Warren Schaeffer has managed the Colorado Rockies for 84 games this season and holds a record of 28-56.
Although the Rockies’ record may not be great – as they are still barreling towards a historically-bad season, both for the organization and potentially all of MLB – Schaeffer has made some notable changes during his tenure. Notably, the Rockies have been hanging on later in games and fighting back more (for the most part).
It’s been a whirlwind for Schaeffer, 40, but he is taking it all in stride.
“It’s been a pleasure working with these 26 guys out there, give or take a few coming up and down,” Schaeffer said last weekend in Arizona.
“I just really enjoy trying my best to put them in the right spot to succeed, and helping them along the way in terms of just trying to get the most out of them. It’s fun for me, that’s why I do this – I love the personal relationships.”
In addition, there have been numerous highlights for Schaeffer, namely young guys making their debuts and getting their firsts.
“Yanquiel [Fernández]’s first homer was a big highlight, just his smile coming around third and hitting home and how excited he was,” Schaeffer beamed.
He then went on to list eight other players and some of their accomplishments, as well as how they’re all starting to unify together:
“[Kyle] Karros’ first hit in the first inning [of his debut game on August 8th] in front of his family and his first ground ball.”“[Warming] Bernabel’s first week in the big leagues was fantastic.”“[Hunter] Goodman has had an incredible year, just watching him progress and, behind the plate specifically, finally getting the opportunity to catch every day and seeing how he succeeds. That’s been a huge positive for the year.”“Watching Braxton [Fulford] play those three games in Milwaukee was a highlight because he played really well.”“Mickey [Moniak] has been a huge success story for me.”“Then watching the guys in the bullpen – Seth [Halvorsen], Vic [Vodnik] and [Juan] Mejia, specifically – seeing all those guys getting their feet wet and showing signs of success and showing signs that they can do it at this level.”
But for every success story, there are still challenges that come with being the interim manager of a team on a collision course with bad MLB history.
“The biggest challenge is when you are losing more games than you would like,” Schaeffer said. “The biggest challenge is to show up to work every day with a great positive vibe and attitude. I pride myself in doing that everyday, but sometimes before you get to the yard, you have to set your mind straight. If all my actions today are going to be for other people, and how important it is to show up for other people everyday when things are not going well in general, that’s hard.”
And in the midst of the historic challenges, how does one keep a team – especially one as young as the 2025 Colorado Rockies – in good spirits?
“I’m a big believer in when you do things, when you get down, you’re always thinking about yourself. That’s what I’ve found in my life,” Schaeffer said. “So as a player, I was down all the time because I was thinking about what I can do for myself. ‘What can I do to get out of this?’ And it was not about me as a coach. That’s something I loved initially as a coach, that the immediate change from player to coach is that my focus is not on me anymore – it’s about getting someone else better.
“And when you’re in the mire of what we’re in this year, in terms of losing more games than we would like, there’s a tendency to analyze everything that is wrong with yourself,” he continued. “But when you commit every day to each other – getting somebody better today. Even if you’re on the IL, you try to get somebody else better today and help somebody along somehow. It has to be a daily commitment, which is what I’ve done and I think a lot of the guys have done as well. I think that’s the start of a really good culture.”
Schaeffer has always been known for his relationship and culture-building skills, and he prides himself on getting to know guys right out of the gate no matter where they’ve come from before.
“Let’s give an example here: Nick Anderson,” Schaeffer said.
“I didn’t know him, so he comes up, and I just introduce myself and tell him that I’m here for him. And then I bring him in and talk with him and get to know him a little bit – get to know his life and where he comes from, and what makes him tick on the mound. Stuff like that. I’m just genuinely concerned about who he is, and I want to get to know him because I feel like with the more you get to know people on your team – the more you get to know your players – the more you can understand them and the more you can put them in the best position that they can be in to succeed. It’s all about them.”
BALTIMORE, MD – JULY 26: Nick Anderson #61 of the Colorado Rockies pitches during the game between the Colorado Rockies and the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Saturday, July 26, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Alyssa McDaniel/MLB Photos via Getty Images) MLB Photos via Getty Images
In addition to getting to know players, Schaeffer has made a point to preach fundamentals, which is important for any team but is essential for a young team learning how to be big leaguers all at once.
“It’s a daily commitment to it,” Schaeffer said.
“If you don’t bring up fundamentals, and you don’t talk about them on a consistent basis, they’ll be lost. In this game, you go every day, and everybody just assumes that the fundamentals are something that are integral to the game. Things will become important to players if they know it’s important to the coaching staff, and specifically the manager. So if you make it important every day and they know it’s important, they’re more apt to do it and then you have success doing it. And players know this, too. Players believe in fundamentals. It’s just easy to get away from them.”
There are still six weeks left in the baseball season. What is Schaeffer looking the most forward to in the final stretch of his first season managing at the big league level?
“Consistent progress,” Schaeffer said.
“I heard a stat [recently] where we’re the only team in the big leagues where their batting average has increased every month. The style I’m concerned most with is energy. Are we utilizing all our tools the right way? Just being locked in every play on defense for 27 outs and all the stuff you can measure if you’re looking for, and you can feel it. You can feel the energy coming from that sort of thing – it’s a real culture that I’m trying to build, and I do see a lot of progress in the last three months.”
Additionally, Schaeffer is looking forward to continuing to build a unified culture in the clubhouse.
“To see a group of guys unifying together to build on something for the future, that’s what’s important to us,” he said.
“What are we committing to? What is important to us as a group? Can young guys do it quickly, at least enough to build on something for the future. Seeing guys come together with a common cause of playing the game a different way that can beat teams all across the league, especially in the West because it takes a unified approach to be able to do that.”
There are still 38 games left in the 2025 campaign, and there are a lot of tough decisions that need to be made, including the future of Warren Schaeffer.
Whether or not he stays on in his same role, a different role (perhaps bench coach or returning to third base), or is released from the organization completely, it’s hard to argue that he hasn’t done his best to at least teach these young men how to be big leaguers and build a culture of unity, resiliency and determination that can carry over to future years.