Recent decades have seen increased interest in using the controlled rocking concept in seismic resisting systems. Unlike conventional systems, where lateral deformation of a member is achieved through the formation of plastic hinges in critical regions, in the rocking systems this is achieved through a gap opening mechanism. Due to gravity load and/or post-tensioning forces, the rocking systems exhibit a self-centering behavior. Conducting a continuum finite element analysis to investigate the seismic response of such a system is quite expensive in terms of computational resources. On the other hand, a simplified macro model using two springs to simulate the gap opening/closing mechanism cannot accurately predict the dynamic response of the system. This study utilizes a multiple-spring model to simulate the nonlinear seismic response of circular tubular steel piers. An efficient optimization procedure based on a genetic algorithm is developed to calibrate the parameters of the springs. The results of continuum finite element analyses are compared with those obtained from the multi-spring model to verify the accuracy of the model. The proposed method is shown to be advantageous for accurately simulating the seismic response of a bridge model subjected to multi-directional ground motions, particularly the hysteretic force-displacement relationship, and dynamic response time history.