“¡ҲԲDz!” That’s what 14-year-old Kyle Freeland should have screamed on that October afternoon in eighth-period freshman Spanish class. Instead, “we win” came out like a hysterical roar.
Two time zones away in Philadelphia, Kaz Matsui hit the first grand slam of his career to propel the Rockies to a 10-5 postseason victory over the Phillies in their 2007 National League division series, another chapter in a remarkable run toward Colorado’s only World Series berth.
At Thomas Jefferson High School on Denver’s south side, Freeland followed along during the day game by peeking under his desk when the teacher wasn’t looking. His brother, Colin, texted updates to him.
“One of my best memories,” Freeland said, recalling the time when his baseball fandom was at its peak, long before 2017, his rookie season as a Rockies pitcher.
“My brother was a senior at TJ and he didn’t have an eighth period and he was always my ride home,” Freeland said. “When I was in class, he was in his car listening on the radio. And when Kaz hit the go-ahead grand slam, I got the update in class from him and half the kids got updates too. We all erupted right in the middle of class.”
All of Denver erupted.
A decade later, Freeland and the Rockies are bracing for another wild ride toward baseball’s postseason — ending, they hope, a seven-year wasteland of irrelevance and missed opportunities. The Rockies last made it to the playoffs in 2009, and last played meaningful games in September in 2010. Denver, it seems, is waiting for a cue to go crazy. Lately the Rockies are giving their fans indigestion.
The Rockies still have the lead for the second NL wild-card playoff berth, but they are teetering, coming off a 12-15 performance in August, their first losing month this season.
The Rockies took a 72-61 record into September, the second-best record in club history at that point, just one game behind the pace of 2009. The Los Angeles Dodgers long ago ran away with the NL West title, but two wild-card berths are at play, with Colorado and Arizona having held steady as the leaders for weeks. The Diamondbacks’ hot streak last week pushed them into the lead for the No. 1 wild card as the Rockies slumped in their bid to host a one-game playoff Oct. 4 at the home of the wild-card team with the best record.
“It’s way more fun to play games that are electric with a lot of fans, than the past, I don’t know how many years I’ve been here, when late in the season they’re already switching to orange because they want to watch the Broncos,” said right fielder , the Rockies’ only player remaining from the 2009 season.”We’re playing for something. We’re trying to get to the playoffs. We’re trying to win a championship.”
The closest ever got to September baseball that matters was in the video room, watching old World Series highlights with then-teammates Todd Helton and . Since his rookie season in 2013, Colorado’s all-star third baseman has twice played on a last-place team, and never been closer than 16 games out of first place.
So when Rocktober highlights popped on the screen and Tulowitzki and Helton, stars on those playoff teams, got to talking, Arenado lit up like a puppy by a fire.
“They always used to say it’s the best time of your life and once you get a taste of it, you’re always going to want it again,” Arenado said. “Todd said it best: That feeling will never go away.”
What Arenado never heard was advice on handling playoff pressure. No team that he’s played on has played games that mattered in September. He has tips from other players, having talked to San Francisco’s Brandon Crawford and Buster Posey at the World Baseball Classic.
“We were pretty bad when I was coming up, so there wasn’t a lot of advice,” Arenado said. “But I’ve learned, you have to slow the game down. You just try not to overthink it.”
The nonstop nature of a sport with games every day multiplies the pressure of a minor moments. There is no time to stop and analyze in the final weeks of a playoff chase. One pitch leads to another in a rush. And a team can catch fire in a flash — like the 2007 Rockies, who won 22-of-23 games before getting swept by Boston in the World Series, or collapse in a heap, like the 2010 Rockies who lost 13 of their final 14.
“When you come to the park, there’s a different feeling,” said Colorado manager Bud Black, who skippered San Diego in 2007 during a one-game playoff loss to the Rockies. “And as you go through each day the last month, every pitch becomes critical. This is what all teams hope for, to be perennial contenders. And we’re in it this year. We’re pumped about this. There’s a lot of talk in the clubhouse about what’s going on.”
Freeland, now a 24-year-old left-hander in the Rockies’ starting rotation, will experience the pressure of a city that believes its team should make it to the postseason after being in prime position all summer. He remembers the rally towels and Matt Holliday’s slide across home plate in 2007, Jason Giambi’s pinch hits in 2009 and Helton holding down first base and an atmosphere unlike any other.
“The whole city was electric,” Freeland said. “It was constant. In football, you have to wait a week between games. I remember following that team and staying up late on school nights for no reason except to watch the games.”
Freeland will feel that pressure as a player for the first time, but he can hope there is a high school freshman somewhere in Colorado sneaking updates under a desk in real time, interrupting the teacher like Freeland did a decade ago when “we all looked up and gave a hoorah in the middle of class.”
September baseball
Septembers can make or break a baseball team, when the games tighten into postseason chases and nearly every pitch gains importance. In their 24 previous seasons, the Rockies reached the playoffs just three times, and they made it by hunkering down in September:
1995
To start September: 60-56, 1 game back
They went: 16-11, 149 runs scored, 135 allowed (+14)
Finished: 77-67 (.535), 1 game back
Postseason: Lost NLDS to the Braves, 3–1
How it unfolded: Manager Don Baylor and crew started September just a half-game ahead of the Phillies for the lone wild-card spot in the National League and just one game behind the Dodgers in the West. A division title was in play. They held on for the club’s first postseason appearance before falling to eventual World Series champs.
2007
To start September: 69-65, 4 games back
They went: 20-8, 172 runs scored, 119 allowed (+53)
Finished: 90-73 (.552), 1/2 game back
Postseason: Lost World Series to the Red Sox, 4-0
How it unfolded: To start September, the Rox were an afterthought, 5 games back for the wild card spot and in fourth place in the West. But in one of the most remarkable finishes to a season in baseball history, they won 21 of 22 into the postseason to kick off “Rocktober.” That included series sweeps of Philadelphia and Arizona in the playoffs before the Rockies were swept in the World Series.
2009
To start September: 72-59, 2 games back
They went: 18-9, 134 runs scored, 118 allowed (+16)
Finished: 92-70 (.568), 3 games back
Postseason: Lost NLDS to the Phillies, 3–1
How it unfolded: On paper, this was the best Rockies team in their history. They were 13 games over .500 to start September, but 5 1/2 behind the Dodgers and tied with the Giants in a tough West. It was a dogfight to the finish. But they outpaced San Francisco and nearly caught the Dodgers before fading in the postseason.
2010
To start September: 69-62, 7 games back
They went: 14-17, 161 runs scored, 147 allowed (+14)
Finished: 83-79 (.512), 9 games back
Postseason: Finished third in the West and 8 games out of the wild card.
How it unfolded: The Rockies were in prime position to win their first division title. But a disastrous finish included an eight-game losing streak and 13 losses in their last 14 games to end the season. In two horrible weeks, the Rockies went from 1 game back for the West lead to eight games out of even a wild card berth.
2017
To start September: 72-61, 19 1/2 games back
How they got here: Still the second best record in club history to start September, the Rockies are nowhere near the runaway Dodgers. And they were 3 1/2 behind Arizona for the top wild-card spot. But after MLB expanded the postseason to two wild cards in 2012, the Rockies were in position for the postseason, 2 1/2 games ahead of the Brewers.
