The Rockies have lost a franchise-record 104 games, but who’s counting? Not the players or the manager. At least that’s what they say.
They also say that the club’s brush with baseball infamy has not been discussed, at least not as a group.
“Zero,” interim manager Warren Schaeffer said on Sunday when asked how many times he talked to his players about the mountain of losses.
Added veteran left-hander Kyle Freeland: “This MLB record for losses? Sniffing it and being on pace for it and all of that? For us, it’s out of sight, out of mind.”
The Rockies entered Tuesday night’s game against the Dodgers in Los Angeles with a 40-104 record after nearly getting no-hit on Monday night. With 18 games remaining, Colorado was on pace to finish 45-117, tied with 1916 Philadelphia Athletics for the fourth-most losses in the modern era.
At the 50-game mark, the Rockies were 8-42 and on pace to lose 136 games, which would have blown away the 2024 White Sox modern-era record of 121 losses. Even then, the team never discussed its place in baseball history, according to center fielder Brenton Doyle.
“We didn’t talk about it,” Doyle said. “We are trying to stay pretty positive around here, as best we can. Talking about winning is more of a priority for us than losing.”
Freeland, who has long been a spokesman for the team, said he was aware that earlier in the season, the Rockies were writing a negative chapter in baseball history.
“I knew we were on pace at one point, but honestly, that stopped a while ago,” he said, adding that he never addressed the team about the subject.
“If you are talking about that as a team, about avoiding a bad MLB record, you’re in the wrong mindset,” he continued. “So our mindset is improving ourselves, getting better, working with our new coaching staff, and trying to get to where we want to be. That’s winning baseball games on a consistent basis. If you are thinking about losing, you’re going to lose.”
Doyle said that while he was aware of the Rockies’ place in history, he made a conscious decision to push it into the background.
“Of course, you see it; you see it in the media,” he said. “But it’s not like we are going out there pressured not to have the worst record, or (stay ahead) of the White Sox.”
The national media have already zeroed in on the Rockies, and as their season nears its end, the Rockies are likely to attract more attention. Could that put a chip on some shoulders in the Colorado clubhouse?
“I’m sure some guys use it as fuel; you definitely could,” Doyle said. “I think a lot of us are focused on ourselves and our clubhouse, not thinking about something another team did. The second half has been much better for us, and I think we have been putting more emphasis on playing a good brand of baseball and believing in us.”
Freeland agreed with Doyle that the negative coverage has rubbed some players the wrong way.
“A little bit,” he said. “Everyone knows our record, and I understand that you (reporters) have a job to do, to write about what could potentially happen and what is happening. We have to respect that. But it’s not something we want to hear. We don’t want to be a part of that. We want to be winning, and we want to be in the hunt for the playoffs. We’re obviously not there, but that’s our focus. It has to be.”
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