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Denver is a great baseball town just waiting for its Rockies to get it right

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1 year ago

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Denver is a great baseball town just waiting for its Rockies to get it right


DENVER — The worst team in the American League met the bottom-dwellers of the American League this weekend at Coors Field.

By the looks of the crowds, you never would have known it.

And it was a reminder that early-season prognostications of an attendance crater for the Rockies may have been slightly off.

As John Elway once said in a commercial, “Turns out, I was wrong!”

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In late April, the Coors Field crowds were down relative to the same point in previous seasons. But even as the Rockies settled at the foot of the NL West table and Colorado had one of its dampest springs in memory, people came.

“People will come,” trumpeted a sub-headline in the Rockies’ pregame notes Sunday. And they did — 36,000 for each game from June 23 through Saturday.

Sunday, in a 93-degree open-air sauna, that streak ended. But 31,789 came through the turnstiles to watch a Rockies team staring up at the entire National League and a punchless A’s lineup with less power than an Amish village.

That meant a robust weekend average of 38,045. And A’s fans were few and far between, so you can’t attribute the turnout to a surfeit of transplants.

Sure, Coors Field is a destination. A warm summer’s night at the LoDo ballyard is embedded in Colorado’s summer DNA. But there are plenty of other places to grab some drinks, meet friends, take kids to the playground or sit outside and enjoy the balmy air.

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Because ultimately, it’s baseball. And that, too, is in Denver’s DNA.

The Athletics’ visit this weekend serves as a reminder that in the late 1970s, they could have been Denver’s team. Oilman Marvin Davis had an agreement to buy the A’s from the infamous Charles O. Finley and relocate the team to Colorado. Then, as now, the A’s had a foot out the door after napalming their own fan support.

But ultimately, the team stayed. Eventually, it prospered. Denver waited over a dozen years before the Rockies gained approval from National League owners in 1991. By then, anticipation was thick enough to cut with a steak knife. Generations of waiting, of relocation possibilities and even a proposed third major league — the Continental League — finally got Colorado across the plate in 1993.

While on-field success eluded the Rockies, support has almost always been boundless. So, drawing over 38,000 a game for a series between the worst of each league isn’t necessarily newsworthy.

It’s just a reminder that while Coors Field provides good times, the baseball still draws, too. A beautiful ballpark in the perfect spot.

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And it — and its paying customers — can only continue waiting for the team Denver’s support deserves.

MEANWHILE, ON THE FIELD …

Colorado’s 2-0 win Sunday averted the ignominy of being swept by a team with the second-worst record after 107 games in the last 60 years.

Rockies reliever Ty Beach — receiving just his second start of the season — lasted through the fifth inning with an efficient, 52-pitch outing. Limiting Oakland batters to just 2.89 pitches per plate appearance, Blach faced just two at-bats of at least five pitches.

Third baseman Ryan McMahon drove home both Rockies runs with a third-inning single and a fifth-inning double, scoring catcher Austin Wynns and shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, respectively.

In advance of the trade deadline, reliever Daniel Bard also bounced back from his blown save in Washington last Wednesday with a scoreless eighth-inning appearance. But that didn’t mean he avoided suspense. After walking leadoff batter Tony Kemp, Bard caught Zack Gelof looking before Brent Rooker sent a slider 409 feet to the warning track that Nolan Jones nabbed. Kemp was subsequently caught stealing second when he came off the bag as Tovar applied the tag, ending the threat.

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Bud Black lifted Jones in the ninth inning. Jones suffered some cramping while at the plate in the bottom of the eighth. Black said the move was precautionary.

***





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Denver, CO

Denver area events for Nov. 25: Pop-up holiday lounge at Union Station and more

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3 hours ago

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November 25, 2024

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Denver area events for Nov. 25: Pop-up holiday lounge at Union Station and more


If you have an event taking place in the Denver area, email information to carlotta.olson@gazette.com at least two weeks in advance. All events are listed in the calendar on space availability.

Monday

Sipping N’ Painting Hampden — “Alaska Night,” 6:30-8:30 p.m., Sipping N’ Painting Hampden, 6461 E. Hampden Ave., Denver, $35. Registration required: sippingnpaintinghampden.com.

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Brazilian Zouk Classes and Social Dance — 7-11:30 p.m., Mercury Café, 2199 California St., Denver, $20 class and social, $15 social only; mercurycafe.com.

Cloud Nothings — With Armlock, Famers Wife, 8 p.m., Bluebird Theater, 3317 E. Colfax Ave., Denver, $25. Tickets: axs.com.

Mile High Holidays Drone Show — 7 p.m. through Dec. 31, Denver skies; denver.org/milehighholidays.

