Respect doesn’t come easily. Not when you are the only team in the Mountain time zone. Not when your games appear on national TV about as often as Appalachian State’s. Not when your home field is considered, because of humidor ignorance, a pinball machine.
So what Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and left fielder Matt Holliday accomplished this season can’t be taken lightly. They have earned respect, made the Rockies relevant and have become legitimate candidates for two of the biggest postseason awards that will be announced over the next eight days.
“It means a lot (that people have noticed),” Tulowitzki said Sunday night. “And more than anything, it means that our organization is going in the right direction.”
Tulowitzki served as a rudder, helping guide the Rockies to the World Series. In the process he emerged as a team leader and a potential National League rookie of the year, an honor that will go today to either Tulowitzki or Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun.
Only once has a Rockie won the award (Jason Jennings in 2002). A decade ago, Larry Walker became the lone Colorado player to claim NL MVP honors. Holliday is locked in a cage match with Philadelphia’s Jimmy Rollins for that prize, with voting in the NL Central likely to determine the winner next Tuesday, given that both received near unanimous first-place support in their respective regions.
“I am interested to see how it plays out,” Holliday said.
If nothing else, Tulowitzki and Holliday have caused hives for opposing teams. Talking to opposing general managers last week revealed praise for Rockies players not heard since the helium-inflated statistics of the Blake Street Bombers.
“The most impressive thing about Tulowitzki is how he improved so much during the season,” Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said. “And Holliday, well, I saw enough of him to last for a long, long while.”
As the Rockies won 13 of their final 14 regular-season games, Tulo and Holliday wore out NL West opponents. Tulowitzki’s glove work became a series of wows, and Holliday, only the fifth player in 59 years to lead the NL in batting and RBIs, hit 12 September home runs.
“Tulowitzki is a premier defender who continues to get better offensively,” Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes said. “And Holliday has become one of the most feared hitters in the game.”
Tulowitzki looked overmatched and overanxious in April. He was benched three games before shifting to the No. 2 spot in the lineup April 25. From that moment, he hit 24 home runs and knocked in 94.
“I remember that as a turning point of his season because it came against us,” Mets GM Omar Minaya said.
Holliday’s season went from solid to spectacular during a September series in Philadelphia. He went 7-for-15, triggering a stretch in which he hit 11 homers in 12 games.
“He has power to all fields,” Red Sox GM Theo Epstein said. “He can hurt you in so many ways.”
MLB awards schedule
Today: AL and NL rookie of the year
Tuesday: AL Cy Young
Wednesday: AL and NL manager of the year
Thursday: NL Cy Young
Monday, Nov. 19: AL MVP
Tuesday, Nov. 20: NL MVP
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
