Colorado Rockies news and links for Friday, June 21, 2024
In the baseball world, it’s been a historic week.
With the passing of Willie Mays, perhaps the greatest to ever play the game, highlight reels and tributes have been aplenty. Then came Thursday’s MLB game at Birmingham, Alabama’s Rickwood Field, the oldest professional ballpark in America, to honor to Negro Leagues. I lost count of how many times I’ve teared up, gotten chills or been rendered speechless except for wow. I’ve learned new stories and received a beautiful reminder of why and how much I love baseball.
As a Colorado Rockies fan often subjected to heartbreak and frustration, the feeling was a welcome reprieve. The thoughtfulness in every detail — the renovations at Rickwood, the tributes narrated by Hollywood stars, Jon Batiste’s musical performance to welcome out over 60 Negro Leagues players, commentary from legends like Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr., Derek Jeter and Reggie Jackson, the top of the fifth inning FOX broadcast in throwback black-and-white and more — made an already memorable event spectacular.
It was special to see two former Rockies, LaTroy Hawkins and Dexter Fowler, join the Barnstorm Birmingham festivities, taking part in the softball game on Juneteenth. While both might have been there more as former members of the Giants and Cardinals respectively, they are perfect examples of the importance of sharing baseball stories.
This can be seen in their memories of the Say Hey Kid. Hawkins told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale about when he got to meet Mays in 2005 after becoming a Giant and called his grandfather to put him on the phone with the Hall of Famer.
“You can’t believe how excited he was,’’ said Hawkins, who also obtained an autographed jersey from Mays for his grandfather and uncle. “You have to understand. Willie was my granddaddy’s favorite player. My grandfather had a chance to see Willie play. He always talked about Willie.’’
Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images
Nightengale also wrote about how Barry Bonds introduced Fowler to Mays at the 2014 All-Star Game.
“Hey Willie, I want you to meet somebody,’ “ Fowler recalled. “This is Dexter Fowler.’ “Willie just looks at me like that, and says, ‘You can’t run it down like we used to.’ “I fell in love with this dude.’’
In the timeline of America’s pastime, the Colorado Rockies are relatively new to the scene. Seeing how powerful and important it is to showcase history, it’s time for the organization to pay tribute to its history, along with Colorado’s baseball history.
A brief history of baseball could be condensed into this series of events: Abner Doubleday being credited with inventing the game in 1839, the National League forming in 1876, the MLB coming together in 1903, the Negro Leagues changing the game starting in the 1920s, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League filling the void during World War II, Jackie Robinson integrating the game in 1947, MLB’s growth in the 60s and 70s, the Rockies are born in 1993, the steroid era hit shortly thereafter and the current analytics age.
The Rockies are playing in their 32nd season in a baseball timeline that goes back 185 years. In other words, if you were to compare baseball history to Taylor Swift Eras, the Rockies would be a track on Evermore. Nevertheless, there are plenty of remarkable players and moments that deserve to be honored in a Colorado Rockies Hall of Fame. Abiding by the baseball rule of “if you build it, [they] will come,” the first step is to establish a physical location at Coors Field or McGregor Square.
In 2022, Purple Row’s Skyler Timmins wrote about the inaugural class that should be immediately inducted, led by the Blake Street Bombers. Along with monuments to the 1995 Wild Card berth, which made the Rockies the fastest expansion team to make the postseason at the time, hosting All-Star Games in 1998 and 2021, and, of course, Rocktober.
As the incorporation of Negro League stats into MLB stats and the Rickwood Field game prove, remembering history and making sure it lives on is important. For the Rockies, this means honoring the coalition that helped not only put forth a winning proposal for an MLB expansion team and secure funding for the future Coors Field including former Colorado Governor Roy Romer, former Denver Mayor Federico Peña, former Colorado Senator Tim Wirth, former Westminster General Assembly Representative Kathi Williams, attorneys Paul Jacobs and Steve Katich, commercial real estate businessman Neil Macey, the first Latino, (male or female) to be a partial owner of an MLB team Linda Alvarado, and many others who put in the hours and money to bring MLB to the Mile High City.
