SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Charlie Blackmon isn’t even supposed to be here. Not in the Rockies clubhouse for a 14th season. In the big leagues.
Blackmon was a middling relief pitcher at Georgia Tech, his career going nowhere lightning fast. He showed up for summer ball with one year of eligibility left and told manager Rusty Greer he was a two-way player.
He hadn’t hit since high school. He fibbed. He raked. And he hasn’t stopped since, his journey leaving him reflective as he enters what could be his final season in Colorado.
“Things could have been so different for me. I am very grateful. There’s a lot I have to give back because of it. I just don’t think it was a pure blind chance that I got the opportunities I did, and I had the success I had. Just divine intervention I think,” Blackmon said. “With all my success, I need to make sure that I have a good perspective of where it comes from and don’t screw up.”
Blackmon, 37, has become one the most popular and productive players in Rockies history. Nobody boos Charlie. It would be like booing Winnie The Pooh or a free meal at The Chophouse.
Blackmon began his pro career as a potential reserve outfielder with foot problems. He evolved into a hitter who is more consistent than a metronome, his career .296 average and .355 on base percentage as proof. There are constants with the Rockies, save for a few notable exceptions. They are going to lose more than they win, and Blackmon will swing with intent and intelligence, more apt to give away his ATM PIN number than an at-bat.
He is the oldest Rockie, a man who never complains, leading by example with every swing. While the contract surprised the industry, the Rockies signed Blackmon to a one-year, $13 million contract last summer. This is not a farewell season. Blackmon has no plans to retire.
“Plan A was always to stay here. I certainly give the Rockies a lot of credit for having interest to do something during the season,” Blackmon said. “Yeah, it was a one-year thing, but you never know what’s going to happen when you are coming back from injury. I was lucky to get back on the field, play well, and that gave me confidence I can do it again this year. I think I was productive and I feel good this year so I am not ready to say one way or the other, but I don’t see why I couldn’t keep going beyond this year.”
If a higher power put Blackmon on a path to the Rockies, a relentless work ethic and preparation kept him in the lineup.
But why is he here now?
Other than the homeless Oakland Athletics, no team is viewed more dimly than the Rockies. Betting odds place their win total around 60, leaving them in danger of delivering their second 100-loss season after posting the first in franchise history in 2023.
“Really, it would just mean more to have team success here than to go somewhere else and not really be part of it. The mission has been every year to get the Rockies into the postseason. It’s been that way for so long. That’s what I would like to do, get us back there,” Blackmon said. “(And) it definitely matters (to spend my entire career with the Rockies). This is a really good organization with good people and a great city. And we play in an amazing stadium. There’s just so much to like about it. And a big part for me is being around my teammates. I am sure I could have teammates in other places. But these are my teammates and I like them.”
Blackmon knows he will never replicate the 2017-18 seasons, when he won with peers he grew up with in the minor leagues. He has longtime teammates in Ryan McMahon, Brendan Rodgers and Kyle Freeland. They keep it “fun,” and blossoming players, like Ezequiel Tovar and Nolan Jones, keep him young.
“We all love the game,” Blackmon said. “That’s what brings us together.”
Blackmon is not viewed as a man in a rocking chair. He is expected to be a rock in the lineup, leading off as a designated hitter and part-time outfielder. He expects the Rockies to improve, but is not certain what it will look like, admitting that big jumps from young players could make the biggest difference since it falls outside of the purview of most projections.
The batter’s box brings Blackmon endless motivation. He relishes the confrontation with the pitcher. Blackmon in the batter’s box also brings fans joy, a pleasant diversion as they wail the lyrics to The Outfield’s “Your Love.”
“I love the song,” Blackmon said. “My ears pretty much don’t work when I hit. I feel (the crowd) more than I hear them.”
This season will test their loyalty, the Rockies attempting to regain their balance and develop some desperately needed pitching. Through it all, there remains one man standing who never thought he would be here. He is the bearded face of the franchise. He is Charlie Blackmon.
“I am committed to the look. I don’t like change, and I feel like I have had it for so long, changing it would be changing who I am,” Blackmon said. “I am not a big superstitious guy, but I don’t want to find out what it would be like without it.”
We all could say the same thing about him.
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