Welcome to 5 Quick Questions, a series here at Mile High Sports where we will ask as many Colorado Rockies ballplayers as we can, and maybe a few coaches, front office members and media too, the same set of questions.
We will be keeping track of trends and making note of particularly fun or interesting answers while also adding a bit of context wherever it may be needed.
Next Up: Hunter Goodman and Tommy Doyle
Who were your favorite players growing up?
Hunter Goodman: “Grew up a Cardinals fan and was a big Albert Pujols and Yadi Molina fan. Then as I got into high school and the way my swing is, I watched a lot of Josh Donaldson and Justin Turner.”
Tommy Doyle: “I grew up in DC so I watched the Nats. I’d say Scherzer was my favorite pitcher and then just seeing Bryce Harper at a young age was a lot of fun.”
When you think of the Rockies, who is the first player who comes to mind?
Hunter Goodman: “For me it’s probably growing up watching CarGo. His swing? His finish? He’s the one that comes to mind.”
Tommy Doyle: “CarGo. But pitching-wise Ubaldo was up there. And then just meeting some of the guys when I got into the organization. Wade Davis was really cool to get to know a bit.”
They say that the triple is the most exciting play in baseball. Do you agree and if not, what is?
Hunter Goodman: “Grand slam. Bases loaded and you hit a home run? That’s pretty sick.”
Tommy Doyle: “A triple? Not for a pitcher, it isn’t. Maybe for a hitter. The most exciting play? I mean, a triple play if you’re ever gonna see it. A diving catch in the outfield hypes me up. Or if a pitcher catches a pop-up. That’s your favorite play if you’re a pitcher.”
If you could have any job in the world other than your own, what would it be?
Hunter Goodman: “Something outside. Maybe like a hunting guide? I like to hunt and fish. So, taking people on hunts and stuff. That’d be fun.”
Tommy Doyle: “The joke one is always an ice-cream truck driver. But seriously probably something having to do with space. Like working for NASA or something. My family is in aerospace. My grandfather, my dad, two uncles, so probably something in aerospace.”
What is your favorite ballgame that you played in?
Hunter Goodman: “Well right now it was my debut. It was awesome. I had a lot of fun. I had some success. Got a win. It was a good day.”
Tommy Doyle: “I didn’t play in the College World Series, but we won it when I was at Virginia and that was very memorable at age 18. Playing, debut is always up there…”
DC: “Which one?”
Tommy Doyle: “I would say the second debut this year was probably the most memorable just because of the time and effort it took to get back to throwing after surgery and not knowing what was going to happen. That was the most memorable because it meant the most to me. All the work came to fruition.”
NOTES:
These two younger players add a quartet of modern stars to our all-time favorites list with Yadier Molina, Albert Pujols, Max Scherzer, and Bryce Harper all getting their first votes.
Carlos Gonzalez was mentioned twice, giving him now a total of four votes having previously been selected by Brenton Doyle (both Doyles chose CarGo) and Peter Lambert.
Doyle becomes the second pitcher after Pierce Johnson (now with Atlanta) to pick the triple play for the most exciting play while Goodman is the 12th player to take a home run of some variety but the first to specify a grand slam. He fancies himself a run producer, indeed.
NASA hadn’t been brought up yet but Michael Toglia did mention being an astronaut so we will count those in the same category. Goodman gave maybe the single most on-the-nose answer to the question, suggesting that he would, of all things, be a literal hunter.
This conversation took place just two days after Hunter Goodman’s MLB debut on August 27, 2023. He went 2-for-4, drove a ball to the warning track in his first at-bat, drove in the key game-winning run, and made the final defensive play of the game on a diving stop in extras. Hard to top that, but he’s going to try.
The reason I asked Doyle which debut is that his first appearance on an MLB mound was a strange one. It came on September 23, 2020 against the San Diego Padres and in front of zero friends or family. Or any fans at all, for that matter. All three games he appeared in were on the road and before he could even reach a grand total of three innings pitched he suffered a devastating shoulder injury.
Just a few months shy of three years later, Doyle made what felt in every way like a second MLB debut.
On July 15, home at Coors Field and in front of friends and family, he pitched two innings against the New York Yankees, tallying two strikeouts and surrendering just one base hit. Doyle has pitched 18 innings this season, showing plenty of promise that he belongs in the Bigs.