NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Proof of the quality of the Rockies' Minor League system showed in the production of a mostly homegrown lineup and pitching staff during the team's march to a National League championship.

But the reasons for the success of the Rockies, who have been named Baseball America's organization of the year -- the top award that the magazine hands out each year -- go well beyond the players.

A team that started at least five and on some occasions eight players either drafted or signed by the club is the product of a top-to-bottom, detailed attention.

"Our story is one that started many years ago -- it's one that's about patience, it's about perseverance, it's about faith, it's about leadership, and it's about relationships," Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd said at the magazine's awards gala Tuesday.

Here are some of the ways the Rockies maintain their priorities:

Attention from the Major League manager: Clint Hurdle hasn't forgotten that he managed for six seasons in the Mets organization and served as the Rockies' Minor League hitting instructor before joining manager Don Baylor's staff with the Rockies in 1997. Several of his policies illustrate his emphasis on the Minor League program.

After the Minor Leaguers report to Spring Training, on some days Hurdle or any of the coaches are nowhere near the Major Leaguers.

"Each Major League coach spends at least one day in Minor League camp, and it starts with Clint," Rockies player development director Marc Gustafson said. "He's a Minor Leaguer at heart."

Hurdle also takes the unusual step of filing a report after each Major League game for the front office, all members of the Minor League staff, all of the coaches and the scouting department.

It gives Hurdle a chance to go through the game, then clear his mind. But it also gives the Minor League personnel a chance to contribute.

"Sometimes one of the coaches will call and say, 'Hey, I saw this,' with one of the guys they've worked with," Hurdle said during the regular season. "Sometimes, we'll ask them to keep an eye on players they've had or have some history with, a little more familiarity, in case we're overlooking something."

Winter Meetings

This season, of course, Hurdle was busy with the playoffs and the World Series. But at the end of past years, he immediately joined the Minor League staff at fall instructional ball in Arizona. Sometimes, he would coach first base during games.

"I want to let the people working the program know how important that program is from my viewpoint, and what better statement can you make by showing up and being a part of it?" he said. "So then it gives you the value of seeing your coaches that are down there, our Latin coaches that are involved, our lower A-ball coaches, rookie-ball coaches, what they're doing, how they're doing it -- letting them know they have value. And seeing players you don't get to see a lot of."

Coordinated efforts in evaluation and instruction: As director of player development for the Indians in the 1990s, O'Dowd instituted a process under which each player was evaluated monthly so that his manager and coaches, the traveling coaches and the front office on the Minor and Major League sides would know all strengths and weaknesses.

"It's just a way to get everybody focused on the same focus points that we create for each player during the winter and throughout the season," O'Dowd said. "It's done with the manager, and the rovers keep a constant check on what's happening every day -- physical, fundamental and mental."

Gustafson said the system has evolved to the point that even when the season ends, Minor League players receive an exit interview and are given "three, four, five areas of development."

A borderline obsessive emphasis on communication: The undoing of many relationships between the Majors and the Minors are when values shift but aren't communicated.

One reason the Rockies decided before 2007 to extended the contracts of O'Dowd and Hurdle through 2009, despite six straight losing seasons, was they liked the way their programs coincided with the interests of the player development and scouting staffs. Bringing in others at the top could have been at the risk of disturbing a system ownership felt was working.

Gustafson said not only are Hurdle's game reports on voice mail for all Minor League field personnel and scouts, but each manager's daily report is shared the same way.

Assistant general manager Bill Geivett, formerly the player development director, has been instrumental in making sure coaches and traveling instructors are on the same page, and Hurdle and O'Dowd know exactly what is being taught.

Gustafson, scouting director Bill Schmidt, assistant scouting director Danny Montgomery and Latin American operations director Rolando Fernandez also work closely with Hurdle and O'Dowd in establishing what the Rockies are looking for in players.

So deep is the emphasis on communicating that Geivett and Schmidt often ride to work together, and the scouting and player development folks make a point of spending time with Hurdle and O'Dowd throughout the season, not just at key times such as the First-Year Player Draft or end-of-season evaluations.

"It's the difference between success and failure," Geivett said. "You've got to be on a consistent plan throughout your organization. It's something we live by and pay particular attention to -- it's the only way to work, or the only way we need to work."

Gustafson said, "It's a simple thing, but it's a simple thing we do really well."