“American Dreams” Exhibit — Through Dec. 31, Molly Brown House Museum, 1340 Pennsylvania St., Denver, go online for prices. Tickets: mollybrown.org.

“Shadow and Light: Patrick Marold” — Through Jan. 5, Denver Botanic Gardens, 1007 York St., Denver, go online for prices; botanicgardens.org.

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“Vanity & Vice: American Art Deco” — Through Jan. 12, Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art, 1201 Bannock St., Denver. Go online for prices. Tickets: kirklandmuseum.org.

“Dawoud Bey: Street Portraits” — Through May 11, Denver Art Museum, 100 W. 14th Ave. Parkway, Denver, go online for prices: denverartmuseum.org.

Monday-Dec. 28

Miracle at Union Station: Buddy’s Bar — Pop-up cocktail lounge featuring holiday décor, cocktails and a designated Hanukkah table, 4-p.m.-midnight, Galley Bar on lower level, Union Station, 1701 Wynkoop St., Denver. Reservations: denverunionstation.com.

Monday-Dec. 30

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Free Downtown Trolley Rides — See the downtown Castle Rock decorations, 5-7 p.m. Mondays-Tuesdays, no rides Dec. 24, pickup/drop-off points Encore Garage Entrance on South Street between Wilcox and Perry Street and Douglas County School District Parking Lot Entrance on 6th Street Wilcox and Perry Street, Castle Rock; crgov.com/2622/season-of-the-star.

CARLOTTA OLSON, The Denver Gazette



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Denver, CO

PHOTOS: Denver Broncos beat Las Vegas Raiders, 29-19, in NFL Week 12

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12 hours ago

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November 24, 2024

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PHOTOS: Denver Broncos beat Las Vegas Raiders, 29-19, in NFL Week 12




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Denver, CO

Raiders HC Sounds Off on Broncos QB Bo Nix’s Rapid Rise

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20 hours ago

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November 24, 2024

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Raiders HC Sounds Off on Broncos QB Bo Nix’s Rapid Rise


On Sunday, fans will be treated to a head-to-head contest between two rapidly emerging offensive powerhouses, both of whom are bonafide Rookie of the Year contenders. Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix and Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers found new homes with consecutive picks during last April’s NFL draft, and since then, they’ve performed exceptionally well in the pro ranks.

Nix is firmly on the radar of Raiders head coach Antonio Piece, but that’s even more true after yet another award-winning performance last week.

“He was a winner as a freshman. He was a winner as a six-year player,” Pierce noted of Nix. “All he does is win, come in the league. Won the quarterback battle there in Denver. Maybe they were keeping them tight on the leash early on, and now they’re not. He has full control that offense. You can see that Sean Payton gives him opportunities to audible and make some adjustments. He’s making throws, he’s running with his legs, he’s taking care of the football, and he’s winning. That’s all you can ask for from a rookie.”

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Nix presents a clear and present danger to the Raiders’ chances of squeezing out what would be only their third win of their massively disappointing season. Stopping the impressive rookie is proving to be another matter entirely for NFL defenses, especially one with a badly beaten-up roster like the Raiders.

“This is crazy,” Raiders linebacker Divine Deablo said via ESPN‘s Paul Gutierrez. “I’ve never seen this amount of injuries on any team I’ve been on.”

This week, Broncos head coach Sean Payton has pumped the brakes a little on the burgeoning hype exploding around Nix. That being said, you get the distinct feeling that Payton is more than comfortable unleashing Nix’s full array of talents at his disposal. Confidence is growing in Nix, and that’s been reflected in how Payton has opened up the playbook for his first-year signal-caller.

The juices are flowing, and Payton may have found an answer in dynamic second-year receiver Marvin Mims Jr. The mystical “joker” role within the Broncos offense seems to have been filled.

“I think we always gotta be saying, ‘Hey, are we doing everything we can to highlight his strengths?’ And so, yeah, I don’t know if he’s got the ‘joker’ tattoo, but he might be invited to the club,” Payton said via Andrew Mason.

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When push comes to shove, if Nix plays lights out again, an easy win might come Denver’s way, but stopping Bowers would also ensure the victory and help in the race for Rookie of the Year honors. Payton is already on high alert, but it was also tinged with a bit of football envy when he illustrated Bowers’ “joker” abilities.

“Someone had a really good vision for him and you see all the ‘Joker’ traits, means and change of direction,” Payton said of Bowers. “It can’t be a little. It’s a high-end receiving trait and he can move, he can be outside and he can run a route tree maybe different than most tight ends.” 

Follow Denver Broncos On SI/Mile High Huddle on X and Facebook and subscribe on YouTube for daily Broncos live-stream podcasts!





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