Chad Tracy is sitting at .500 after his first few games as the Red Sox’s interim manager.
After Alex Cora, the third winningest head coach in franchise history, was fired, the mood surrounding the team was bleak and the roster was short on a roster that was struggling in its early going.
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We’ve discussed Cora’s decision at length, so let’s take some time to dive deeper into what this promotion means for Tracy, his family, and the opportunity to gain access to a very unique piece of managerial history.
Chad’s father, Jim, played 11 seasons in the major leagues and traveled to Baltimore last Sunday to give his son his first MLB coaching win (500th career victory). The 70-year-old also has his own experience taking over the captain’s seat, which is a great path for Chad to follow.
When the Colorado Rockies fired Clint Hurdle in late May 2009, the team was 18-28. With its roster largely intact, the team miraculously won 22 of 23 games to reach the 2007 World Series. Dan O’Dowd, who was managing director at the time, reflects on the series of events that led to the company’s revamp.
“I think everyone is unique,” O’Dowd, who currently serves as an analyst for MLB Network, told OverTheMonster.com. “That’s really what happened in 2009. Going to the World Series in 2007 with the same core of players in 2008 was a pretty big step back. We felt like in 2009, starting in spring training, something wasn’t right.”
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Like Cora and the Red Sox’s recent moves, this one wasn’t exactly received well throughout the organization. Ultimately, the front office decided action needed to be taken.
“There are people who are probably more passionate than I am about the fact that we need to change,” O’Dowd shared. “I won’t mention names. Of course, I’m the one delivering the news.”
Colorado moved quickly to give the team time to react under Tracy, who was promoted from bench coach by the team.
“It turned out to be a really good decision because we bounced back and we played really well,” O’Dowd said.
Dexter Fowler played his first full MLB season in 2009 and experienced firsthand the impact this type of change can have on a team while also bringing a needed reset to the clubhouse.
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“As a rookie, as a young guy, I didn’t really understand the severity of it until it actually happened,” Fowler, now an analyst for NBC Sports’ MLB coverage, told OverTheMonster.com. “Then you sit there and a new guy comes in, but Jim Tracy was our bench coach. So we were kind of familiar with him. But the changes he came in and made, I think he saw all season long before the head coach was fired, he saw where we needed to change. We always believed in him coming in.”
The most important changes under Tracy are transparency and a better plan to allow players to go out and focus on their ability to impact the game.
“Well, first of all, I think Jim did a great job,” O’Dowd said. “Jim was a veteran baseball player. He managed the Dodgers for many years. Believe it or not, I think the best thing Jim did was he didn’t say too much. He just let them go.”
“Yeah, I think it’s consistency,” Fowler said. “I think Jim, when he first came in, he sat us down and told us our roles and what everyone was going to do. … I think that was the key. We are creatures of habit, and going back and forth playing different (roles) caught us off guard, and it was never a move.”
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Hey, doesn’t this sound familiar?
The Red Sox have given themselves some roster problems under Craig Breslow, perhaps none more apparent than the outfield logjam. This season has brought the most obvious consequences, with five players cycling in and out of the lineup, wasting valuable playing time.
“Like I said, at the end of the day, it all starts at the top with Jim,” Fowler continued. “The guys that were in the clubhouse at that time, they weren’t used to the back and forth. This time some guys were playing, some guys weren’t playing, you never know. I think we had 29 different lineups in 30 days. It was crazy. Jim gave us a level of consistency. We could trust him.”
Do you think Jarren Duran might have batted higher than .170 if he didn’t sit out for days on end during a rotation with Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu and Masataka Yoshida? You better believe it’s hard to perform in the major leagues when hitters don’t know when their next at-bat is coming.
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Similar changes helped the Rockies catch fire in 2009. After Tracy took over, Colorado won 74-42. During this period, the winning percentage reached an astonishing .638. The Rockies earned a National League Wild Card berth and set a franchise record with 92 wins.
The Philadelphia Phillies ended up winning the NL pennant for the second straight year, eliminating Colorado in four games. Still, the October game marked a notable shift for the team, giving young players like Fowler their first taste of ultimate duty.
“It’s like a drug, you get addicted,” Fowler said. “You want to be in that position all the time. You never want to miss that opportunity because you don’t know when you’re going to get back.”
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Fowler returned four more times in his career and won a World Series with the Chicago Cubs in 2016. The outfielder led off the seventh game with a solo homer in one of the greatest games in baseball history.
Jim Tracy showed the impact of the right transition during the season. After 17 years, can his son lead another team to the playoffs?
These stories will become one of the most fascinating intertwinings in recent baseball history.
Ultimately, these situations are not exactly the same, and the Red Sox roster arguably has more to overcome than Colorado does.
“I don’t think you can paint every situation with the same brush,” O’Dowd commented when discussing the differences, including the initial decision with Hurdle at Colorado State and Cora at Boston.
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In the meantime, however, for Chad Tracy, the former Colorado executive believes in the transition period with the Red Sox as his family sets a baseball path for him.
“Jim and Debbie are great people,” O’Dowd explained. “So I just know that Chad’s character is going to be great. I guarantee you, the guys in Tracy’s family don’t talk about world politics a lot. They probably talk about baseball non-stop. Jim just knows the game from every angle. He’ll sit down and talk about the game for hours. So I know, Chad, it’s no different. Players who grew up in the game, they seem to have a slower heartbeat for the fast-paced demands of the major leagues. I feel the same way about Chad.”
In addition to Tracy’s new approach, the Red Sox need the presence and accountability of a true veteran in the clubhouse. We all know how much Alex Bregman has helped him in his lone season in Boston, and while he hasn’t produced an All-Star-like performance for the Cubs so far, that aspect of his absence has been on full display.
“This is a young team and I think the young core is really lacking some (leadership),” O’Dowd said. “It didn’t respond well either. I know Trevor (Story) very well, drafted and developed Trevor. Trevor is a very, very good kid. He’s not a vocal leader. He’s a quiet performer who shows up every day and leads in the way that he himself tries to go out and prepare and compete. I think they missed a specific individual that could have been (vocal).”
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Fowler called Tracy’s father one of his favorite coaches. O’Dowd hopes his son can make a difference with the Red Sox.
“I think he will do well and I hope he does,” O’Dowd added. “I’m excited for his mom and his dad. I’m excited for them.”
In Tracy’s timeline, would history be on the Red Sox’s side? They should hope so.
