Then he looked at his family. At his dad. At Todd Helton. At Fergie Jenkins. At Bob Gebhard. At hundreds of strangers surrounding his black lectern, packed into a tiny purple street corner on a blessed Sunday summer morning, smiling back like old friends. And he lost it.

“I’m way too humble of a person to really just think, ‘Yeah, I deserve that (honor),’ ” Walker, the Rockies icon and National Baseball Hall-of-Famer, said of his statue unveiling at Coors Field Sunday, the preamble to a 7-2 Colorado defeat at the hands of Cleveland.

“I’m more comfortable saying, ‘I don’t deserve that. I don’t deserve to be in the Hall of Fame.’ It’s just easier for me to do all that stuff. But I’m fortunate and grateful that people think that I deserve it, and they put (that statue) up there for me.”

So he wept. A hockey goalie, the toughest son of a gun to ever patrol right field at 20th & Blake, was both a 15-foot bronze statue with a bat pointed at the heavens, and a blubbering mess.

You won’t remember any of this, Griffin. But you were there, kid. Your father drove you down from Fort Collins to make darn sure of it.

“Our plan on being here was so that we could tell him he was here when he’s an adult,” Garrett Reese, your dad, told me as cannons shot purple and white confetti into an azure sky. “(So) he could see the statue, and could tell him that he was here that day.”

Sure was. Sixty yards or so from legend, resting on your mom Lauren’s “33” Walker home replica jersey.

Sometimes, history rhymes. Your grandma took your dad to the first Rockies Opening Day when he was a baby. He doesn’t really remember it, either, yet they’ve got the goods.

“It’s one of those situations,” Garrett explained, “where we just want to continue that in the family.”

Your family’s had season tickets since Coors opened in 1995. Your first game was spring training a few months ago.

“This place is my favorite place on the planet,” Garrett said.

You’ll get that a lot, Griffin. Even though the Rox celebrated Larry Walker Day by getting swept for the third straight series at home, even though they fell to 30 games under .500 (50-80). Even though this is one of those lost seasons where every homestand for owner Dick Monfort has to feel like calling people to help him move into a new apartment. The Rockies are finding out who their real friends are.

“There was always a spot in right field where the grass wasn’t growing quite as much (at Coors) because of where Larry always stood,” Garrett Reese recalled of happier days. “I don’t know why that wouldn’t be the case with other right fielders. But I remember that with Larry specifically.”

It’s weird what sticks with you, Griffin. Dad harkened back to the ovation Walker got in June 2005, less than a year after No. 33 was traded to St. Louis.

And that arm, kid. That. Arm. As the Rockies would remind us again Sunday, if you take a lousy angle chasing a ball in the Coors outfield, it can roll for what feels like forever and stick to the warning track the way gum sticks to the bottom of your shoe.

For nearly a decade, from 1995-2004, Walker’s legs shortened Major League Baseball’s most charitable gaps. Larry’s right shoulder was a cannon that shrunk the distance from the lush green to the infield dirt.

“I remember just epic defense in right field,” Garrett gushed.

“And his song,” Lauren said.

“Yeah, his song.” Dad added. “Every time that song plays, I think of Larry Walker.”

Look that one up when you get older. It’s a banger.

“I got a little teary listening to his speech when he did, too,” Lauren noted. “It’s just a really special thing. And we love him here in Colorado.”

No kidding. They came in waves to Gate D Sunday, where the joys of the past have become gilded by the pain of the present. The purple tarp fought hard before finally giving way to the giant bronze man with the bat, a walk-off Walker home run that now stands for eternity through wind, rain, sleet and snow. And in May, Coors will see all four over a given hour.

“I typically never showed up a pitcher,” Walker reflected later. “I wouldn’t pimp any of my home runs — today, it’s a little different. They do the ‘Macarena’ going around (the bases). So things have changed a little bit so …

“But John Rocker, he can get under your skin. And he’s nasty, too. Just to get a hit off him, you’re happy from the left side. So to hit one out, to win the game, I guess I felt that a little bit. So it caused a little pose for a second.”

See that swing, Griffin? The statue’s follow-through? Aug. 18, 1999. Uncle Larry blasted one off Rocker, a nasty lefty on several fronts. Look him up, dude.

Actually, don’t. Never mind.

“I feel like (Walker) was probably one of the best 5-tool players around that time when he played,” a graying Denny Neagle, one of several former and current Rockies on hand to celebrate the statue, told me. “Because he ran like a gazelle.

“The way he ran, it just didn’t look like he was moving — I mean, he would hit triples like they were nothing in this park. So it was just so fun to watch him, to be a teammate with him.”

The statue came south from Loveland, where it was lovingly crafted . It made its final journey down I-25 while laid on its side and strapped to a trailer, as unassuming as the man it celebrates.

Now it’s a landmark. A history lesson. A talking point. I asked Walker what he’d like fathers to tell their sons about him, long after all of us have gone.

“I must have done something right,” Walker said, “for a father to bring his children and have my jersey on and everything.”

You won’t remember Sunday’s score, Griffin. Just as well. But like bronze, fathers and sons at Coors are forever.

“You brought a tear to my eye, brother,” Neagle told Walker later.

But that’s how it goes.

He is the most talented player I have ever covered. He threw with the velocity and accuracy of a pitcher from right field. He motored around the bases like a sports car, knowing exactly what gear to shift into two steps out of the batter’s box.

And man could he hit.

A statue honoring his greatness will be unveiled Sunday morning in front of Coors Field. Appropriately, it features him finishing his swing.

It was, and now will forever be,  a work of art. In this case, 21 feet from the base to the end of his bat.

“That’s kinda large,” quipped Walker on Friday.

About that bat.

It produced my favorite Walker memory.

Years ago, the Rockies were playing the New York Mets at Shea Stadium. For Colorado, East Coast road trips were measured by stats, not wins. Too often, Walker and Todd Helton were thin purple pinstripes standing between the Rockies and suffering the indignity of a no-hitter.

