Strike 1: Dear Walker Monfort,

Congrats on the recent promotion. Not trying to put too much more on your plate, but since we’re being honest, I gotta tell you: You’re the only hope that fans of the Colorado Rockies have at this moment.

I really hope you’ll read this entire letter and take it to heart. It comes from a fellow Colorado State journalism school alum, and someone who not only played for the expansion Rockies way back in 1993, but is also a Colorado native who spent 12 seasons in professional baseball. Back when you were an infant, I flew home for the 1990 All-Star break and spent three days going up and down the front range with various local politicians campaigning for the (ultimately successful) stadium vote. That thumbs up resulted in Denver being awarded an expansion franchise and in the construction of Coors Field.

When I flew back to Milwaukee after that break, I was wearing a brand new Colorado Rockies hat, and the first game was still three years away.

In other words, like a whole lot of other folks around here, I’m someone with a little bit of skin in the game.

There are a lot of us who’ve been waiting for you to take the mantle of the Rockies organization. Not because we don’t like your father. On a personal level, he’s a good man whose heart is most certainly in the right place. He didn’t start out seeking out the leadership role with the Rockies, it just landed on his lap. He could have said no, but instead your family – who’s philanthropic efforts in this state should never ever be overlooked or undervalued – stepped up at a precarious time and kept big league baseball in Denver. It’s fair to be critical of his “business before winning baseball” approach to running the team, but no one should question his level of caring or commitment to the organization.

We owe you.

But you also owe us.

From Day 1, the Rockies have been a massive success on the business side. That’s due to a) your family’s unquestioned business acumen and b) the undying loyalty of the region’s baseball fans. Fans from Colorado (and surrounding region) set an all-time, never to be broken attendance record at old Mile High Stadium back when you were just out of diapers, and they did so to watch an expansion team that lost 95 times. I was on that team, and participated in an historically awful mound performance one weeknight against Atlanta. When manager Don Baylor came to take me out of the game after giving up eight runs, I got a standing ovation from 55,000 people. I wondered if they’d even been watching the game. Turns out, they were just thrilled to have big league baseball to watch in person.

You owe these people.

You don’t owe anything to the Yankees or Cubs or Dodger fans who fill up the seats at Coors Field these days because the great Rockies fans are exhausted from watching losing baseball. Yes, regardless of who they’re cheering for, their money is still good. We all get that. But you know those seats should be occupied by fans wearing purple.

It’s going to be up to you to change that.

You played high school baseball for Eaton. You know what winning looks and feels like. You’ve been in the front office for more than a decade now. You know that business success and on-field success are not mutually exclusive.

You and your baseball club can have both.

You know making excuses about having to play at altitude is lame. All the other Colorado home teams turn it into an advantage. You know that previous Rockies teams – teams that were not completely built with inexpensive young players that came up through your farm system – competed just fine, thank you. Even our expansion team, built entirely with cast offs from other organizations, didn’t lose 100 games.

You know a new approach is needed.

For Rockies fans everywhere, you’re our only real hope for better days ahead.

These days, I’m just a high school baseball coach. Nevertheless, I have a few ideas I hope you’ll at least think about.