Rockies Insider: Reminiscing about the playing careers of Colorados coaching staff – The Denver Post

Bud Blacks exploits as a player are fairly well-known to Rockies fans, as the southpaw-turned-manager pitched in the majors from 1981 to 1995 and won the 1985 World Series with the Royals.

How does Blacks playing career stack up against the rest of the Rockies staff? Heres a look at the professional careers of all eight Colorado coaches.

While Black won 121 games and accumulated a 3.84 ERA over 15 seasons, hes not the only the only one on the staff with a decade-plus service time. Hitting coach Dave Magadan spent 16 years in the big leagues as a corner infielder for the Mets and six other teams. He slashed .288/.390/.377 over his career with 42 homers. And bench coach Mike Redmond was also a big-league veteran, playing 13 seasons, mostly between the Marlins and Twins. He slashed .287/.342/.358 and averaged one homer per year, and was a backup to Ivan Rodriguez on Floridas 2003 title team.

Pitching coach Steve Foster and assistant hitting coach Jeff Salazar didnt have near the longevity of Black, Magadan or Redmond, but they both made a splash in the big leagues. Foster made his debut in August of 1991 for the Reds and pitched across three seasons for Cincinnati. The right-handed reliever posted a 2.41 ERA in 59 games (one start) before his career was derailed by a shoulder injury. Meanwhile, Salazar made his MLB debut for the Rockies in September 2006 and the outfielder played parts of seasons in Arizona (2007 and 2008) and Pittsburgh (2009).

Bullpen coach Darryl Scott, first base coach Ronnie Gideon and third base coach Stu Cole all played professionally but didnt have any lasting success at the big-league level, if they got there at all. Scott, a right-hander, pitched one season for the California Angels in 1993, posting a 5.85 ERA in 16 relief appearances. The left-handed Gideon was a two-way player as a first baseman and reliever in the Phillies and Mets systems, but never cracked higher than Double-A. As for Cole, the middle infielder played nine games for the Royals in 1991, recording one hit and two walks.

Kyle Newman, The Denver Post

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Rockies Insider: Reminiscing about the playing careers of Colorados coaching staff - The Denver Post

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