It was against this backdrop that Walker stepped to the plate. He recognized a fastball and uncoiled, producing the kind of loud contact that separates Hall of Famers from big leaguers.

It dropped jaws. Well, not all of them. The PA announcer forgot to turn off his mic.

“Holy (bleep)!” he screeched as the ball raced through the sky and shattered a light on the scoreboard.

Walker became Roy Hobbs. With his 34.5-inch, 32.5-ounce bat, he brought fiction to life, making everything seem possible.

Several years later, Walker found himself working out with Ryan Spilborghs in the 2003 offseason at Coors Field. Spilly was a Class-A outfielder finishing up his college degree at CU Boulder while working double shifts at the Village Tavern at The Flatirons Mall.

He was a terrible waiter. But a hard worker. After enduring constant ribbing for three months at the gym, Spilborghs was rewarded. Walker gifted him two bats, jewels of maple.

Spilborghs gained enough strength to consider using the bat in 2005. At the urging of teammate Sean Barker, he broke it out in a game. Using the LW33, Spilborghs went on a tear, batting .340 over stops in Double-A and Triple-A with “more than 100 hits from that bat.”

He made his big league debut in July, breaking the lumber against Reds left-hander Eric Milton.

“It is a family heirloom now in our house. The color is gone, but it makes it look like an antique,” Spilborghs said. “The time I spent working out with Larry was one of the highlights of my life. And every time I see him, I let him know I owe him a debt of gratitude because it was his bat that got me to the big leagues.”

No Joke: The worst part of the Nuggets trading Peyton Watson is that it sends the message that they are taking Nikola Jokic for granted. He remains in his championship window, and the Nuggets are no longer a title contender. If Jokic finishes with one ring, he will not rank among the top 10 players of all time.

NFL Europe: The NFL’s popularity remains immune to COVID, concussions, and controversies. But the greed reached a bridge too far when commissioner Roger Goodell said there is “no doubt” that the NFL will base teams in Europe. Are they going to add expansion teams and have a European division? Otherwise, the competitive disadvantage would be striking. And good luck getting free agents to play overseas so their income gets taxed twice.

College buzzkill: The opening of the college football season brings joy and unbridled optimism. Except along the Front Range. Where have you gone Bill McCartney and Sonny Lubick? Let’s be honest. If given $100 would you bet that CU, CSU or Air Force will deliver a winning record? I would not.

At the start of the Rockies All-Star’s freshman season at Goodman struggled, including a five-strikeout game in which he tried to bunt in his last at-bat because his confidence was so low. But Goodman never stopped working, and that sweat equity included routine hitting sessions well past midnight in the Tigers’ cages.

“I would wake up in the morning and have all these TrackMan numbers sent to me from late, late in the night,” recalled Clay Greene, the Memphis hitting coach who recruited Goodman. “Come to find out, Goodman (and one of his teammates) would eat dinner, play some video games, then go back up to the cages and hit.

“He was not going to go to sleep unless he had a good round. And he was not going to sleep until he figured it out.”

A week after that five-strikeout game, Goodman homered twice on the same day, one dinger in each game of a doubleheader. He didn’t look back, and that afternoon was one omen sandwiched between many that foretold his rise into one of the majors’ preeminent power hitters.

At 2, Goodman would wait on the porch for his dad to get home to hit tennis balls past dark. At 6, he gave his mom a bloody nose when he cranked a whiffle ball into her face in the front yard.

At Memphis, as he burst onto the college scene as a sophomore, he hit a grand slam in three straight games in a single series. After he fell to the Rockies in the fourth round of the 2021 draft — there were concerns about him coming out of a mid-major, as well as over Goodman’s strikeouts and potential behind the plate — Goodman kept hammering harbingers.

He blasted 36 homers across his first season of pro ball. Then 25 homers for Double-A Hartford in ’23 before getting promoted to Triple-A Albuquerque, whereupon Goodman hit a grand slam in his Isotopes debut.

The power hasn’t let up since his establishment in the majors, as he set a Rockies record for homers by a backstop over the past two seasons while becoming only the fourth NL catcher to hit 30-plus dingers in consecutive seasons. The 26-year-old’s list of accomplishments dates back to those late nights in the Memphis cages, where Goodman would hit round after round of breaking balls off the pitching machine to address what was then a kryptonite.

“I hit some home runs in high school, but it wasn’t a crazy amount,” Goodman said. “College is when I started to realize I could hit a lot of homers and that I can do a lot of damage. Learning to adjust to the breaking ball and be able to pull that, and get it to the pull side in the air, I focused on that a lot. That was a turning point in my hitting career.”

Swing path, barrel rate, bat speed

A combination of swing mechanics and approach cemented Goodman’s status as an elite big-league power hitter, which in turn has made him the subject of an array of trade rumors leading into the Aug. 3 deadline.

At 5-foot-11, 200 pounds, Goodman’s lower half is built like a tank. He is a traditional pull-hitter with his power — all but eight of his 31 homers so far have gone to left or left-center. But that pull-happy approach is enabled by an opposite-field mindset.

“He’s trying to hit fastballs just off the right of center field, which puts him on time for all the offspeed,” Greene explained.

That strategy also enables Goodman to keep his barrel on plane in the zone. Hence his in barrel rate at 17.6%. That, combined with bat speed (75.4 mph average, which ranks in the 88th percentile), enables Goodman’s consistent power despite a of 34.9% that only ranks 102nd.

“His bat is in the zone for a long time, from deep in his swing all the way to extension,” Rockies assistant hitting coach Jordan Pacheco said. “That’s why he can get sliders out front with power, and he can handle hard 98 (mph fastballs), too.”

Goodman’s high leg kick is central in his fluid power swing, as it enables his back leg to corkscrew into the ground.

“He generates a lot of force in his back leg, so even though he has that big forward move (with the leg kick during load), he’s still holding the ground really well to generate power from the back side,” explained Spokane Indians manager Tom Sutaris, who worked with Goodman as the Hartford Yard Goats hitting coach in 2022 and ’23, shortly before Goodman’s debut.

