Opening Day is a very special day, especially for the home team. On April 3, 2020, the Colorado Rockies would have played the San Diego Padres for the Rockies’ home opener. Sadly, the severity of the coronavirus pandemic prevented that from happening. However, since the Colorado Rockies social media team are amazing, they came up with a way to improvise. Boss of Rockies social media Julian Valentin and his coworkers decided to string together a series of the best Rockies opening day innings in team history.
What made it extra special is they did it for an excellent cause. While they were live streaming the innings, they encouraged viewers to donate to the Food Bank of the Rockies. In my humble opinion, that’s a double formula for bringing optimism to the day. Not only do people get to enjoy baseball content despite the season being postponed for multiple months due to the global pandemic, but a local organization and needy people in the area are getting support from kind people. People get to feel wonderful watching sports, and they get to feel wonderful lending a helping hand.
Something that really made me happy was the testimonial from Cory Sullivan. I didn’t get to know much about Cory since I only really started following baseball in 2007, and I paid little attention to who was on the roster for a long time. Hearing his happy, positivity-filled voice added to the excitement of the day.
One of my favorite moments was when Ryan Spilborghs described one of his favorite opening day moments. I am a major fan of Ryan Spilborghs. When I was thirteen years old, I got to have my photo taken with him. I remember it fondly. My siblings and I had our photos taken with him. I can’t remember if I wanted a solo photo with him or if my family suggested I have a solo photo with him. Either way, we go in for the solo photo, and it was a wonderful experience. I like to think of my upper arm as blessed by him. I also am so proud of him for finishing his University of California Santa Barbara degree! He also has a very kind, joyful voice.
I loved hearing Jenny Cavnar speak out on the updates on the score and the food bank donations. Jenny attended the same university I attended and I really am excited for her accomplishments in her broadcasting career. I like to think of Jenny as a beautiful, iconic broadcasting queen and I want only good things for her.
Later on in the game, I saw a segment where closer Jake McGee and his family gave their perspectives on working with the food bank. What was really cute was when Jake picked up his young daughter. It was a total daddy’s girl moment. I love daddy’s girl moments because I myself am a daddy’s girl, as my father and I have run Sunday errands together for years.
I loved the inning testimonials from the players, too! I loved seeing Charlie “Chuck Nazty” Blackmon describe his big 2014 home opener game performance with gusto. He seemed so happy to describe his day and that left a great impression on me. I felt so happy and it makes me feel as if he really appreciated the fans.
Trevor Story discussing how happy he was during his very first career game at Coors Field really made me happy. Words cannot describe how much I appreciate Trevor. He is an extremely talented shortstop, in my opinion, and he seems like a really nice person. I will never forget seeing him hit a home run in July 2016. Trevor is super amazing.
There’s just something about Nolan Arenado’s voice that makes me happy. He was discussing how much opening day means to him and his family. He sounds sweet as sugar and definitely someone you want to be around. Nolan is a classy, talented, joyful human. I am grateful he is part of the team and he definitely seems grateful to be playing the sport.
As a little girl, I idolized Jeff Francis. He is one of my favorite people to have ever played for the Colorado Rockies. Hearing him discuss pitching during Opening Day 2013, his last year with the Colorado Rockies, pinched my heart a little bit. I resonated with him when he said he missed baseball. I miss baseball, and hockey, and I hope that all the athletes are staying safe.
When Clint Barmes discussed the walk-off (last-minute) win for the home team in 2005, I got chills all over again. I had watched that game on the Rockies’ Facebook page and it gave me many, many emotions. It made me wish I was a fan back then, when I was in second grade. I also looked up to Clint when I was younger. I remember when Clint Barmes was an infielder and Clint Hurdle was the team manager. Clint-ception.
One of my absolute favorite parts was after the nine innings of regular gameplay, when Dante Bichette relived his 1995 14th inning walk-off win against New York. He recreated the swing and his fist pump from that day in his home, before the Rockies broadcasted the magical play.
It was a really amazing event. It was wonderful watching the big highlights, from Justin Morneau’s 2015 leadoff home run to Kyle Freeland’s Coors Field pitching debut. I also appreciated seeing small things, such as players hugging in the dugout and Nolan Arenado also patting San Diego Padres player Wil Myers on the back. Nolan being kind to his opponent is the kind of sportsmanship I strive to see.
I have three technological gripes. I was annoyed when the game paused and buffered and I had to refresh, making me miss some amazing moments. I also was a little irritated that whenever I did refresh, it was automatically muted and I had to unmute. Technology can sometimes be a little annoying, however, so I decided to just cope and enjoy the beautiful moments of the innings.
I also was bummed I couldn’t see the Larry Walker mini documentary after the game like I had hoped, but I’m still so happy Larry got into the hall. Side note, the final score was Rockies 28, all the visiting teams from each of the games played 0. Four days’ worth of Rockies taco specials (seven runs for a $1.00 four-taco package is the Rockies taco special, fans call it “taco’s”).
Major props to Julian and his team. They deserve a major kudos for this beautiful project!
*EDIT 12/16/2020* Global pandemic has been used to replace a previous term
Elephants & Extra Base Hits 