Most baseball teams start doing the math around the seventh inning of a game they are already losing. There are six outs remaining. Three runs behind. A village of runners stuck on the base. Before the at-bats, the body language changes. Bad teams normalize this silent surrender, which goes unnoticed until someone brings it up at a postgame press conference that nobody shows up to.
Last Monday, the Colorado Rockies were in precisely that situation in Los Angeles. They had already committed four errors, left ten men on base, and watched their starting pitcher give out walks like promotional bobbleheads while trailing the Angels 6-3. The logical expectation, shaped by three seasons with 100 losses in a row, was yet another heartbreaking loss. If they had folded, no one outside of Denver would have blamed them.
In the eighth inning of the California night, Hunter Goodman hit a three-run home run. Colorado won 9-8 after scoring five runs in the last two innings. Baseball wasn’t very attractive. But it was winning baseball, and that distinction is crucial for this team at the moment.
In his post-event remarks, manager Warren Schaeffer refrained from using lofty language. He discussed perseverance. He discussed at-bats with two strikes. He talked about boys persevering through what he publicly referred to as “horrendous defense.” A manager who can recognize the mess and still find something genuine in the outcome is almost refreshing. Schaeffer appears to be aware that this team isn’t yet ready for highlight reels. It’s designed for something more difficult: the arduous, gradual process of relearning how to compete.
It’s important to keep in mind Colorado’s true place in baseball history. Among current MLB teams, their all-time winning percentage is the lowest at.456. They’ve never taken home a division championship. In 2007, they won their only NL pennant, but Boston swept them in the World Series. Despite its height and ambience, Coors Field has come to be associated more with pointless seasons than with memorable Octobers. One comeback victory over a faltering Angels team does not erase that history. However, there’s a chance that something is actually changing within this company.
This past weekend, Kyle Freeland became the Rockies’ all-time leader in innings pitched. This is the kind of accomplishment that falls differently on a team with few reasons to rejoice. Carrying the burden of persistent losing and shoulder inflammation, he achieved an 8.06 ERA. That involves a certain amount of stubbornness—showing up, pitching, and gaining innings against a team that the rest of the league has largely written off. It is difficult to ignore its subtle dignity.
When Paul DePodesta took over as president of baseball operations, his resume inspired cautious optimism instead of instant fanfare. Baseball undergoes slow cultural change, particularly at the roster level. There is no assurance that the Rockies are actually improving. A late-game comeback in early June against the Los Angeles Angels does not qualify as a postseason run. The NL West is still a harsh division.
However, observing this team’s refusal to go quietly—walking ten times, overcoming mistakes, and scoring six runs with their backs against the wall—suggests something different from what Colorado supporters have gone through over the previous three years. It’s unclear if the front office can build on these early indications of resistance. However, for the time being, the Rockies are struggling, being ignored, and playing with a conviction that most people aren’t aware of. That could be baseball’s most fascinating thing at the moment.