During his time in Hartford in ’23, Goodman went through a June slump (.207 with only two homers and 27 Ks in 24 games). His power waned, his swing looked tired, and he wasn’t consistently tapping into his backside strength because he was jumping at pitches. But he worked with Sutaris and Rockies minor league hitting coordinator Nic Wilson and he debuted less than two months later.

Goodman still leans on the lessons from that slump three years, two all-star selections and a Silver Slugger Award later.

“It was a blessing in disguise that (a horrible slump like that) happened then, because when I go through it here in the majors, I can lean back on moments like that and then figure it out from there,” Goodman said.

There are still improvements for Goodman to make at the big-league level, even as he’s mastered the art of torquing his hips in preparation to create a slingshot effect on the pitch as soon as his front foot comes down from what oufielder Mickey Moniak describes as “one of the most controlled leg kicks I’ve ever seen.”

While Goodman can hit the ball as hard as just about anyone — his max exit velocity is 116.2 mph, the 10th-best in baseball — he still strikes out too much (32.3% K rate ranks in the bottom 5% of MLB), swings too much (54.2% of the time) and chases too much (swings at 40.4% of pitches outside the zone).

But none of that matters much to the buyers on the trade market, especially those who are in desperate need of a catcher who can rake, and rake in the clutch. Goodman’s 11 homers in the seventh inning or later this season lead the majors, and since the start of last year, he’s tied for the second-most homers in that category with Mariners backstop Cal Raleigh.

A massive haul for Goodman?

Three teams from the American League East are likely about Goodman.

The Rays, in the divisional lead by 2.5 games over the Yankees, have gotten a combined six homers from their two catchers. The Yankees’ Austin Wells (.158 average, 6 homers) is having a dismal season. And the Red Sox, who climbed back into the playoff chase with a recent hot streak, have gotten four homers from their two catchers.

Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta acknowledged he’s received ample interest on Goodman, as well as other players, from clubs around the league as Colorado stands as a clear deadline seller.

DePodesta wouldn’t go so far as to say Goodman () is untradable, noting that “there are probably a lot of players that would be very difficult for us to trade. Goody being one of them, because we see him as part of our future.”

But DePodesta left the door slightly cracked to a potential deal for the slugger, if a team was willing to give Colorado the moon and the stars in return. Such a package could include a big-league starter and/or high-caliber starting pitching prospects that Colorado desperately needs.

“For us to move him, the pieces that would be coming back would have to be really meaningful for us to even entertain that,” DePodesta said. “We’re also under no sense of urgency to do it.”

Goodman’s salary is $810,000 this season, but using Fangraphs’ WAR he would be worth $19.2 million this year in free-agent dollars. By that metric, the Rockies are getting about 24 times more value out of Goodman than for what they are paying him.

A major factor in Goodman’s trade allure, beyond his home run tally and contract controllability, is that he can’t simply be dismissed as a product of Coors Field. Entering Wednesday’s series finale against the Nationals, he’s done far more damage on the road than in LoDo, with a higher average away from Coors Field (.282 vs .231), more homers (18 vs 13), a higher OPS (.964 vs .814), and a significantly higher (156 vs 92).

Goodman says he’s not expending energy thinking about the possibility of a trade, or in another vein, a multi-year extension with Colorado that could be on the horizon. The even-keeled, chaw-chewing, small-town Tennessee outdoorsman is simply worrying about mashing more homers.

Meanwhile, as the phone rings in DePodesta’s office, the Rockies could have a major, franchise-altering decision to make as Colorado tries to climb out of the hole of the last three 100-loss seasons. The massive haul that a trade for Goodman would demand could drastically accelerate the rebuild.

On the other hand, as Goodman’s homer pace flirts with the Rockies’ single-season record of 49 (set by Larry Walker in 1997 and then matched by fellow Hall of Famer Todd Helton in 2001), it’s easy to see the catcher as a centerpiece of the next competitive Colorado team.

Whatever happens, Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer notes the whirlwind of the trade deadline clearly isn’t affecting Goodman in the box.

“The trade rumors have been swirling for a while now, and (Sunday) he hit three homers, and (Tuesday) he hit another game-winning homer,” Schaeffer said. “I ain’t worried about Hunter Goodman right now. He’s got his head on his shoulders.”

Either way, his heroics on Sunday in a 9-6 loss to the Reds, belting three towering home runs to center field and knocking in five runs, put him in a class of his own. He’s now the first player in franchise history with two three-homer games in a season. Goodman’s previous three-homer day came against the Twins in Minneapolis on June 27.

Goodman now has 30 homers on the season, trailing only the Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber (33) and the Astros’ Yordan Alvarez (31), both designated hitters.

It was Goodman’s 10th multi-homer game in just his fourth season in the bigs. His name keeps coming up in conversations with Rockies’ Hall of Famers Larry Walker and Todd Helton. Only three other Colorado players — Walker, Helton, and Carlos González — recorded multiple three-home-run games during their careers. Walker, who was inducted into Cooperstown in 2021, did it three times.

“It¶¶Òőap definitely cool, knowing all the guys, the great players that played here,” Goodman said after the game.

“His body looks like it¶¶Òőap flowing right. He looks dangerous. He just looks in sync,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said. “You can see the confidence seep out of him.”

Coors Field’s official attendance on Sunday was 20,158, a number that looked inflated from a scan around the ballpark on a simmering hot day when most of the world was at home watching the World Cup final between Argentina and Spain.

Those who did show up were treated to a parade of bombs, with Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson whacking two, DH Nathaniel Lowe hitting a three-run blast in the first inning and Sal Stewart adding a three-run homer in the second to make it 8-1 Reds. The Rockies’ Willi Castro made it interesting in the ninth inning with a 435-foot solo blast.

Cincinnati’s Hunter Greene struck out seven over six innings to earn the win, despite giving up two homers to Goodman — a solo shot in the first inning, then a two-run blast in the sixth inning. Goodman’s final homer of the day, a two-run, 435-foot bomb off reliever Sam Moll in the eighth inning, pulled the Rockies to within four. But Castro’s solo shot off Emilio PagĂĄn was the final salvo, after Pagan struck out two and got Edouard Julien to pop out in foul territory to end the game.

