Colorado Rockies news and links for Friday, October 25, 2024
Tonight, the World Series begins as two of the most storied franchises battle for the championship. The top seeds, the biggest cities, a coastal media dream of the No. 2 payroll (Yankees at over $317 million) vs. the No. 5 payroll (Dodgers at over $241 million) and the game’s biggest superstars — Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani — both looking for their first World Series title.
As the top seed, the Dodgers have home-field advantage and will host Games 1-2 and 6-7, if necessary. In the three games against each other in the regular season, the Dodgers won two out of three in New York. All World Series games will be broadcast on Fox and Game 1 starts at 6:08 MT on Friday night in Los Angeles.
How did the Rockies do against the Yankees and Dodgers this season?
The Rockies went 1-2 against the Yankees this season, winning one game 9-2 and losing the others 3-0 and 10-3 at Yankee Stadium.
All time, New York holds a 15-13 advantage when the teams go head-to-head, which didn’t happen for the first time until 2000.
The Dodgers won the 2024 season series against the Rockies 10-3, including beating them in five of six games in the Rockies final nine games of the season. The Dodgers hold a massive lead in the all-time series at 317-212. Since the Rockies debuted in 1993, the Dodgers have won 15 NL West titles compared to zero for Colorado. L.A. has won 11 of the last 12 NL West crowns.
Are any former Rockies playing?
Tommy Kahnle is a lesser-known Rockie, but the 35-year-old right-handed reliever was a big part of the bullpen in 2014-15. Over those two seasons, Kahnle went 2-2 with a 4.41 ERA in 102 innings over 90 appearances. Talented at striking out hitters, Kahnle posted 102 strikeouts for an average of nine per nine innings. A fifth-round draft pick by the Yankees in 2010, the Rockies picked up Kahnle off waivers in December of 2013 before he’d made his MLB debut, which he did with the Rockies on April 3, 2014.
After the 2015 season, the Rockies traded Kahnle to the White Sox for Yency Almonte. Kahnle was then shipped to New York as part of a seven-player deal in 2017. He then spent 2021-22 with the Dodgers before returning to New York. He’s pitched in 50 games this season with a 2.11 ERA in 42 2⁄3 innings.
He’s been outstanding this postseason, led by his incredibly effective changeup. He’s posted seven scoreless innings in six appearances, giving up only three hits with six walks and six strikeouts. He’s recorded one win, one save and two holds and the Yankees went 4-2 in games he pitched vs. the Royals and Guardians. With his 0.00 ERA in the postseason this season and 2.54 ERA in 28 1⁄3 innings over 24 appearances in his postseason career, Kahnle could be a clutch arm for the Yankees as he makes his World Series debut.
A reminder of better times in Rockies history, DJ LeMahieu could usually give Rockies fans a reason to cheer for the Yankees. However, it doesn’t look like he’ll be on the roster for the World Series.
The 36-year-old, who played with Rockies from 2012-18, is struggling with a hip injury. He was placed on the 15-day IL with a right hip impingement on Sept. 6 and got a cortisone shot on Sept. 12 with the hopes he could return to New York’s lineup before the regular season ended.
LeMahieu told The Athletic that his injury was preventing him from rotating fully when swinging a bat and it showed in his numbers. As The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty said,
“LeMahieu was hitting .204 with two home runs, 26 RBIs and a .527 OPS in 67 games. It wasn’t the kind of production the three-time All-Star and two-time batting champion is used to. ‘It’s been pretty tough,’ [LeMahieu] said.”
The Yankees injury updates on MLB.com say that LeMahieu is possible for an October return, but he wasn’t on the ALDS or ALCS rosters. His last update from Oct. 14 says, “LeMahieu has participated in on-field drills during the first postseason rounds and is said to be moving better.”
Random Facts
A dozen title bouts
While this will be the 12th time the Dodgers and Yankees are meeting in the World Series, they haven’t done so since the Colorado Rockies have been an MLB team. They haven’t even faced off in my lifetime. Their most recent showdown was in 1981. The Yankees own an 8-3 record vs. the Dodgers in the October Classic and seven of the match-ups came before 1958 when the Dodgers moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles.
Perennial powerhouses
The two teams together have 47 World Series titles (27 for the Yankees and 20 for the Dodgers. The Rockies have none.
Who should Rockies fans cheer for?
As an underdog fan, it’s hard to pick either. But one thing remains true, I cannot ever root for the Dodgers after watching them mop the floor with the Rockies my entire life. At the same time, I can’t root for the MLB powerhouse with more World Series championships than anyone else.
What I can do is root against the Dodgers and that is my plan.
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Brenton Doyle wins 2024 CF Fielding Bible Award | Purple Row
With a Gold Glove in his rookie season and now a center field Fielding Bible Award in his sophomore campaign, Brenton Doyle is already raking in the awards — likely with many more to come.
A lifelong Rox fan, Messinger cherishes chance to don purple pinstripes | MLB.com
Jesse Borek wrote a great feature on Skyler Messinger, the Rockies 19th-round Draft pick from Niwot, Colorado, who is now playing in the Arizona Fall League. Messinger grew up a Rockies fan and the article includes an X post from Messinger from 2013 when he was at Coors Field with a Todd Helton bobblehead in the foreground and No. 17 moved into the outfield in the background.
Dustin Garneau named Rockies new bullpen coach | Purple Row
The Rockies coaching staff won’t change much in 2025, but the former Colorado catcher and catching coordinator is replacing Reid Cornelius.
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Arizona Fall League
Glendale Desert Dogs 9, Salt River Rafters 6
Rockies prospects Jose Cordova and Juan Guerrero, played a big part in a six-run rally in the eighth inning by the Salt River Rafters, but it wasn’t enough to complete a comeback on Thursday afternoon. Cordova, a first baseman and catcher, led off the sixth with a walk and scored and then hit an RBI single later in the inning to drive in Guerrero, who played DH and reached base after getting hit by a pitch.
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