If there’s a perverse reward that comes from being a fan of a bad team, it’s savoring the moments when those who haven’t been paying attention suddenly realize that things have changed.
The team that has been so bad for so long — a veritable punchline, if you will — does some unexpected punching up.
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Fans of the Colorado Rockies have long been familiar with the “punchline” part of this equation, that special form of sports writing/clickbait that we call “lol Rockies.”
It is especially satisfying, then, to see the Rockies doing some laughing of their own.
On Sunday, all that pent-up Rockies schadenfreude came crashing home, literally, in the form of Zac Veen (No. 9 PuRP):
I mean, truly, who saw that coming?
Certainly not the San Francisco Giants nor the Rockies broadcast booth for that matter.
No, out of the middle of nowhere, Veen came crashing into the play, the TV screen, and the consciousness of the Giants catcher Drew Cavanaugh.
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Be honest: You were stunned, too, right?
Zac Veen, however, was not surprised.
“I was on third,” he said. “Amador was up, so the third baseman was off a little bit. I got to get down the line a little more. I knew I could take a hard step or two and still get back, even if (Cavenaugh) fielded it clean. And I took one or two hard steps, and then he didn’t see the ball, and I saw the ball, kind of in a spot where I didn’t think he was going to see it, and just went for it.”
When Veen was asked about “playing without fear,” he said this: “I’d say I’m playing with a lot of faith right now. I’m kind of going out there and doing what I feel is natural and just letting it all take care of itself.”
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Actually, that really describes the 2026 Colorado Rockies: They are playing with faith in themselves and their teammates as well as the new processes being implemented by the Rockies front office.
Major League Baseball, let us introduce you to the new Colorado Rockies, who are not your mother’s Colorado Rockies. That team lacked a clear identity and could never seem to find itself, much less a way to win. This team (despite a dearth of starting pitching) is bold and fearless and not afraid to take chances because that’s what playing with faith — and, by extension, without fear — can do for a team.
Consider the numbers.
This season, the Rockies offense ranks in the top 10 in the Majors in extra-base hits (387, 2nd), slugging percentage (.419, 3rd), batting average (.254, 4th), OPS (.741, 5th), and runs scored (583, 8th). In 2025, the Rockies ranked last in the league in OBP (.293), 29th in runs scored (597), 27th in OPS (.679), 24th in slugging (.386), and 23rd in average (.237).
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And this team is never out of a game.
Currently, they have 30 come-from-behind wins with five of those wins in games where the Rockies were trailing by three or more runs.
As you can imagine, this new generation of Rockies has met with some skepticism on the part of other teams. After all, for years, the Rockies have been the butt of jokes, the marker of everything that can be wrong (and weird) with a baseball team, the definitive measure of mediocrity.
As a case in point, take this from Andrew Baggerly, The Athletic’s beat writer for the Giants, in his description of Sunday’s game:
The Giants didn’t merely lose their fifth consecutive series. They lost a series to the Rockies,their heretofore helpless NL West brethren who, bless them, sometimes forget how to play baseball. They have been especially absent-minded during visits to San Francisco in recent years.
The season series results are in: Rockies 7, Giants 6. The Giants hadn’t dropped a season series to the Rockies in a full year since 2018, which was the season that got then-general manager Bobby Evans fired. Entering the weekend, the Giants had won 12 of their last 13 home series against Colorado.
Look, in what world does a competent team lose to the Rockies?
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Reader, I must confess, I laughed out loud.
It turns out that this generation of Colorado Rockies are a young and fearless group.
Kyle Karros brings skill and baseball acumen (probably in large part due to growing up in the Los Angeles Dodgers clubhouse) and a thoughtful presence. He provides a counterbalance to the more volatile Cole “Fire Truck!” Carrigg. (Do you have a baseball bat that you need shattered? Carrigg is your person for that job!)
In short, Carrigg, too, is fearless:
In addition to his hair-on-fire personality, Carrigg is a switch-hitting utility player whose athleticism allows him to play in the vast outfield grass of Coors Field or on the infield dirt.