Stephenson recorded his third career multi-homer game — with two of them coming against the Rockies.

The Rockies fell to 40-61 with the loss, while the Reds improved to 45-53.

“Down big after two innings, it¶¶Òőap really hard to come back, but we kept fighting,” Schaeffer said. “It¶¶Òőap one series where we lost. We move on to the next one.”

The Rockies open a three-game series Monday against the Washington Nationals, with Kyle Freeland (2-8, 7.36) set to start.

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Sean Keeler: Did Rick Blaine Did Sam and Jonah Baldwin deserve Annie? Did Will Thacker deserve Anna Scott? Dang right, they did. It never ceases to amaze me the degree to which Major League Baseball will chase the cute at the expense of the obvious. Goodman is a tater factory on two legs and has no business being snubbed for this event. I mean, Jac Caglianone (15 HR)? Bryce Harper (20 HR)? Hey, we get it — Colorado is the Siberia of MLB, especially to the power brokers on both coasts. But is the derby about rewarding the best at their craft? Or is it about selling Netflix subscriptions? I think we already know the answer to that last one, my friend.

Renck: The Rockies remaining invisible nationally is not a new story. They are the only team in the Mountain time zone, often viewed as a flyover franchise except on those occasions when Coors Field plays without gravity, and the teams combine for 25 runs and 30 hits. Naively, I thought that Larry Walker and Todd Helton entering the Hall of Fame would dull some of the bias, but those were reprieves, not trends. We are right back in 2007, when Matt Holliday was robbed of the MVP trophy and Troy Tulowitzki lost Rookie of the Year to Ryan Braun. Goodman should have been in the derby. He had his dad lined up to throw to him. He wanted to do it. He hits lasers and moonshots. He was dealing with a wrist injury over the last week, but it would not have prevented his participation. At the end of the day, he got hosed because God forbid the competition didn’t include two Phillies — Kyle Schwarber deserves it, Bryce Harper not so much — and a Yankee (Ben Rice).

Keeler:  I can buy the argument for Rice (29 jacks). And the White Sox aren’t giving Rockies fans hope right now, if not for Mune Murakami (20 HR in 60 games) absolutely exploding out of the gate. But stacking the competition with a pair of hometown Phils at the top feels like half a cheesesteak bridge too far, dude. Yeah, sure, I get it — you cater to the locals when it’s an exhibition. But you’d sell that bad boy out (I’ve seen Day take swings up close, by the way. Dude rakes.)

Renck: Here is what really irks me. For those who want big names like Schwarber, Harper and Rice because they play for high-profile teams, whatever. I don’t like it. But I get it when Netflix wanted to turn this into a miniseries with a side of drama. That does not explain taking Kansas City’s Jac Caglianone and the Cardinals’ Jordan Walker. I wanted the Rockies to draft Caglianone. I have no issue with the player, but his 15 home runs match Mickey Moniak’s. He is going because he puts on a show in batting practice. As for Walker, he was this close to starting the year in Triple-A. His rebound is a nice story. But is it really better than a catcher with 27 bombs at the break? The answer is no. Full stop. Whoever excluded Goodman needs to be Johnny Benched.

Keeler: For Goodman to swing more national love going forward, there are probably only two sure-fire ways to land it. One, the Rockies need to get on about 17 heaters in the second half and join the NL Wild Card race — only 13.5 games out with 64 games to go, baby!. Or two, and this is more likely, Hunter needs to go full Cal Raleigh from here on out. He’s hit 22 of those 27 dingers as a catcher. Want to move the needle? Move Javy to No. 2.

The Rockies catcher’s 26 home runs thus far have put him in rare company in franchise history while making a strong case for his second All-Star Game.

Only Phillies’ designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (30) has hit more homers this big-league season, and only Hall of Famer Larry Walker had hit more homers for the Rockies through 85 games than Goodman entering Tuesday. The only other guy to hit 26 homers in 85 games in purple and black? Todd Helton.

But here’s where it gets weird: Only eight of Goodman’s dingers have come in the thin air of Coors Field. He’s mostly donned the resplendent faux-fur purple coat that the Rockies break out for home-run celebrations on the road. He got to rock it four times in last weekend while teeing off against Twins pitching, including a three-homer game in an 8-5 Rockies’ win last Saturday.

Of Walker’s 27 homers through 85 games in 2001, 14 came on the road. Helton hit just 11 road homers that same season through 85 games while smacking 15 at home. Goodman’s 18 road homers ahead of the All-Star break are the most in franchise history, breaking a previous record set by Walker in 1997.

Even weirder: Goodman hit more homers on the road last season — 18 to 13 — when he launched 31 and made his first All-Star Game.

So much for the narrative that Coors Field inflates power stats.

When asked to explain his unusual home-road splits on Tuesday ahead of the second game of a four-game series with Miami, Goodman didn’t have any deep thoughts.

“I don’t really have an answer for it right now,” Goodman said. “I’d love to perform at home. I’d love to. As the season goes on, I think it will get better. I try not to worry about it. As long as I’m doing my job, it’ll work itself out.”

What has worked out is that pitchers have continued to give him good pitches to hit, Goodman said. It¶¶Òőap a modest way of saying that he’s been in a groove.

“The last few weeks I’ve gotten a lot of good pitches to hit,” said Goodman, whose 13 homers in June led the majors. “I’ve been able to capitalize on those. It goes through spurts where there’s some weeks, you’re not getting a lot of good pitches. And there’s other weeks where you’re getting a good bit of good pitches to hit. And I’ve been able to capitalize on those recently.”

Goodman is just the fourth primary catcher to hit at least 25 homers ahead of the All-Star break. The other three are Cal Raleigh (38, 2025), IvĂĄn RodrĂ­guez (26, 2000), and Johnny Bench (28, 1970), all of whom were All-Stars.

