Topes coaching staff (mostly) announced

Today the Rockies announced (almost all) of their minor league field staffs for the 2016 season, so it’s now official that manager Glenallen Hill, pitching coach Darryl Scott and athletic trainer Heath Townsend will return to the Albuquerque Isotopes. We have a hitting coach to be named later.

It’s a mixture of happiness that G-Hill, D-Scott and Heater will be back, yet sadness that hitting coach Dave Hajek will not return.

Hajek, in case you missed it, did not have his contract renewed. In November, it was announced that Hajek was hired to become the head coach at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs. Hajek lives in Colorado Springs in the offseason, so this is a great move for him and his family.

I’m very curious to see who the Rockies assign to the Isotopes, and not just because I end up spending so much time around the coaching staff during the season. Most full-season teams have their staffs decided by now, so this is a little unusual. I’m sure the announcement will come soon.

Here is the detailed press release the Isotopes put out today:

The Albuquerque Isotopes announced today Glenallen Hill will return for a second season as manager of the club. The upcoming campaign will mark Hill's fourth consecutive year as manager of the Rockies Triple-A team. Pitching coach Darryl Scott also returns to the Isotopes for a second straight season, marking his seventh in the Rockies organization. A new hitting coach will join the Isotopes in 2016, with an announcement to be made within the upcoming weeks. Hill led the Isotopes to a 62-82 record during his first year in Albuquerque, which saw the team finish third in the PCL's Pacific Southern division. Before taking the helm of the Isotopes in 2015, Hill managed the Colorado Springs Sky Sox in 2013 and 2014 after six years as first base coach for the Rockies. The 2016 season marks the 50-year-old's 13th campaign in the Colorado Rockies organization.
 Hill began his coaching career in 2004 as the hitting coach for the Rockies High-A affiliate, the Visalia Oaks. The Santa Cruz, CA native also served as interim manager for the Modesto Nuts during the last three months of the 2006 season. Hill has also served on the coaching staff for the California/Carolina League All-Star Game in 2006 and on the National League All-Star coaching staff, led by Clint Hurdle, at Yankee Stadium in 2008. Prior to entering the coaching ranks, Hill enjoyed a 13-year Major League career with the Blue Jays (1989-91), Indians (1991-93), Cubs (1993-94, 1998-99), Giants (1995-97), Mariners (1998), Yankees (2000), and Angels (2001). Hill compiled a .271 lifetime average with 186 homers and 586 RBI in 1,162 games and was considered one of the game's top pinch-hitters, compiling a .287 lifetime average in pinch-hit situations. During the 2000 campaign, Hill hit .333 with 16 home runs in 40 games to help the Yankees win the World Series. Hill and his wife, Lori, have four children: Simone, Chanel, Heleyna, and Glenallen Jr. He graduated in 1983 from Santa Cruz High School, where he was just the second high school athlete ever offered scholarships to Arizona State University in both baseball and football (Reggie Jackson). Scott, 47, returns for his second season as Isotopes pitching coach, his seventh year in the Rockies system. The Scottsdale, AZ resident began his coaching career in 2009 as the pitching coach for the Short-A Tri-City ValleyCats before making stops in Modesto and Tulsa.
 Scott enjoyed an 11-year professional career that included 16 games in the Major Leagues with the California Angels in 1993. He also spent a year with the Yokohama Bay Stars of the Japan Central League. Scott turned in a career 105 Minor League saves while posting a 3.41 ERA.
 A member of the 1995 Pacific Coast League Championship team in Colorado Springs, Scott finished his Minor League career with a record of 40-45 to go along with 706 strikeouts. Heath Townsend returns to the Isotopes as the team's Athletic Trainer, marking his 17th season with the Rockies organization, while Marcus Lefton joins the club in his first year as the Physical Performance Coach.
 The Isotopes open up the 2016 campaign with an eight-game road trip through Tacoma and Reno before their Home Opener on April 15 at Isotopes Park.