ROCK BOTTOM? ROCKIES TRY TO AVOID WORST MARK OVER 162-GAME SEASON AS THEY EMERGE FROM ALL-STAR BREAK
DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Rockies had a projected top pick slide to them at No. 4 in baseball’s amateur draft last weekend.
It’s a win, and these days they’ll take any “W” they can get.
At 22-74, the Rockies are in the midst of a historically dismal season. They’re on pace for 125 losses a year after the Chicago White Sox went 41-121, which is the worst mark since baseball adopted a 162-game schedule in 1961. The Cleveland Spiders have the most losses in a season, going 20-134 in 1899.
Colorado’s struggles led to the firing of manager Bud Black in May. Recently, the team announced plans to restructure the front office. Last Sunday, a glimmer of hope for down the road as they drafted Ethan Holliday, an 18-year-old infielder from Oklahoma. His father, Matt, remains an icon in the Mile High City after sparking a magical late run in 2007 (dubbed “ Rocktober ”) that delivered the franchise’s only World Series appearance.
Since that time, there have been nearly as many 100-loss seasons (two, 2023 and 24) for Colorado as playoff spots (three, the last in 2018).
Meanwhile, winning is happening in the city all around the Rockies. The Colorado Avalanche hoisted the Stanley Cup in 2022 and the Nuggets earned the franchise’s first NBA title a season later. The Broncos broke an eight-year playoff drought last season behind rookie QB Bo Nix.
“You start getting a reputation,” said Tom Zeiler, a professor of history at the University of Colorado who’s written several books on baseball. “Honestly, if the Rockies turned it around and became a playoff team … they’d look back and laugh about this kind of thing.
“Winning changes everything.”
Few wins
There just hasn’t been much winning this season, especially at Coors Field. The Rockies have yet to win back-to-back homes games in 2025. They’ve lost 17 straight home series dating to last season. Should they drop two of three this weekend against the Minnesota Twins, it would be the longest home losing series streak in league history, according to OptaSTATS.
“It’s been a year of ups and downs. A lot of downs,” said Rockies outfielder Mickey Moniak, whose team trails the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers by 35 1/2 games. “We’re just trying to learn from everything.”
The team’s 74 losses prior to the All-Star break are the most since 1933 (the first All-Star Game). It’s a mark that had belonged to the White Sox, who were 27-71 last season at the break.
“We’re all in it together,” Colorado first baseman Michael Toglia said. “Everyone’s grinding.”
Black’s dismissal
Jobs, though, have been the fallout.
Black, the all-time winningest manager in team history, was let go. Taking over on an interim basis has been Warren Schaeffer, who’s gone 15-41.
Last month, the Rockies announced a change in the front office and promoted Walker Monfort, the oldest son of team owner Dick Monfort. Walker Monfort will serve as the executive vice president of the Rockies and work alongside outgoing president and COO Greg Feasel, who’s stepping down at the end of the year.
Between the losing and the lucrative deals that haven’t panned out (See: Kris Bryant ), a growing number of fans are calling for the Monfort family to sell the team.
“We’re frustrated as well,” Walker Monfort said in a recent interview with Denver’s KUSA-TV. “We know we can be better. … There’s no reason to do this if you’re not going to try to win.”
Youth movement
Nine players have made their debuts this season, including outfielders Zac Veen and Yanquiel Fernández, shortstop Ryan Ritter and pitcher Chase Dollander. Charlie Condon, the third overall pick a year ago, could be an arrival at some point this season.
The experience of a year ago certainly helped All-Star catcher Hunter Goodman, who’s hitting .277 with 17 homers this season.
“That was something I was looking to hopefully take place,” general manager Bill Schmidt said of the growth from younger players. “I’d say they’re like your kids — they don’t always mature when you want them to.”
The humidor
Maybe it’s time to ditch the humidor? Let the baseballs soar again.
The Rockies installed a humidor room at Coors Field in 2002 to control the moisture level in baseballs, which helps keep them from becoming dried out in Denver’s thin air. They scored 658 runs at cavernous Coors Field in 1996 compared to 396 last season.
“I don’t see it,” Schmidt said eliminating the humidor. “It was a different game.”
Steady attendance
One thing that really hasn’t been hurt by the slide is attendance. The Rockies are currently averaging 30,128 fans at Coors Field this season. That’s on pace with last season (31,360) and higher than their World Series run in 2007 (28,979).