Goodman shrugged off the idea that, as a catcher, he has a better sense of how pitchers want to attack him. The only thing he can control is how he attacks pitching.

“There’s a lot that goes into it,” he said. “Some of the stuff I’ve been doing in the cage has helped. Every day is a different plan of attack for whatever pitcher is on the mound. Guys throw different pitches, attack you different ways. You’ve got to know how they’re going to attack you and figure that out and look for a good zone for you to see the ball in.”

“Very nice,” he said, giving me a wry, knowing smile and a short laugh.

Some background is definitely required here.

In 2014, Weiss was managing the Rockies on a hazy, humid September Sunday morning at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Somehow, Weiss, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding, and I started talking about our 1970s crushes. We mentioned, of course, Farrah Fawcett and her famous poster, Cheryl Tiegs and her poster, as well as other supermodels and Hollywood stars. I said I once had a poster of pop singer Linda Ronstadt.

Then came the bombshell.

“I had a crush on Barbara Streisand,” Thomas said. “I thought she was hot.”

Walt and I were aghast. As Walt pointed out, “Babs” had a nose like his own. No way Thomas was telling us the truth, right? To this day, insists he was.

The kicker came after the Rockies lost to the Cardinals that day. Walt pulled us aside and said, “You know, when I was going out to the mound to make a pitching change, I kept thinking about Barbra Streisand. Thanks a lot, Thomas.”

The point of my ramble down memory lane? My nearly 28-year career at The Denver Post ends Wednesday when the Rockies host the Red Sox at Coors Field. I’ve covered World Series, Super Bowls, Final Fours, Nuggets games and scores of high school state championships alongside Kyle Newman. In the end, my fondest memories are not about games, highlight reels, strategy, upsets, or scoops. My fondest memories are about people. It’s what I wrote about best.

Being a baseball beat writer is the most gratifying of any of the major sports beats, in my humble opinion. You get to know the people, from owners and managers to players and clubbies to broadcasters and fellow writers. Meanwhile, the walls between the NFL and the media grow thicker and taller with each passing year. I can’t imagine Broncos beat writers talking about their boyhood crushes with coach Sean Payton.

I was hired by The Post in October 1998, joining Adam Schefter as a Broncos No. 2 beat writer, just in time to cover John Elway’s second Super Bowl title. In the summer of 2005, I was yanked off the Broncos beat and moved to the Rockies, as the No. 2 writer behind current Post columnist Troy Renck. It was a demotion for me, no doubt.

My wife, Nancy, and I were shocked by the grind of the baseball beat, especially back in the days when The Post still traveled to cover the Rockies. We eventually embraced the lifestyle, though it wasn’t easy.

Covering a team afflicted with chronic losing wasn’t easy either. I covered the Rockies for nearly 20 years, and during that time, they had five winning seasons, made the playoffs four times, and made one magical run to the World Series in 2007.

I’ve had to rewrite more deadline game stories than I can count. The adage in the Coors Field press box: “The Rockies blew another lead. And they blew another lede.”

But, all in all, it’s been quite a wonderful ride. What follows are excerpts from some of my favorite stories I wrote for The Post. The common theme is people.

McCaffrey family legacy

When I started covering the Broncos, first for the Longmont Times-Call and then with The Post, training camp was still held at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. The players stayed in one dorm, the media in another, and we shared the same cafeteria. Access to the players was incredible. I once interviewed Elway while riding in a golf cart as the fans screamed for autographs — Elway’s, not mine.

That’s how I got to know wide receiver Ed McCaffrey and his wife, Lisa. In 1999, I profiled their family’s rich sports legacy:

When 5-year-old Max McCaffrey plays soccer, his 3-year-old brother, Christian, can’t bear to watch.

“Christian is always trying to run out on the field to be with his big brother,” his dad said. “We have to keep reeling him back in.”

Christian can’t help it. The need for speed, the energy driving his little motor, the desire to follow the bouncing ball — they’re in his genes.

His grandfather won a silver medal in the 100-meter dash at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. Uncle Billy became a legend in the Pennsylvania Rust Belt and later won a national basketball championship with the Duke Blue Devils.

When she was a pixie in South Florida, Christian’s mom scored so many goals for her high school soccer team that her mug shot ended up in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd.”

Christian’s dad? All he’s done is win three Super Bowl rings, earn a trip to the Pro Bowl, develop a stiff-arm that could stop a rhinoceros, become one of the best receivers in Denver Broncos history and destroy forever the notion that white men can’t run.

Arenado’s SoCal roots

In 2016, Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado was a budding star. I traveled to his boyhood home of Lake Forest, in Orange County, California. While the Rockies hosted the Blue Jays at Coors Field, I sat in the living room of Fernando and Millie Arenado as they watched the game on TV. It was a remarkable day, topped off with a trip to El Toro High School, less than 10 minutes from the Arenado home. I spent an hour reminiscing with Mike Gonzalez, Arenado’s high school coach.

Here’s the beginning of my story about Arenado’s baseball roots:

LAKE FOREST, Calif. — The trim, stucco home looks like many others in this quiet, middle-class Southern California neighborhood. There is a basketball hoop out front and a beautifully tiled swimming pool in the backyard.

Step inside and you’re enveloped by warmth. Family photos cover every wall, every shelf, every nook and cranny. The family dog, a white Havanese named Mojito (“Mo” for short), hops up on the comfy couch to greet visitors.

Baseball is everywhere, too. Indeed, the home is something of an impromptu museum. Near the TV in the living room sits Nolan Arenado’s gleaming 2015 Silver Slugger Award. Open a nearby cabinet, and one of Arenado’s three Gold Glove Awards sits among a sea of memorabilia.

Likely more baseball stuff will be added after Tuesday night¶¶Òőap All-Star Game in San Diego, where Arenado, the Rockies’ third baseman, will be appearing, the second year in a row he was voted in by fellow major-league players. Who knows? Perhaps an All-Star Game MVP trophy will be his newest baseball heirloom. At the very least, his All-Star Game jersey will find a place in the Arenado home.

