On a momentous Father’s Day, perhaps the best of his life, Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado became the fifth player in MLB history to complete a cycle with a come-from-behind, walk-off home run to devastate a massive Giants late-game comeback. Now, the dirty, bloody jersey will be preserved as a memento for the rest of his life.
“It’s really cool. Obviously, it means a lot. It’s very nice of them to show it, and I’m happy the fans get to check it out, because that’s what it’s all about. I think at the end, I’ll be able to keep it so I can give it to my dad. If they don’t let me, I’ll probably just steal it out of [the case],” Arenado said, laughing.
For now, the jersey will stay enshrined in a case behind home plate, accompanied by photos of Arenado from the big day, an encased baseball from the game and one of the special Father’s Day bases used on Sunday. The Rockies did, however, wash some of the blood that stained the sleeve after Charlie Blackmon cut Arenado above the left eye with the bill of his helmet during the postgame celebration.
Nolan will be keeping all of his special #WalkOffCycle gear.
Read @RockiesPR's unique historical perspective: https://t.co/xD1HQpbmNc pic.twitter.com/aPkiATvgYG
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) June 20, 2017
Since delivering perhaps the biggest highlight of the season for the Rockies so far this year, Arenado said he’s watched the tape of the mind-blowing home run basically nonstop, but that hasn’t kept him from getting his mind right for the Diamondbacks matchup on Tuesday night.
“It’s a new day, I’ve enjoyed it, and I’ve seen the video thousands of times, so I’m ready to get going for today,” he said.
When asked Tuesday where the moment ranks in his already golden career, Arenado didn’t hesitate.
“It’s number one, honestly, it’s just special,” he said. “And helping the team win, we won, and that’s most important. It would have been kind of weird to hit a cycle and lose, you know what I mean? So to win is what it’s all about.
“It was great and I was happy to have the day off yesterday so I could really enjoy it too and calm down. It would have kind of stunk to have to come in and have a game the next day and have to move on real quick. It was nice to enjoy it still for a couple days, but I’ve moved on and I’m ready for today.”