Strike 3: It’s not a secret that Colorado Rockies owner Dick Monfort became infatuated with a young Kris Bryant over a decade ago, before the former National League MVP became a star for the Chicago Cubs. Those close to the situation will tell you that given the chance, Monfort would have orchestrated a Bryant-for-Nolan Arenado swap in the prime of Nolan’s hall of fame career.

The 2022 decision to sign the aging Bryant as a free agent – after he’d left Chicago and spent some time in San Francisco – to that massive seven-year, $182 million contract has proven to be a monumental mistake. Now the Rockies have to live with it for another three seasons after this one, assuming Bryant doesn’t retire or take some form of buy-out.

A couple seasons after Chicago won the 2016 World Series and Bryant the NL MVP that same year, an 18th-round draft pick from Longmont via Neosho County Community College in Kansas was working his way up and on the verge of completing his underdog rise to the big leagues with Bryant’s Cubs. One of two Major League players to come out of Colorado Class 3A high school powerhouse Faith Christian (former Rockie Pierce Johnson is the other), young David Bote was about to make a name for himself in MLB.

Two seasons after that World Series win, and still perched among the top contenders in the National League, the Cubs called up this rookie, who was a good enough player to take some of the reps at third base, Bryant’s then-regular position, away from the star player. The new guy could also play other positions, and Cubs manager Joe Maddon took a liking to him.

In August of 2018, Bote hit one of the most memorable home runs in Cubs history, a game winning grand slam against the New York Mets. Bases loaded, Mets up 3-0 and down to his last strike, Bote delivered a blow that made him an instant hero in ChiTown. Only once before in Major League history had a player hit a walk off grand slam to win a game 4-3.

It wasn’t a one-shot deal, either. A few days later, Bote hit another walk-off homer to beat the Cincinnati Reds.

The following spring, the Cubs signed him to a five-year contract worth a reported $15 million, but when Maddon was fired, Bote fell out of favor. Shoulder surgery sidelined him for much of the 2022 season and he played out his Cubs contract largely in Triple-A.

Bote had already proven he could overcome hardships, and he did it again. Hard work paid off when he signed with the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers shortly after hitting free agency last winter. Earlier in free agency, Bote visited with his hometown team, the one he’d grown up rooting for. But the Colorado Rockies, an organization that has embraced hometown pitchers like Kyle Freeland, Ty Bloch and Lucas Gilbreath, had only mild interest, and offered a minor league contract. They decided they had better options than bringing in a guy who could play multiple positions and would bring with him some passion for the name on the front of the uniform.

The Dodgers meanwhile, promised Bote a legitimate chance to make their Opening Day 26-man roster, and he spent time in the winter working out at Dodger Stadium with Shohei Ohtani and company. When Spring Training games arrived, Bote made the most of his chance to fill in for injured Freddy Freeman at first base. He led the Dodgers with a .400 batting average in 30 at-bats, hit a pair of home runs and led the team with nine RBIs.

His 1.171 OPS also led the team, and he was named LA’s Spring Training MVP.

Still, after being told he’d be on the 26-man roster if he was one of the best 26 players in camp, Bote was left off the big league roster and was asked to go back to Triple-A. He refused. At 32 years of age, and with a wife and three young children, he was done bouncing his family around. The Dodgers put him on the restricted list.

Bote decided to retire.

So now, roughly a month into the new season, a healthy and still very capable David Bote, having been rebuffed by the Rockies and fibbed to by the Dodgers, sits at home in Wellington. He’s at peace with his decision. Meanwhile, his former teammate Kris Bryant, nursing arthritis in his back that will never allow him to perform effectively ever again – is back on the Colorado Rockies injured list while still cashing humongous paychecks.

In short, nobody won. Clearly the Rockies signed the wrong former Chicago Cub.