Hunter Goodman spent his last week rejecting stereotypes.
In his first three years in the majors — 237 games — the Rockies slugger stole a whopping three bases. In his time playing Triple-A minor league ball, he stole one. Two years of Double-A? One. High-A? One.
There was nothing to see here. Nobody was lamenting his lack of audacity on the base paths. Catchers can’t run, after all.
But Goodman can, he remembered recently. An All-Star in 2025 for his bat, he made noise with his legs last week, suddenly swiping two bags in as many games Wednesday and Friday. Somehow, that was the statistic that stuck out the most from a week in which he also clubbed three homers and drove in six runs. It was all part of a Rockies initiative that dates back to spring training — a common edict for losing teams looking for an edge.
“I move pretty well for a catcher, and one of the big things we’re trying to change is kind of creating some chaos on the base paths,” Goodman told The Denver Post before a 7-1 loss to the Brewers on Saturday. “Running a little better. Taking extra bases when we have the chance. So I think I run pretty well, and I think there’s opportunities out there for me to gain an extra base for the team. … I’m not gonna steal a base every game, but when there’s the opportunity, when a pitcher’s slow or when they’re not really paying attention, I feel like I have the ability to at least take advantage of that.”
Goodman aims to be a cunning thief. His sprint speed “could be better, could be worse,” he’ll readily admit. But he studies enough film of opposing pitchers — and inherently understands their cadences because of his own position — to feel confident picking his spots.
“I think it’s just watching video, seeing which guys are, I guess ‘gettable,’ you could say, for me and my speed,” the 26-year-old said. “I think it’s different for each guy, which guys you can swipe a bag on and which guys you kind of just stay at first and get a good secondary (lead). So I’m doing a little better job seeing that and realizing I don’t have to just stand at first on this guy.”
His latest heist was especially daring, at challenge used to one of the best catchers in the game at eliminating runners. The throw from Milwaukee’s William Contreras beat Goodman, but he evaded the tag and made it in safely with a smooth swim move.
“That the only chance I had,” Goodman said, “so I figured I’d just try it.”
It was his fifth stolen base in 58 games this season, one away from tripling the career total he brought into 2026.
It’ll never be his defining skill, but the Rockies want him to keep up the aggressive mindset. He’s realizing he can tap into a forgotten knack for running the bases freely that he possessed back in college, when he amassed 11 steals at Memphis in 2019 and nine more in 2021. He got away from that after entering the pros.
“Probably just me not focusing on it a ton and not really feeling comfortable doing it,” Goodman said. “But the more you do it, the more you get comfortable with it, and the better you get at it.
“I stole a decent amount in college. … So I think it’s great. I think getting to second is a big deal, especially in a ballpark like (Coors Field) where there are a lot of hits out there — getting to second base, giving that next guy an opportunity to get a single and drive in a run, versus having to put one in the gap.”
Goodman could be bound for a second consecutive All-Star Game next month. He ranked fourth in the National League with 16 home runs as of Saturday, on pace for another 30-homer season. He forced extra innings with a solid piece of situational hitting Friday, a ninth-inning RBI sacrifice fly. He’s 13th in the NL in slugging (.514) despite a downtick in average and on-base percentage from last year.
To some extent, that’s the cost of being one of the most aggressive swingers in Colorado’s lineup. He’s working on maintaining control of that aggression, on harnessing it for good.
Meanwhile, he’s also trying to apply the same trait on the base paths.
“We want that to be a big part of our identity,” manager Warren Schaeffer said. “… Our three catchers can all run, which is abnormal. And we need to take advantage of that. Goody’s been doing a really good job of doing that.”
To bunt or not to bunt
Colorado’s home stand began with a thriller Friday night that tested Schaeffer’s philosophy in a situation that will come up often in the future. In the ninth and 10th innings of an eventual 9-7 loss, the Rockies had runners at first and second base with nobody out and a two-run deficit. Both times, they elected not to try moving the runners over with a bunt.
“Every situation is different,” Schaeffer said Saturday. “My natural inclination as a manager always — almost always — is to bunt.”
But these were not “natural” scenarios, from Schaeffer’s perspective. Down 5-3 in the ninth, he chose to swing away because the batter was Jake McCarthy — “arguably our hottest hitter right now,” the manager said. “There’s a lot of grass out there in the outfield. And it’s a great chance to score multiple runs with him up. And you hate to bunt with your best hitter at the moment.”
In the 10th, Colorado cut a 9-5 deficit in half before Milwaukee could record an out. The tying runners were on base. The batter was Brett Sullivan this time.
“An obvious candidate to bunt, no doubt about it,” Schaeffer acknowledged in hindsight. “But the situation for me dictated, (Brewers reliever Aaron) Ashby was having a very, very difficult time throwing strikes. And to give up an out (by bunting) when that’s occurring, I’m not crazy about it. Especially when you have a chance to win the game. If you bunt there, you’re basically saying, ‘We’re trying to tie the game here.’ I thought it was a great opportunity for us to try to win the game. Sully’s been good against left-handed pitching as well.”
So the Rockies took their chances. Sullivan grounded into a double play. Their rally stalled out.
“Obviously, the worst thing possible happened,” Schaeffer said. “Sometimes that happens. But the process of thinking about it was correct, I think.”
