Tucson – The color purple means heartache and hope for Jamey Carroll.
When his mother, Patty, died unexpectedly in early December at 54, the family grieved by wearing purple, her favorite color.
When Carroll was traded from Washington to the Rockies earlier this month, he considered it a blessing.
“When I came to the Rockies, with their purple, I figured that she might have had a little bit of a hand in me coming here,” said Carroll, who’s slated to be Colorado’s primary utility infielder.
His mother’s death was a shock. What seemed to be a minor illness quickly turned into pneumonia, breathing troubles, a deep coma and irreversible brain damage.
At the same time his mother was fighting for her life in a hospital in Evansville, Ind., there were rumors swirling that he would be traded to Arizona. As spring training neared, he was wondering where his life was headed.
“I kept thinking, what is it that God has in store for me?” the 32-year-old said. “Here I was, thinking that your job is something you can get away from it all and know where you stand. And then my mom died and there was so just so much uncertainty.”
Pulling on a Rockies purple jersey at spring training has Carroll finding his balance again.
“It’s a fresh start,” said Carroll, who’s hit .269 in 336 big-league games.
Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-820-5459 or psaunders@denverpost.com.