Upstairs is the “Bonus Room,” as the family calls it. In the middle sits a pool table, now overflowing with framed photos, jerseys and signed baseballs. On the couch in front of a big-screen TV sits a Star Wars stormtrooper helmet. Back in the day, Arenado wore it while playing video games.

A day in the life of Buddy Black

I covered five managers in my time with the Rockies: Clint Hurdle, a force of nature and philosophy; Loquacious Jim Tracy, one of the nicest men I’ve ever met; Weiss, a fellow Bruce Springsteen fanatic; Bud Black, a walking baseball encyclopedia who’s beloved throughout the game; and current manager Warren Schaeffer, full of incredible passion and heart.

Of all of the Rockies’ managers, I know Black the best. We’re near the same age and share the same sense of humor. We still text frequently. In 2018, in the midst of a race for the National League West title, Black allowed me to go behind the scenes and chronicle a day in the life of a big-league manager:

It¶¶Òőap the second week of September, the Rockies are chasing their first division title, and Bud Black has former Bronco Peyton Manning on his mind.

He’s trying to figure out a way to get the legendary quarterback to appear in a video that would play on the giant scoreboard at Coors Field as the Rockies make their run to a possible National League West crown.

“I want Peyton, waving his arms up and down, to get the crowd going,” Black says. “Hey, we don’t care about the snap count! We want it loud! ‘Omaha! Omaha!’ ”

Later in the afternoon, he’ll call in Julian Valentin, the director of social media, to see if there has been any progress on Project Peyton. (Valentin tells Black that it¶¶Òőap being looked into).

Black’s office, down the hallway from the players’ spacious clubhouse, contains a comfy black-leather couch and a tidy desk. Photographs of Coors Field adorn the walls, including one that captures the joy of a young boy watching a game. Encased in a glass frame is the lineup and a baseball from Black’s first game as Rockies manager. It¶¶Òőap dated April 3, 2017, a game in which the Rockies beat the Brewers at Milwaukee, 7-5.

Black has plenty on his to-do list, though he goes about his chores with a relaxed, easy manner. Colorado’s second-year manager, age 61, plans to watch video, meet with his coaches, chat with some players and confer with head trainer Keith Dugger. The night before, the Rockies hammered the Diamondbacks, 13-2. With nothing to stew over and no second-guesses haunting him, he got an excellent night¶¶Òőap sleep. Today, he’s open to having a reporter shadow him, from arriving at the ballpark just after noon through another critical game that night vs. Arizona.

Helton gets the call

Todd Helton is the greatest player in Rockies history. He’s a complex, moody, smart and extremely funny man. His sense of humor can be cutting and takes some getting used to. Somehow, we bonded.

In January 2024, Helton invited Thomas and me to his home outside Knoxville, Tenn., to be there with his family and close friends when he got the call that he’d been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. We all figured he’d get in, but there were no guarantees. It turned out to be one of the most memorable days of my career:

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Todd Helton, arms folded across his chest, nervously paced the living room of his home Tuesday afternoon.

“I haven’t been superstitious for 10 years, not since I retired,” the Rockies’ iconic first baseman said. “Today, I’m superstitious. I didn’t look at anything, I didn’t watch anything, I didn’t look at the internet.”

He could have spared himself the angst.

Because, fittingly, at 5:17 p.m. Eastern time, No. 17 got the call of a lifetime. Told that he had been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Helton pumped his fist and finally took a deep breath.

“It¶¶Òőap the greatest honor you can get as a baseball player,” Helton said. “Getting your number retired and getting elected to the Hall of Fame are the two greatest achievements you can get.”

Still, Helton wasn’t quite ready to let it all go.

“I’m going to go (crazy) when y’all leave,” he said.

The sweet-swinging Helton, the beloved heart and soul of the Rockies for 17 seasons and one of the most accomplished players of his era, received 79.7% of the vote, clearing the 75% bar required by the Hall of Fame and the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

Matzek, ‘The Yips,’ and me

We’ve all got something. Mine is anxiety and depression, something I’ve dealt with for much of my adult life.

That’s why I was so interested in Tyler Matzek’s story. The former Rockies pitcher had such a bad case of the yips, brought on by performance anxiety, that it nearly ruined his baseball career. In December 2015, we met in a Southern California coffee shop and talked for nearly three hours. He was remarkably candid.

In 2021, he won a World Series as a shutdown reliever for the Braves. But before that, I wrote this story:

LAGUNA HILLS, Calif. — On Sept. 5, 2014, at Coors Field, Tyler Matzek pitched a three-hit shutout against the San Diego Padres. Poised and confident, and throwing a 94 mph fastball with graceful ease, the Rockies’ rookie left-hander was dominant. Over his final six starts, Matzek went 4-2 with a 1.55 ERA. He looked like the Rockies’ ace of the future.

Yet demons lurked in the corners of Matzek’s mind, and by the time he took the mound for the Rockies’ 2015 home opener April 10, he was headed for trouble.

“Even when things were going the right way, there was this overwhelming stress inside me that just kept building and building and building,” Matzek said recently while sipping coffee at a Starbucks in Southern California. “(Then) I just couldn’t hold that stress any longer and my game collapsed.”

Matzek was suffering from performance anxiety.

It wrecked him on the mound and even began to creep into his everyday life.

“My wife, Lauren, said it was our worst time, relationship-wise, because I was so tight, so stressed, just waiting to explode from this thing,” Matzek said. “She knew it wasn’t about her, but it was hard.”

But the quiet, intelligent 25-year-old confronted his condition head-on, confident he would fulfill the promise that prompted the Rockies to make him the 11th pick in the first round of the 2009 draft. He is determined to compete for a job in the Rockies’ starting rotation in spring training.

Thanks, mom

The day after I cover my final Rockies game, Nancy and I are flying to Southern California. We’ll join my extended family to scatter the ashes of my mom, Anita, and my dad, Dusty, in Laguna Beach, their favorite vacation spot.

