Anyone who watched the champagne celebration in the clubhouse Monday night had to think the Rockies had finally arrived.
But the team’s hierarchy insists the Rockies making the playoffs for the first time in 12 years is just the beginning of something big.
“I still, in my mind, don’t think we’ve (fully) arrived,” said Bill Geivett, vice president of baseball operations. “I still feel like we have a lot of good players at the minor-league level, and there’s still a lot of room for improvement. I think there are a lot of good years ahead, and even better years than this year.”
The Rockies’ playoff roster is loaded with young, homegrown talent just beginning to blossom, such as outfielder Matt Holliday, who could be the National League MVP; shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, who could be the league’s rookie of the year; third baseman Garrett Atkins; right fielder Brad Hawpe; and today’s starting pitcher, Jeff Francis. And there’s no way to ignore the importance of young pitchers Ubaldo Jimenez, Franklin Morales and Manny Corpas, who have taken on major roles this season.
“Our amateur scouting and our Latin American scouting are by far the best in the game,” Geivett said. “That sets the tone for everything. Bill Schmidt (Rockies scouting director) and I talk all the time about our goal being to make our club self-sufficient. We talk about having a player in the minor leagues to fill any need.”
Geivett pointed to Holliday’s arrival in 2004 as the first major step toward the Rockies’ success.
“Matt Holliday was the first guy to come up and do well, and that meant so much to the confidence level of the others behind him,” Geivett said.
Holliday nearly quit baseball when he struggled early in his minor-league career. He credits former Rockies owner Jerry McMorris with helping him decide to stick it out.
“He always was vocal about his support of me and thinking I would be a good player,” Holliday said. “He was a big reason why I stayed with baseball. I have no regrets. When you go with a youth movement, you have to give young players a chance to develop. There’s no instant success.”
Marc Gustafson, Rockies director of player development, said the “blueprint” of being a self-sufficient club took time.
“We had made some mistakes in acquiring players,” Gustafson said of signing free-agent pitchers Mike Hampton and Denny Neagle. “We got it corrected and we’ve learned from our mistakes.”
Manager Clint Hurdle says he saw the potential of the young team in 2005.
“In the second half, we started bringing up some of the players who are playing major roles now,” Hurdle said. “We knew it was the only sane way out.”
“It’s pretty amazing when you can throw out a lineup with every player having been drafted by the Rockies,” first baseman Todd Helton said. “That says a lot of our scouts and player development people. They stayed with a plan and it worked out.”
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
