If they didn’t have your attention already, they do now.
Hey sportsfans, we’re talkin’ Rox. This dusty ol’ cow town – the one that rides and dies with the Denver Broncos – is talking about baseball.
And it’s not even Rocktober yet. It’s a steady buzz that’s been building since Bridich. It began sometime in 2017. It’s gotten louder and louder and finally just loud. Perhaps it’s here to stay.
It’s about damn time.
The Rockies are for real. That’s a fact. Whether it’s local or national, the Rockies are to be reckoned with.
Even 104.3 The Fan, a local radio station devoted to such riveting topics as the shoelaces worn by the Broncos backup guard (in February), or the 43rd version of some mouthbreather’s NFL mock draft (rounds 3-6), is (finally) talking Rockies. Welcome aboard, friends!
MLB Network reporter Ken Rosenthal eluded to the fact that the Rockies are beginning to break the seal on a national level, too.
“Certainly (teams) have to be respectful of the Rockies and what they’ve accomplished,” Rosenthal told Mile High Sports Radio hosts Eric Goodman and Les Shapiro during spring training. “The problem that they have is, from a national perspective… People are always skeptical
“I always tell people, ‘Who cares what the national perspective is?’ If you win, you get all the national love you want and you can laugh at everybody in the country. I don’t understand why people get caught up in that.”
The Rockies might not be laughing – hey, they’re still new at this business of being good – but they have been winning. They’ve been to the postseason two years in a row, a franchise first, and have a roster capable of doing it again for a third straight season. Besides, they’ve accomplished this coming out of the NL West, one of baseball’s toughest divisions year in and year out.
But it’s more than that. The Rockies have occupied a spot in the national headlines for more than just “Coors Field” lately. They’ve signed big name, free agent pitchers (see Greg Holland, Bryan Shaw and Wade Davis). They’ve developed pitchers who have become big names; anyone who cares about baseball saw Denver’s own Kyle Freeland take down the Cubs at Wrigley Field, besting playoff-proven Jon Lester in the process. Sure, the Rockies lost to the Brewers in the NLDS, but 26 teams were sitting at home on the couch by that point in the season. They’ve got a farm system that’s on par with baseball’s best (and richest).
This offseason, the Rockies inked one of the game’s most coveted players to a long-term deal. And it’s not just that they coughed up the money (a record-breaking deal, no less); it’s that Nolan Arenado chose the Rockies. The money was absolutely there, but realistically, he could have commanded it from most any team in the majors.
“The last couple of years have been really telling,” Arenado told Mile High Sports reporter Aniello Piro. “Also, who we have coming in, the young players and all that; it’s a credit to the management, to who they brought and kept here. We have some really good players and there is still a lot of room to get better and grow, but we are taking good steps right now. It’s been fun and I think with this core group, I have been here and I know them, so I know how good we can be.
“That’s what drove me to stay here.”
The Rockies are in the spotlight. This isn’t about party decks or pretty sunsets or fireworks. They’ve got real pitchers. Real hitters. Real fans – 37,233 of them per game to be exact, good for 7th in the majors; that doesn’t happen just because the weather is nice.
“What do you do for Easter?” someone asked on a damp March evening in Denver. “What do you think about going to the Rockies that day?”
Why not? Church in the morning. The Church of Baseball in the afternoon. That’s what any good baseball town would do when the home team has a chance to beat up Bryce Harper and the Phillies on their way out of Denver – in April.
The Colorado Rockies – your Colorado Rockies, a damn good baseball organization – kick things off today in Miami. And you’ll be watching.
Because baseball matters in Denver.
Because the Rockies are no longer just a way to pass the time between Broncos seasons.
Because the 2019 Rockies are good.
Because, finally, the Rockies have made you look.