This is my final chance to say thanks, sharing past stories with you:

Somewhere up there, my mom is smiling.

Ryan McMahon hit a home run for the Rockies in their 4-3 win over the Giants on Thursday night. McMahon broke out of a horrendous slump.

“RyMac” was my mom’s second-favorite Rockie, right behind Todd Helton. Why? Partly because he’s Irish, mostly because I like RyMac.

She was thrilled when Helton invited me to his Knoxville, Tenn., home to witness his Hall of Fame phone call in January 2024. When my wife, Nancy, and I were invited to Helton’s party in Cooperstown last July, my mom felt like she was there.

During her last years, I watched Rockies road games with her when I could. She rarely asked why the team was winning or losing. Strategy was not her thing. She always asked, “Is so and so a good guy?”

That¶¶Òőap the kind of sports fan my mom was. She knew nothing about OPS, yards after catch, 3-point percentages, or point spreads. She just liked how players played and hoped they were good people. She loved Dr. J, Nolan Arenado and Floyd Little.

In the Broncos’ infancy, when Little was their only star and the game plan was “Little off left tackle, Little off right tackle,” my mom would shout, “Don’t hurt Floyd!”

In her later years, she’d tried to stay up late enough to watch manager Bud Black’s postgame news conference, not because she wanted to hear his explanations but to hear me ask a question.

Thanks, dad

I wrote this journal a few months before my dad died in May 2022:

What do you get your dad for his 90th birthday?

I’ve been pondering that question for the past few weeks. I kept striking out.

Then, as I perused the web, I came across a cool T-shirt. Cardinals red, the shirt displays the image of Stan Musial, leaning on a baseball bat. The script simply reads: The MAN.

How many sports-related T-shirts, sweatshirts and books have I given my dad over the years? I’ve lost track. It doesn’t matter. My dad’s going to love his “Stan the Man” T-shirt.

A father and son bonding over sports is not unique, but it is different for every father and son.

Walter Patrick “Dusty” Saunders was born on Sept. 24, 1931, in Denver. He was a lonely kid. His father died when he was 9 years old, and his mom died when he was 10.

In the 1940s, my dad’s companions were the radio, books and sports. He became a St. Louis Cardinals fan because he could pick up the strong signal from KMOX radio in St. Louis. Musial was his favorite player.

In 2006, my first full year on the Rockies beat, I took my dad to St. Louis for Father’s Day to watch the Rockies play the Cardinals in the first year of the new Busch Stadium. He chatted with Clint Hurdle and Todd Helton. After the game, my dad, MLB.com Rockies beat writer Thomas Harding and I had dinner at former Cardinal Mike Shannon’s restaurant. Thomas and I still talk about that day.

Toss out that ugly inning and an 8-6 loss to the Cubs on Wednesday night at Wrigley Field could have been a much different story.

Because the Rockies did so many things right after falling behind 7-0, beginning with rookie outfielder Sterlin Thompson hitting the first two home runs of his career. Then Hunter Goodman’s two-run homer in Colorado’s three-run eighth put the Rockies within rally distance.

In the end, it wasn’t enough, and the Cubs took two of the three in the series, and Colorado finished its road trip 2-4.

Key Moments: In the second innings, Chicago teed off on Sullivan, who was making his second big league start. The inning included a leadoff walk by Alex Bregman, a two-run triple by Matt Shaw, a two-run homer by Dansby Swanson, and an RBI double by Seiya Suzuki.

Pete Crow-Armstrong’s leadoff homer down the right field line in the fourth compounded a tough night for Sullivan. However, Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer told reporters postgame that he was certain the home run should have been ruled a foul ball. 

Thompson’s first career homer was a one-out shot to left in the third off Javier Assad. His second was a one-out blast to right-center off Assad in the fifth.

Who’s hot: Thompson, who added a double in the seventh for a 3-for-4 night that raised his average from .207 to .242.

Third baseman Kyle Karros hit a solo home run in the ninth, his fourth of the season. He’s hitting .359 (23 for 64) with five doubles, one triple, three home runs, and nine RBIs over his last 21 games.

Goodman’s home run was his 21st. The catcher is one of three rookies in franchise history with 50-plus hits and 10-plus home runs in the first half of the season, joining Todd Helton and Trevor Story.

Who’s not: Sullivan, who gave up eight runs on nine hits, including two homers, in four innings.

Worth noting: Thompson became the first visiting player to hit his first two career home runs in the same game at Wrigley Field since the Astros’ Orlando Miller on July 10, 1994.

Pitching probables

Thursday: Off day
Friday: Pirates RHP Bubba Chandler (2-7, 4.76 ERA) at Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (1-7, 7.98 ERA), 6:40 p.m.
Saturday: Pirates RHP Paul Skenes (6-6, 2.85) at Rockies RHP Tomoyuki Sugano (7-4, 4.79), 7:10 p.m.
Sunday: Pirates RHP Jared Jones (1-1, 6.23) at Rockies RHP Michael Lorenzen (2-8, 7.13), 1:10 p.m.
TV: Rockies.TV
Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM

Cole Carrigg’s off to a pretty solid start in his MLB career, but why was he promoted instead of Charlie Condon or Zac Veen? Was he just playing that much better than them? Is it to manage their service time in the majors? A little of both? Thanks.

— Marshall, Parker

Marshall, since you submitted your question, Carrigg has been sensational. It’s not about service time.

In the Rockies’ excruciating loss to the Cubs on Monday night, he drove in all four runs and hit an eighth-inning, three-run home run that should have stood as the game-winner.

Carrigg plays with a swagger and an edge, and in that regard, he reminds me of Troy Tulowitzki as a rookie. I asked one of Tulo’s former teammates if he shared my opinion.

“I see some,” the teammate responded. “Tulo wasn’t on the razor’s edge of out of control like Carrigg.”

Anyway, to your question, the Rockies front office sees a lot of things that fans don’t see, and that I don’t see or consider. Paul DePodesta, the president of baseball operations, recently told me that they take a hard look at “the process” a player has in the minors as a major part of their decision on when to promote a player.