It also means celebrating the diverse and long history of baseball in Colorado. The integrated teams playing ball in the 1880s and in the Denver Post Tournaments from 1915 into the mid-1940s, the Black teams like the Pueblo Blues and Denver White Elephants tournaments, the barnstorming baseball that brought women’s teams and stars like Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig to Denver, the rich history of baseball in mining towns and in sugar beet fields and glory days of the Denver Bears, Denver Zephyrs and Colorado Silver Bullets. Between Colorado baseball historian Jay Sanford and History Colorado collections, there are great sources to share the information. But capturing oral histories from older generations who lived it is vital to do before it’s too late.
At a time when the Rockies aren’t making history on the field, or at least the kind you would put in a hall of fame, Rockies fans are currently relying on young prospects and the promise of a better future. Equally important, Rockies fans and future generations need a place to go to honor the past and never forget the stories.
★ ★ ★
Aiming for All-Star spot, McMahon slugs monster HR | MLB.com
Inspired by Ryan McMahon’s 462-foot homer, his 13th of the season, in a losing effort on Thursday, MLB.com’s Manny Randhawa goes through the yet unrealized promise of McMahon’s career and how this season could be a turning point.
Rockies To Reinstate Kyle Freeland On Sunday | MLB Trade Rumors
The good news is that after three successful rehab appearances with Triple-A Albuquerque, Kyle Freeland is slated to return to the 26-man roster on Sunday. Freeland has been out with a left elbow strain since April 16 and only made four starts this year before getting hurt. The bad news is that Adael Amador could be headed to the 10-day IL after suffering a mild oblique strain in the loss to the Dodgers on Thursday.
★ ★ ★
On the farm
Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes 8, Oklahoma City 5
Making his first rehab start since June 8 with a left hamstring strain, Brendan Rodgers hit a two-run double and added a sacrifice fly to lead Albuquerque to a win on Thursday night — a night when all four Rockies farm teams were victorious. Trevor Boone added a solo homer and an RBI walk, while Drew Romo hit an RBI single and a sac fly and Connor Kaiser chipped in a run-scoring single on a two-hit night. Hunter Stovall also posted two hits and scored two runs. Karl Kauffman earned the win on the mound, advancing to 3-6 on the season after giving up two runs on five hits with five walks and four strikeouts in five innings. Riley Pint and John Curtiss each threw a scoreless inning of relief to lock down the win.
Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats 5, Harrisburg Senators 4 (11)
Braxton Fullford hit a two-run homer in the top of the 11th and Bryce McGowan gave up a run in the bottom half of the inning, but pitched well enough to earn his first save of the season. Kyle Datres homered in the time of the ninth to cut Harrisburgh’s lead to 2-1 and Braiden Ward hit an RBI single to send the game to extras. Warming Bernabel hit a run-scoring single in the 10th, but the Senators put up a run of their own to usher in the 11th. The Yard Goats gave up one run after Fullford’s homer, but they held on for the win.
High-A: Spokane Indians 9, Eugene Emeralds 3
Kyle Karros went 3-for-5 with one RBI and one run scored, Bryant Betancourt had two hits, including a two-run double and Jesus Bugarin also hit an RBI double as Spokane used a five-run seventh inning to record a win on Thursday night. Sean Sullivan gave up two runs on four hits with four strikeouts with one walk in five innings and the bullpen only gave up one more run in the following four innings to carry out the win.
Low-A: Fresno Grizzlies 10, Stockton Ports 1
Brad Cumbest hit a two-run homer, Felix Tena went 3-for-5 with two RBI singles, Fadriel Crus hit a two-run single and scored two runs and Tevin Tucker hit a two-run single and a sac fly as the Grizzlies posted 11 hits and 10 runs in a big win on Thursday. Austin Emener got his first win of the season after only giving up one run on six hits with six strikeouts and two walks in five innings.
★ ★ ★
Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!