tyler Freeman plays baseball,” Schaeffer said. “I love the way he puts the ball in play and battles, and uses the big part of Coors. There’s a lot of space out there for balls to drop in and go first to third. He plays that game well. He runs well.”

Schaeffer understands that in-the-gap triples, bloop doubles and soft singles are part of baseball in LoDo. He just wants to do it better than the opposition.

“You see it all the time here,” he said. “Our pitchers give up those hits because other teams put the ball in play. That’s what we need to do in our own ballpark — only better than the other guys. And, I think a big bonus for us is that that style plays on the road.”

When Schaeffer replaced Black on May 11, he already had his vision in mind.

“Since Day 1, since I stepped into this job, that����ap one of the things I’ve been preaching,” Schaeffer said. “For me, you just have to keep preaching it, and then see some good results on the field.

“It����ap part of our game now, and we can beat teams and score runs in different ways now, as opposed to just going station to station and trying to hit a home run. That����ap tough to do at this level.”

Turning it around

The Rockies began the season with the worst offense in the majors. Since then, the team has steadily increased its output. Following is a month-by-month look at the Rockies’ offense:

* Statistics through Aug. 21.

Schaeffer: Colorado’s third base and infield coach for three seasons, Schaeffer previously managed the Triple-A Isotopes before landing with the Rockies. A former minor league player in the Rockies system, the 40-year-old has the energy and perspective to possibly lead a rebuild. He’ll get the rest of the season to show what he’s got.

Clint Hurdle: Hurdle is 1,269-1,345 in 17 seasons as a manager, eight for the Rockies and nine for the Pirates. He helmed four playoff teams, most notably Colorado’s 2007 World Series run. He was promoted to hitting coach in April. A return to the manager’s office feels unlikely given he was just named the bench coach, but Colorado could do worse.

Joe Girardi: A 15-year big-leaguer who played for Colorado from 1993 to ’95, Girardi is now a broadcaster for YES Network. He managed the Marlins in 2006, the Yankees from 2008 to 2017 and the Phillies from 2020 to 2022. He won the 2009 World Series with New York and has a 1,120-935 record.

Jayce Tingler: The Twins’ bench coach was 116-106 in two seasons as the Padres manager in 2020 and ’21. The Rockies looked within the division to an ex-Padres skipper when they hired Black; maybe Monfort & Co. see the 44-year-old Tingler as someone who could bring a spark.

Skip Schumaker: He was 146-178 in two seasons as the Marlins manager in 2023 and ’24, including a playoff berth in his first year that resulted in NL Manager of the Year. The 11-year MLB veteran is 45 and could identify with a young clubhouse. He is a senior adviser for the Rangers.

Rodney Linares: Linares managed at every level of the minors for the Astros while garnering a reputation for player development, something the Rockies need. He is the bench coach for the Rays, a small-market team that has consistent success, and that the Rockies should try to emulate.

David Ross: The 15-year MLB catcher who won two World Series titles as a player — including a home run in Game 7 of his final game — was the Cubs manager from 2020 to ’23, with a 262-284 record and one playoff appearance. The 48-year-old can bring intellect and fire to the bench.

Ryan Flaherty: The 38-year-old Cubs bench coach played eight MLB seasons as an infield utilityman, most recently with Cleveland in 2019. He’s young to get a manager job, but guys like Kevin Cash, Oliver Marmol and Dave Roberts also all managed their first seasons before age 45.

Brad Ausmus: An 18-year MLB catching veteran, Ausmus managed the Tigers from 2014 to ’17 and the Angels in 2019. He posted a 386-422 record over five seasons with one playoff appearance, his first year in Detroit. The 56-year-old is in his second year as the Yankees’ bench coach.

Walt Weiss: For an insular organization like the Rockies that leans on familiarity when making important hires, Weiss could make sense. The former Rockies shortstop was 283-365 in four seasons from 2013 to ’16, and he’s served as the Braves’ bench coach since 2018. Why not reunite?

10 other names that might be considered: David Bell, Buck Showalter, Gabe Kapler, Bobby Meacham, Kai Correa, Craig Albernaz, George Lombard, Kevin Long, Adam Ottavino, Don Mattingly.