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Of playing with Carrigg, Veen said, “I love playing with Cole,” adding of his teammate, “I mean (I’ve watched) him destroy pitchers all year and hit homers and steal a crazy amount of bags. I feel like I’ve seen it all from him.”
Look, the Rockies would not trade two-time Gold Glove winner Brenton Doyle to the Chicago White Sox if they were not positive that Carrigg was their center fielder of the future.
I realize that TJ Rumfield is (deservedly) getting some Rookie of the Year attention, but don’t overlook Carrigg’s case, either.
Counterbalancing all that is the quiet power of Hunter Goodman, the defensive steadiness of Ezequiel Tovar, the studied on-base approach of Rumfield, the veteran presence (and lefty-power) of Mickey Moniak, and the mulleted “get-on-base-no-matter-whattedness” of Jake McCarthy.
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Don’t overlook the work of manager Warren Schaeffer and his staff. Managing a baseball team, especially a young and rebuilding one, is no easy task, but he has done it.
Fans may weary of Schaeffer’s platitudes — “We’ve got to do better” and “These boys never quit” — and his penchant for platooning, but it is certainly better than Giants manager Tony Vitello’s comments after the Rockies defeated the Giants. “It had more the feel of a lower level, a junior-college game as opposed to a big-league game, with how some of the things transpired,” Vitello said. “And I was a JUCO guy, so I’m not disrespecting junior college.” Then he added, “I mean, people paid money to sit through that.”
Warren Schaeffer would never say that about his players — and over the last two seasons, he has managed some pretty awful games. Good for him. He’s teaching young players, not publicly castigating them for failure.
Also, note his comments about Veen here: “He plays without fear.” The entire team does, regardless of the record.
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Obviously — as in very obviously — the Rockies need to address their starting pitching, or none of this matters. That’s a conversation for the offseason.
In the meantime, a baseball team needs a spark, and for the Rockies, that comes from Veen and Carrigg who are very unlike their more modest Rockies forebears.
That’s a good thing because Major League Baseball has not taken the Rockies seriously for a while. But those days are over.
I realize the Rockies next big project is not losing 100 games in 2026. This is, I know, a goes-without-saying standard for most teams, and games like last night’s drubbing by the Dodgers are reminders to everyone of the long road ahead — and the ninth-inning mini-rally illustrates the point that this team doesn’t quit. Still, for the historically bad 2025 Rockies staying under 100 losses this season would mark a sea change.
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But I’d like to finish where I started, and that’s with Zac Veen.
I don’t know if you caught the postgame interview on Sunday, but here it is — and if you missed it then, I’d urge you watch it before reading on.
Here’s the thing about Zac Veen: He really likes to let his playing speak for him, and he’s not big on interviews. I mean, he does them, and he’s polite, and he answers all the questions he’s asked, but his true self comes through when he’s playing baseball, not when he’s answering questions.
Look at what happens here: Brett Sullivan does most of the talking while Veen provides the commentary — and it’s perfect. This arrangement suits everyone, including Rockies fans.
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MLB, you’ve been warned: The Colorado Rockies may be in a rebuild, and they’re still figuring things out, but the foundation is in place on the position player side.
Turns out, MLB, the joke’s on you.
This week on the internet
Ryan Spilborgh’s look back in the day caught the attention of the internet this week:
We think it works, but your mileage may vary.
‘Fearless’ Zac Veen returns to Coors Field ready to attack second Rockies stint | Denver Gazette ($)
Veen discusses being back in Denver with the Rockies as well as the hot start he’s had since rejoining the team. Oh, and someone alert the Coors Field fountains given Veen’s tendency to hit splash balls: “I do love water, being from Florida, so I did have my eye on it at both places,” he said. When someone pointed out the water feature at Coors Field, Veen said, “I did see that this afternoon.”
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2026 MLB Power Rankings: One Player To Watch On Every Team Down The Stretch | Fox Sports
Rowan Kavner’s choice for the Rockies may surprise you.
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