Walt Weiss was hired Wednesday night to replace Jim Tracy as manager of the Colorado Rockies and will make the rare jump from a high school dugout to the big leagues. The team made the announcement after owner Dick Monfort and top officials deliberated at the general managers' meetings -- held at a hotel Monfort owns. Weiss and Arizona coach Matt Williams were thought to be the favorites to replace Tracy, who quit Oct. 7 following a last-place finish in the NL West. Rockies bench coach Tom Runnells and first baseman Jason Giambi also interviewed, with Giambi saying he would retire as a player if he got the job. The 1988 AL Rookie of the Year with Oakland, Weiss played shortstop for the Rockies from 1994-97 and was a special assistant to O'Dowd from 2002-08. He left to spend more time with his family and last season coached Regis Jesuit High School outside Denver, in Aurora, to a 20-6 record and the 5A semifinals of the state championship. Weiss' son Brody is in his senior year at the school. The 48-year-old spent parts of 14 seasons in the major leagues, also playing for Oakland (1987-92), Florida (1993) and Atlanta (1998-2000). A .258 career hitter, he was an All-Star in the 1998 game at Denver's Coors Field.
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