Scott Oberg, who made his mark with one of the gutsiest relief performances in Rockies history, has been hired as a special assistant in player development.
Although the Rockies have not officially announced the hire, the club confirmed Thursday that Oberg will be a minor-league pitching coordinator.
Oberg, 34, declined to comment about his new role until the Rockies make a formal announcement.
For the last two seasons, the right-hander was a part-time pitching consultant. He traveled to the minor leagues each month, spending most of his time between Double-A Hartford, not far from his home in New Jersey, and Triple-A Albuquerque. Oberg spent time with the big-league team during the final weeks of the 2024 season.
Oberg’s shining moment came in the Rockies’ 2018 wild-card playoff victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. He struck out Albert Almora Jr. swinging at an 89.6 mph fastball to clinch the Rockies’ 2-1, 13-inning, 4-hour, 55-minute victory. Oberg pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out all four batters he faced and picking up the win.
Oberg officially retired as a player two years ago after his career was cut short by a series of injuries. The primary issue was blood clots in his right arm, which first sidelined him and led to surgery in 2016. The blood clots sent him to the injured list in August 2019, leading to another surgery and an end to his strong season. He pitched his final game Aug. 16, 2019, against Miami at Coors Field.
Oberg was selected by the Rockies in the 15th round of the 2012 draft out of the University of Connecticut and made it to the majors by 2015. He struggled with his command from 2015 to 2017, posting a 5.05 ERA, but he was adept at inducing groundballs, getting groundouts on 55.6% of balls in play. In 2016, he was sent down to Triple-A for 27 games as he tried to become a more consistent pitcher.
Oberg had a reputation as one of Colorado’s most cerebral pitchers and served as the club’s player representative from 2020 to ’22. In 2023, he earned a master’s degree in sports industry management from Georgetown University.
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Oberg blossomed as a pitcher in 2018-19. He pitched 114 2/3 innings with a 2.35 ERA, which was especially impressive considering that Oberg had to pitch half of his games at Coors. In 2018-19, he struck out 25.5% of the batters faced while inducing grounders at a 52.7% clip. Over those two season, his 2.35 ERA ranked fifth among all major league relievers (minimum 100 appearances).
Oberg pitched in 259 major league games, with a career ERA of 3.85 over 257 1/3 innings. He struck out 234 hitters and posted a 1.317 WHIP.
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