It was time for goodbye. But before removed his Rockies uniform and washed away the sting of an 11-8 loss that ended his team’s season and probably ended his time in Colorado, he paused to share what was in his heart.
“Thanks for being honest with me all these years. Being honest with me is all that I could ever ask from you. If I stink, write that I stink. And if I’m good, just let me do my thing. I appreciate your honesty,” Gonzalez said Wednesday night, less than 30 minutes after he played what figured to be the last of his 1,120 games in a Rockies uniform.
Gonzalez and the Rockies have not discussed a contract extension since spring training. He is a free agent. For five months out of six during his ninth Colorado season, CarGo was not CarGo. He slumped. The subject of trade rumors for years, Gonzalez always told me to never count him as gone from Denver until he walks out the door for the final time.
But this time the goodbye felt real. And I’m not going to lie. It was tough. Todd Helton is the best player in Rockies’ history. But nobody has brought more joy to wearing a Colorado uniform than CarGo.
There’s a part of me that thinks if Gonzalez departs as a free agent, the Rockies need to reinvest his $20 million salary in a bid against the Royals, the Yankees and any team that pursues 27-year-old Kansas City first baseman Eric Hosmer, whose golden glove, clubhouse energy and dangerous bat could help Colorado get more serious about winning the World Series in 2018. We’ll leave that debate for another day.
What I want to share now is the image of Gonzalez walking to the batter’s box with two outs in the top of the ninth inning, Colorado trailing Arizona by four runs, and 48,803 fans in Chase Field cheering like crazy to start the party in honor of a Diamondbacks’ victory.
“Know what I told myself? ‘I’m not going to be the last out. Bleep that. I’m not going out that way,’” Gonzalez said.
And know what happened? He was CarGo one more time, lining a single to center field, driving in teammate Ian Desmond with one more RBI for the Rockies.
During a week when video of Carolina quarterback Cam Newton dissing a journalist was played on an endless loop, the never-ending grace of Gonzalez seems all the more impressive. Newsflash: At times, an athlete can be rude or disrespectful. Star quarterbacks are not so different than you or me in that regard, except there’s a greater likelihood an athlete’s worst moment will be caught on camera.
I stood 5 feet from Newton as he pouted like a child after a tough loss in Super Bowl 50, and shook my head again last week while watching him put down a female reporter for asking an intelligent question. I get the outrage. Newton was wrong. A little common decency should not be too much to ask, whether you’re quarterbacking a football team or driving home on the highway. But I don’t understand why any of us expect famous athletes to be better people than the rest of us.
So maybe thatap why I’m so appreciative to have worked alongside Gonzalez for nine years. Dante Bichette, and too many good men to count have worn purple pinstripes since 1993. I’ve been blessed to meet them all. But nobody has been more gracious, more accessible or more in love with the game of baseball than CarGo.
“It was beautiful,” said Gonzalez, choosing not to remember 2017 for his disappointing .262 batting average, and instead cherishing his ninth season in Colorado for the thrill of making the playoffs, even if for only one night.
Thank you, Mr. Gonzalez.
From your first at-bat with the Rockies to your last, whether posting MVP-caliber statistics, gritting teeth through injury or being made a fool by sliders in the dirt, you have been a supportive teammate, worn a smile to the ballpark and danced like nobody was watching.
See you around the batting cage, CarGo. Hope itap soon, mi pana.
