The Colorado Rockies have hired Don Baylor as their new hitting instructor.

Baylor was one of two remaining candidates whom the Rockies were interviewing for the job. Baylor won out over former Rockie first baseman Greg Colbrunn.

Clint Hurdle may have picked Baylor over Colbrunn due to the fact that Hurdle worked under Baylor when he got his initial break into coaching in the Major Leagues. 

Baylor returns to the Rockies after being the first manager in club history. He managed the team from their first Spring Training in 1993 until the end of the 1998 season, when he was fired after the Rockies finished no better than third in the previous three seasons.  As Rockies manager, Baylor posted an overall .484 winning percentage.

The move was necessary after the Rockies dumped hitting coach Alan Cockrell, bench coach Jamie Quirk, 3rd base/infield instructor Mike Gallego, along with reassigning bullpen coach Rick Mathews.

The new coaching staff under Hurdle will be Baylor as hitting coach, Jim Tracy as bench coach, Rick Dauer as third base coach, and former pitching coach Jim Wright as bullpen coach to go along with incumbents Bob Apodaca as pitching coach and Glenallen Hill as first base coach.

The move is interesting because the Rockies now have two former Major League managers on their staff.  The intention is possibly to put some pressure on Hurdle and have the opportunity for the club to not miss a beat if a managerial move becomes necessary mid-season. 

Hurdle's job security is in question as he heads into the final year of his contract, one year after his club was extremely disappointing following a miracle 2007 pennant run.