The Rockies were not a team. They were a punchline.
They made up for historically bad pitching by not hitting. And they fielded like .
The only people who suffered more than the 2025 Rockies’ players?
When the world laughed at the Purple Patsies, they were cackling at anyone who ever played for the franchise.
When a team gets outscored by 424 runs, it becomes low hanging fruit for every reporter, broadcaster and blogger. The humiliation ran deep, reaching the doorsteps and text messages of ex-Rockies.
This might surprise you, given the franchise’s lack of success, but most of them pull for the team. They want to embrace the franchise and have grown weary of ownership and the front office operating in ways to demoralize it.
While Opening Day is a rebirth, the home opener provides a platform for the Rockies to show they are a legitimate major league team, not a take-your-kids-to-work-day experiment.
Hall of Famer Larry Walker, who will have a statue unveiled in his honor on Aug. 23 at Coors Field, remains cautiously optimistic.
“Well, there’s always hope. I am a fan of the Seattle Seahawks. I grew up a three-hour drive from there (in Vancouver). They will always be the team I root for. And they struggled for years. Now, they have won two Super Bowls, and it should be three if they handed the ball off (to Marshawn Lynch),” Walker told The Post.
“I am a fan of the Vancouver Canucks. And I am 59, and they haven’t won one (title). If it was easy, every city would do it. Not everyone goes out and buys one like the Dodgers or the 1997 Marlins. Sometimes you have to rebuild. That’s where the Rockies are. They are starting from scratch. I tip my cap for them trying something different. It’s not a team of All-Stars, but a team of very determined players trying to get this thing back on track.”
When tickets are available in almost every section for the home opener, as they were on Thursday afternoon, it is a clear reminder of how much momentum the Rockies have lost.
They once sold out 203 consecutive games at Coors Field. They reached a World Series in 2007, and earned their only back-to-back postseason berths in 2017 and 2018.
But even with the heart-hands, Instagram views of the skyline, five playoff appearances in 34 seasons tend to turn people off in a city where the Broncos, Avs, and Nuggets regularly compete for championships.
Those teams rebuilt through the draft over the last decade. The Rockies are trying to follow suit.
“I think they obviously needed a fresh start. Whatever was going on wasn’t working. It was a really tough watch,” said longtime Rockies pitcher Jason Jennings, who won Rookie of the Year honors in 2002. “A fresh set of eyes, a fresh perspective, it is a welcome change. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a turnaround.”
That could take years. But it is fair to ask them to be competitive. The Rockies went 4-11 at home last April, triggering an epic freefall.
The recent 2-4 road trip, including four one-run games and winning two of three against the reigning American League champion Toronto Blue Jays, offered a hint that this season might be less odorous. The Rockies did not win a series last year until June.
Aaron Cook, a former All-Star Rockies pitcher, predicted as much at spring training.
“It is a totally different vibe,” Cook said. “There is so much positive energy. It’s night and day from last year.”
One game is not a referendum on the season. But the home opener has long served as a window into the franchise, of whether the team was worth disposable income beyond a few cheap date nights on The Party Deck.
“I have spent a little time with (new general manager) Josh (Byrnes). I have had conversations with (president of baseball operations) Paul (DePodesta). I am optimistic. They are smart baseball people,” said Matt Holliday, a three-time All-Star with the Rockies. “After what happened the last few years, I am excited to see what they do and if the changes they’ve made will work out.”
The previous seven years were a blend of arrogance and incompetence. President Walker Monfort, in charge of reshaping the Rockies’ business model, has acknowledged the importance of regaining trust.
They owe fans better.
“Sometimes chemistry is as simple as a three-letter word: win. It is so contagious and it makes it so much more exciting knowing you have a shot every game. And when you are in a rut, you have that opposite feeling of (crap) we have no chance tonight,” Walker explained. “That is hard as a player, never mind the fan spending money. I desperately hope things change for the Rockies and especially those fans. They deserve it.”
Make no mistake, the words of the past stars have value. They have lived baseball at altitude, and succeeded where so many have flopped. The organization must listen and look for ways to bring more ex-players into the fold as consultants or through formal alumni events.
Blend novel ideas with institutional knowledge. Some of this was done with Charlie Blackmon regarding hitting philosophies in the offseason. The team should remain mindful of how others can help.
Monfort exited the echo chamber by hiring DePodesta and Byrnes, and freed them to bring in a battery of outsiders.
Many of the positive steps will take months, even years, before seeing the sunlight. They are fixes to the infrastructure, teaching methods, talent identification. DePodesta and Byrnes give the Rockies a credible chance to become a draft and development organization in action, not hollow words.
New is good when the old was so bad. The former players understand this process will take time.
The Rockies need to honor them by showing progress and ending the embarrassment.
“You don’t look down on those guys last year. Itap a game of failure. They are out there battling and doing their best. You feel for them,” Jennings said. “It can’t get much worse than that. The Rockies are a big part of my past and family history. I love the stadium. I love the city. The energy. The crisp air. When that place is sold out, like it should be Friday, there is nothing like it. I want them to succeed.”
