After the Arenado trade, it’s time to stop supporting the Rockies
Feb 1, 2021, 6:03 AM
I was in the stands for the first home game in Rockies history. I had just settled into my seat in the third deck of the movable leftfield stands at Mile High Stadium when Eric Young took Kent Bottenfield deep.
I was in attendance for arguably the greatest sporting event ever played on Colorado soil. I was sitting in an obstructed view seat on the third base side when the Rockies rallied in the bottom of the 13th inning to win the play-in game over the Padres.
I was among the few still in at the ballpark when Brett Mayne became the first position player to record a big-league win in 32 years. After a rain delay, the catcher pitched a scoreless 12th and got the W when the Rockies pushed a run across in the bottom of the inning.
I’ve been there for countless games, some memorable and others that all blend together. I love baseball. I’ve spent time with four generations of my family at Coors Field. I’ve watched games that meant something and others that were simply a nice afternoon in the Colorado sunshine.
But I won’t be adding any more moments to the list. I’m done with the Rockies.
On Friday night, it was announced that Colorado was trading Nolan Arenado to St. Louis. The third baseman had been disgruntled for nearly a year, so the move wasn’t a shock. But it was still a disappointment, to put it mildly.
Arenado is the best player in franchise history. In eight seasons with the Rockies, he made five All-Star teams, won eight Gold Gloves, took home four Silver Slugger awards and finished in the top-10 of the MVP voting five times.
No one else has a resume that comes close. Not even Todd Helton or Larry Walker.
Arenado has been among the best players in baseball for nearly a decade. He was terrific at the plate and a marvel in the field. Many consider him one of the best third basemen in Major League Baseball history.
And the Rockies traded him. In his prime. For a bunch of no-name prospects. Plus, they had to kick in $50 million.
That’s the best Jeff Bridich could do? That’s what he got for a player who he signed to an eight-year, $260-million contract less than two years ago?
The Rockies have traded away star players before. Matt Holliday was shipped to the A’s. Troy Tulowitzki went to the Blue Jays. Ubaldo Jimenez became an Indian. And Walker was also sent to the Cardinals.
In those four deals, Colorado only received one great player in return. Carlos Gonzalez was part of the Holliday deal. The rest of the collective return turned into a bunch of footnotes in franchise history. Those deals, which looked much better on paper than this disaster, didn’t pan out.
Unless one of the players the Rockies receive in return for Arenado, a list that has yet to be finalized, turns into a perennial All-Star, the trade will be a failure. It will be nothing more than a salary dump, a way to shed nearly $200 million in payroll liability off the books.
That’s why it makes no sense to keep attending games. To continually put money into the Monfort’s pockets just feels wrong. Not when they are more concerned with the bottom line than winning games.
In 2019, nearly three-million fans went through the gates at Coors Field. The Rockies enjoyed the sixth-highest attendance in MLB that season. It was the latest example of tremendous support that the team has received during its nearly three decades of existence. Baseball fans in Colorado show up, even when the team isn’t very good.
In 28 years, the Rockies have never won the National League West. They’ve only made the postseason five times. And aside from Rocktober, they’ve done anything in the playoffs.
Yet, the fans show up. In droves. Season after season.
They shouldn’t any longer. Not until the Monforts sell the team.
It’s time to send a message. It’s time to quit lining the pockets of owners who don’t care about winning, who don’t care about putting a great product on the field.
St. Louis is a smaller market that Denver. But the Cardinals are all in trying to build a winner, year after year.
Why? Because their loyal and passionate fans demand it. They don’t accept salary dumps. They don’t put up with losing.
It’s time for baseball fans in Colorado to do the same. We deserve better.
Some players are untradeable. They’re once-in-a-generation talents. They are pillars of a franchise.
John Elway. Todd Helton. Floyd Little. Joe Sakic.
The list of athletes who belong on that list in the history of Colorado sports is a short one. It should’ve included Nolan Arenado.
Jeff Bridich traded a transcendent player. The Monforts signed off on the deal.
Until they’re no longer in charge, I’ll spend my summers and money somewhere else. I’m done with the Rockies.