Part of the explanation for steady attendance is the opposition: The New York Mets and Dodgers, for instance, remain big draws when they come to town.
Part of it is promotional: The Rockies invited every “Ryan” to attend a game on June 20 for a gathering of “Ryans.” Fittingly, Ryan McMahon homered on “Ryan Day” in a 14-8 loss to Arizona.
And part of that is simply setting: Coors Field, which opened in 1995, remains a popular gathering place. It boasts “The Rooftop” in right field, with a view of the Front Range.
“Baseball,” Zeiler said, “is wonder.”
Improving play
Since a 9-50 start, the Rockies have gone 13-24. Should they keep winning at that rate (.351 winning percentage) they would avoid surpassing the White Sox’s loss mark. But that doesn’t factor in the trade deadline later this month, where the Rockies have players such as McMahon and reliever Jake Bird who might garner interest from contending teams.
“We’ve got two options,” Moniak explained. “We can tuck our tails between our legs and hide or we can face this head on and try to grow and try to get better from it.
“I think every person in this clubhouse is choosing the latter.”
REPORT: MLB WEIGHING ESPN, 2 OTHERS FOR ‘SUNDAY NIGHT BASEBALL’ RIGHTS
ESPN has reentered the fray for Major League Baseball broadcasting rights, several months after the network and the league mutually opted out of their current deal, which was originally set to expire in three years.
This week, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred spoke with CNBC, revealing that three broadcast partners were negotiating for those expired rights, and that one of them — along with NBC and Apple — is ESPN, the current rightsholder of “Sunday Night Baseball,” the Home Run Derby and the wild-card playoff round.
Manfred elaborated that he’d like to finalize those rights, currently valued at $550 million a year for the next three years, within the next 30 days, and that the rights could be split between two bidders.
“Our goal would be to accumulate all of our rights (national and local), go to the table, and develop in concert with the potential buyers packages that are most valuable to them,” Manfred said. “I think our goals would be to have more national exposure, increase our reach.
“In addition, we think we have a cluttered environment right now. There’s a lot of places you have to go if you’re a fan of a particular team, and we think that we should strive to create a more fan friendly environment.”
ESPN reentered the picture partially due to its desire to become a home for local distribution digitally of individual MLB teams, as several are in the process of disconnecting from regional sports networks — opening the door for ESPN to fill that gap with its streaming services.
That represents a drastic 180 for both ESPN and the MLB, after Manfred distributed a memo (acquired by The Athletic) critical of the network following their split this spring.
“Unfortunately in recent years, we have seen ESPN scale back their baseball coverage and investment in a way that is not consistent with the sport’s appeal or performance on their platform,” the statement said in part. “Given that MLB provides strong viewership, valuable demographics, and the exclusive right to cover unique events like the Home Run Derby, ESPN’s demand to reduce rights fees is simply unacceptable. As a result, we have mutually agreed to terminate our agreement.”
Per CNBC, ratings are up 6 percent for MLB games on ESPN this season, while the Home Run Derby was up 5 percent itself. The average MLB broadcast is attracting 1.71 million viewers, the highest average in eight years.
MLB’s other main broadcast partner on linear TV is Fox.
RANGERS ACQUIRE JOSÉ RUIZ AND CASH FROM THE BRAVES FOR DANE DUNNING IN SWAP OF RIGHT-HANDERS
ARLINGTON, Texax (AP) — The Texas Rangers acquired right-hander José Ruiz and cash considerations from the Atlanta Braves on Thursday for right-hander Dane Dunning.
The 30-year-old Ruiz has split the season between Philadelphia and Atlanta and both teams’ Triple-A affiliates. He will report to Triple-A Round Rock.
Ruiz made 16 relief appearances for Philadelphia before being designated for assignment June 1 and claimed off waivers by the Braves on June 7. He pitched in two games for Atlanta, and is 1-0 with an 8.82 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings in the 18 combined games.
The Venezuelan is 11-9 with a save and a 4.62 ERA in 282 career games in nine seasons with San Diego, the Chicago White Sox, Arizona, Philadelphia and Atlanta.
The 30-year-old Dunning had a 3.38 ERA in 10 2/3 innings without a decision in five games this season for Texas. After being acquired from the White Sox in December 2020, he was 26-32 with a 4.36 ERA in 122 games for Texas.
