Colorado Rockies Manager Jim Tracy Makes Most of His Last Chance

Many wondered if Jim Tracy would manage again after being forced out by the Los Angeles Dodgers and fired by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Tracy returned to his bench-coaching roots last November when the Rockies hired him to assist Colorado's manager Clint Hurdle. He believed it was the only way he could get a managing job again.

His move paid off at the end of May after the Rockies fired Hurdle and replaced him with Tracy.

Tracy knew he needed to make the most of his opportunity or else he would never manage again. Typically, teams don't hire a manager that failed in several stops.

The Rockies responded to their new manager by going 74-42, and it landed them in the playoffs as a wild-card team. Tracy's team almost managed to clinch the division, but the Dodgers won it on Saturday night against the Rockies.

Tracy's success stems from his players' trust. They needed a manager they could  enioy playing for, after being beaten down by Hurdle.

Hurdle lost Garrett Atkins and Troy Tulowitzki after benching them for their struggles. Tracy's goal was to get the most out of those two underachieving players when he got the gig, and he accomplished his objective, as both players rebounded well after a rough start.

Guys enjoy playing the game without worrying about losing their role on the team after a bad game. Players feel comfortable when they have security because it does not make them feel lost when they are out on the field.

Baseball is meant to be fun, and that's what Tracy emphasized.

Tracy uses most of his players in the roster, and when a manager does that, he often experiences success. When a manager only uses players that he trusts, it's hard for others to play well.

Even when the Rockies encountered adversity in late August and in September, Tracy stuck to his demeanor. He showed faith that his team would come out of it, and they did just that by winning several games after a losing streak.

The Braves, Marlins and Giants went on a good stretch of their own, but the Rockies hung in there and eventually Colorado's wild-card competitors fell apart.

This Bleacher Report baseball writer wondered if the Rockies would fade in August. He felt Florida would eventually be the wild-card winner because the Rockies could not have kept it up. But both teams proved him wrong.

Looking at it, it's a great story when it comes to Tracy.

It's hard to believe he somehow got his team to play winning baseball after stinking it up last year and at the beginning of this season. The players proved Hurdle was the problem, not them.

No question, it's been a rewarding ride for the former Dodgers and Pirates manager.

He went through a lot in his two stints in Los Angeles and Pittsburgh.

In Los Angeles, fans and certain Southern California sportswriters showed their dissatisfaction about Tracy's calm personality and his loyalty to players that did not play well.

They wanted a fiery guy out there, and they felt he should have gotten most out of the Dodgers by leading them to the playoffs. In reality, they were not good enough.

Dodgers owner Frank McCourt wanted a manager that would sell to the public, so he told Tracy to pack his bags and leave. It wasn't just the owner who wanted him gone.

Former Dodgers general manager Paul DePodesta wanted his own guy as the manager, and he felt uncomfortable working with a manager that he inherited. Tracy and DePodesta disagreed about everything when it came to personnel, and that gave McCourt an opportunity to dump the manager.

Of course, DePodesta was fired after his two choices for the new Dodgers manager did not inspire the Dodgers' owner.

The Pirates quickly hired Tracy with the hope he would give them a winning record.

That did not end well for both parties. Tracy lost his players from the get-go after critiquing the roster.

The Pittsburgh writers felt Tracy never was accountable for the team's struggles, and they were quick to point out he credited himself when the Pirates won.

It turned out he was not the problem there, either. Abner Doubleday, Miller Huggins, Casey Stengel, Billy Martin, or any other great manager could not accomplish much with the Pirates roster that was handed to Tracy.

The Pirates recently completed their 17th consecutive losing season with a 62-99 record, proving a manager can only do so much.

It was hard to believe he would manage again, but here he is managing a team in the postseason.

His team faces long odds of going to the World Series. The Rockies face the Phillies on Wednesday in the NLDS, and the Phillies will be the favorites to win that series based on their experience of winning a championship with the same bunch from last year.

Tracy is not thinking about that. He is happy to be in this situation.

It beats sitting at home last year.