Carrigg has proven that he was ready. I think promotions for Condon and Veen could very well depend on what happens as the trade deadline nears.

Patrick, I heard you’re leaving soon. It’s been a pleasure reading your coverage all these years. The Denver sports community is losing an absolute legend. What are some of the most memorable moments of your career?

— Ryan C., Aurora

Ryan, thanks for your kind comments.

Leaving The Post after nearly 28 years is a hard and emotional decision, but it was time. The buyout I was offered made me accelerate my retirement timeline. The baseball beat, particularly covering a losing Rockies team over the last few years, has been a grind. Plus, the industry is changing fast, and I’m becoming a bit of a dinosaur.

I have far too many memories to mention here in any detail, so I will list a few: Rocktober; covering all three of the Broncos’ Super Bowl title wins; watching Nolan Arenado play third base; spending time in the dugout talking baseball and music with Bud Black; being at Todd Helton’s house in Tennessee when he got the call that he was elected to the Hall of Fame; working with some incredible colleagues, especially Kyle Newman and Troy Renck; crazy, fun times in the press box with the crew; covering games at all 30 major league ballparks; having Coors Field as my office on perfect summer nights; and forming a friendship with MLB.com’s Thomas Harding, with whom I’ve had a bromance for 25 years.

I’ll be writing a farewell story soon, so keep an eye out for it.

Did you expect T.J. Rumfield to be our breakout star this season? I certainly didn’t, but, boy, is it nice to have a solution at first base after so many years of failed experiments. Do you think he’ll win the Rookie of the Year award?

— Mike, Denver

Mike, I was excited about Rumfield after seeing him play in spring training and reading the reports on his skill set. As I wrote in February: “T.J. Rumfield was a big-league first baseman trapped in Triple-A limbo.”

But I have been surprised by the quality of his at-bats; he’s been hitting like a seasoned veteran. His glove work at first base has been outstanding.

However, I don’t think he’ll be named the National League’s top rookie, for a few reasons.

First, he plays in Colorado for a team with the worst record in baseball and he’s not going to get much attention from the baseball writers who vote for the award.

Second, he plays his home games at Coors Field, which will automatically disqualify him in the minds of some voters. That’s a shame, because he’s hit just as well on the road as at home. At Coors, he’s slashing .263/.353/.449 (.802 OPS), with five homers and 22 RBIs. On the road, he’s slashing .287/.359/.465 with four homers and 12 RBIs.

Third, there are several strong candidates, led by Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt, Reds first baseman Sal Stewart, and Mets right-hander Nolan McLean.

Are you surprised, disappointed, or comfortably numb by how the Rockies have performed so far this season?

— Ed Helinski, Auburn, N.Y.

Comfortably numb? You must be a Pink Floyd fan.

Anyway, I’m not sure my characterization is on your list. I would say mildly encouraged, but the state of the pitching staff is a huge concern.

Hey Patrick! Who do you think has the best shot at becoming our lone representative at the All-Star Game? I thought it was going to be Mickey Moniak before he went on IL. I feel like our best shots are Hunter Goodman, Antonio Senzatela or Tomoyuki Sugano.

— Ryan, Aurora

Ryan, the Rockies will have only one representative, and it’s going to be Goodman for the second consecutive season. As I write this, he’s slashing .255/.327/.537 (.864 OPS) with 27 RBIs.

The club announced that veteran left-hander Kyle Freeland, who is off to an excellent start, was placed on the 15-day injured list with left shoulder inflammation. The move is retroactive to Monday. Depending on how long Freeland is out, the IL stint could affect his chances to activate his player option for the 2027 season.

“There’s inflammation in there, but we won’t know exactly what¶¶Òőap going on until we get the picture or MRI,” “The last couple days it has felt good, I think me taking the steps I did and backing off before the start in San Diego was good.”

Freeland had been scheduled to start on Sunday.

“We think this is a minor issue,” manager

The good news for the Rockies is that veteran lefty starter Jose Quintana was reinstated from the 15-day IL. Quintana, 37, was scheduled to start against the Astros in Houston on Wednesday night.

Quintana went on the IL because of a strained right hamstring. He’s made just one start this season, on March 29 at Miami. He took a no-decision after pitching 4 1/3 innings, giving up two runs on four hits and four walks. He struck out two.

Freeland, 32, was Colorado’s Opening Day starter for the fifth time. After three starts, he was 1-1 with a 2.30 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. The lefty has struck out 13 while walking four.

Freeland, a Denver native and a graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School, signed a five-year, $64.5 million contract extension with the Rockies in 2022. The deal runs through the 2026 season. Freeland’s contract includes a $17 million vesting player option for 2027 if he reaches 170 innings pitched in 2026.

Freeland, who’s in his 10th season with Colorado, has reached 170 innings just twice in his career. In 2018, Freeland made 33 starts and pitched 202 1/3 innings while going 17-7 and posting a 2.85 ERA. He finished fourth in the National League Cy Young Award voting. In 2022, Freeland made 31 starts, pitching 174 2/3 innings, and finished with a 9-11 record and  4.53 ERA.

Freeland recently told The Post how proud he feels to have pitched for his hometown team for 10 seasons.

“I mean, looking back, 10-year-old Kyle would say that there is no chance,” he said. “It¶¶Òőap the coolest thing for me to say that I spent 10 seasons with the Colorado Rockies, the team that I grew up with. This team was born in 1993, the same year that I was born.

“I got to know two Rockies Hall of Famers — Larry Walker and Todd Helton. I would say that¶¶Òőap all pretty cool.”

Colorado’s starting rotation has been hit or miss through the first 17 games. Veteran right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano is 1-0 with a 2.16 ERA across three starts. But right-handers Michael Lorenzen — 1-2, with an 8.10 ERA in five appearances (four starts) — and Ryan Feltner — 1-1, 7.30 ERA over three starts — have struggled.

Overall, Colorado’s starters had a 4.95 ERA entering Wednesday, the fifth-highest in the majors.