He played for the Chicago Cubs in 1980 and 1981, and has managed the Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Colorado Rockies.

Tracy was an All-America baseball player at Marietta College, an NCAA Division III institution in Ohio.

On October 3, 2005, after finishing the season at 71-91, Tracy and the Dodgers agreed to part ways citing "philosophical differences.

[5] Tracy led the Rockies to the postseason, with a 74–42 (.638) record after taking over as manager, but lost the NLDS to the Philadelphia Phillies by a score of 3 games to 1.

For his efforts in the 2009 season, Tracy won the National League Manager of the Year Award as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

[7] The Rockies went on to accumulate a 37-65 record (.363) through August 1, leading to a front office reshuffle that left Jim Tracy and his staff intact.