The men Rockies fans call the MVP and the ROY delivered the Rockies to the promised land in the 13th inning Monday night at raucous Coors Field.
And they did it against the San Diego Padres’ Trevor Hoffman, one of the greatest closers in baseball history.
Troy Tulowitzki, the team’s rookie of the year candidate, slammed a double to score Kazuo Matsui, who had led off the inning with a double of his own. That cut the Padres’ lead to 8-7.
Up stepped Matt Holliday. After striking out three times in succession, he slammed a triple off the right-field wall, scoring Tulowitzki and tying the game at 8.
“I had faith in him. That’s why he’s the MVP, the greatest player in the game,” said Tulowitzki, who was 4-for-7 and fell a homer short of the cycle. The prized shortstop finished his season hitting .291, the highest average for any qualifying rookie this season.
After driving in Tulowitzki, Holliday’s late-night drama wasn’t over. The man who was serenaded with chants of “MVP! MVP!” throughout the night ended his regular season in a cloud of dust and a pile of jubilation.
Holliday scored the winning run on Jamey Carroll’s shallow sacrifice fly to right fielder Brian Giles. Holliday slid awkwardly into home and lay on the ground for what seemed like an eternity. Though Padres catcher Michael Barrett dropped the ball, replays indicated – and the Padres claimed – that Holliday never touched home plate.
Home-plate umpire Tim McClelland ruled otherwise.
Holliday emerged from the drama dazed, his chin bloodied, but definitely in seventh heaven.
“This is unbelievable…. I can hardly find the words,” Holliday said before giving his son, Jackson, a kiss.
Shortly after the game, Holliday’s wife, Leslee, was sparing with conflicting emotions.
“I don’t know if he’s all right,” she said. “I just saw him laying on the ground. But this whole thing is unreal. I can’t believe it.”
Later, she cuddled against him as champagne dripped over the both of them.
Holliday finished the season with a .340 average to win the National League batting title. The Atlanta Braves’ Chipper Jones finished second at .337.
Holliday became the fourth Rockies player to win the batting title, joining Andres Galarraga, Larry Walker and Todd Helton. But Holliday didn’t care a wit about the batting title late Monday night.
His magic season delivered the Rockies to their first playoff appearance since 1995.
“Tulo and Matty have both been unbelievable all year long,” said Helton, dripping with victory champagne. “They did that against Trevor Hoffman! Trevor Hoffman, the greatest closer in baseball history.”
Holliday’s final numbers were certainly MVP worthy. In addition to his .340 average, he drove in two runs Monday, clinching the RBI crown with 137 runs batted in. He became just the fifth player in the past 59 years to lead the National League in batting average and RBIs. He also led the league with 50 doubles.
Tulowitzki finished the season leading all NL rookies in hits (176), RBIs (99), runs (103), and doubles (32).
“Nothing compares to tonight and this season,” Tulowitzki said. “Absolutely nothing. This group of guys has been coming back all year.”
But, really, did the man in the running for ROY of the year really believe the Rockies could beat Hoffman in the 13th inning and win for the 14th time in 15 games?
“I never stopped believing,” he said. “Seriously.”
Patrick Saunders: 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com
