Rox finalize '14 staff with additions of Doyle, Young
The Rockies added a pair of coaches Tuesday as they set their staff for the 2014 season.
Blake Doyle will replace Dante Bichette as hitting coach, while Eric Young Sr. joins the staff as the first-base coach.
Rene Lachemann, who was the first-base coach last season, will shift to the newly created position of catching coach/defensive positioning.
"These two were selected from a very strong list of candidates," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said in a statement about Doyle and Young. "Aside from their knowledge of the game, Doyle and Young provide our club with passion and positive energy that is quite unique. They both are familiar with our team, having spent considerable time with our club last season. I am confident that we are adding two dynamic teachers to the outstanding coaching staff we already have."
Jim Wright will return as pitching coach and Tom Runnells will remain as bench coach. Bo McLaughlin, who was the assistant pitching coach last year, will be the bullpen coach.
This will be Doyle's first taste of Major League coaching. He played parts of nine seasons in the Orioles and Reds organizations from 1972-80.
A career .269 hitter, Doyle was a founding member and CEO of the Doyle Baseball Academy in Florida. Doyle started the academy with his two brothers, Denny and Brian, in 1978.
Young is a familiar to Rockies fans after playing five seasons in Colorado from 1993-97.
A veteran of 15 big league seasons, Young's most recent coaching experience came with the Arizona Diamondbacks, where he served as the team's first-base coach in 2011-12.
Young, who stole 465 bases, 27th most in Major League history since 1900, will also be responsible for overseeing the baserunning.
Young' son, Eric Jr., played for the Rockies from 2009-13.
Lachemann joined the Rockies' staff last season as the team's first-base coach, and he has been a coach or manager in professional baseball for over 45 years, including nine seasons as a manager for the Mariners, Brewers, Marlins and Cubs.
Prior to joining the big league staff, Lachemann was the hitting coach at Triple-A Colorado Springs from 2008-12.