There are two types of stories that all sports fans love: “Cinderella” team miracles and inspirational moments.
The 2007 Colorado Rockies have both.
Mike Coolbaugh was a 35-year-old coach in the Colorado farm system.
A former player, Coolbaugh had begun to find a niche coaching some of the Rockies’ raw talent, working exclusively with rookies and draft picks.
In a matter of two years, Coolbaugh had gone from a special instructor advisee to a third base coach for the Tulsa Drillers, the Rockies’ AA affiliate team.
Needless to say, the organization had high hopes for Coolbaugh, and his coaching future looked promising.
On July 22, that all changed.
Coolbaugh was coaching in the field when a line drive foul ball struck his neck. Doctors said this led to severe internal damage of the left vertebral artery, which caused an immediate hemorrhage.
In layman’s terms, he was dead on impact.
Despite the distance between Tulsa and Denver, the Rockies played all season with a heavy heart.
On the last day of the season, a game that the Rockies needed to win in order to advance to the playoffs, the players placed a #29 Drillers’ jersey in their dugout for inspiration and luck. Colorado defeated San Diego, 9-8, in 13 innings in typical Rockies’ fashion; they scored three runs in the final frame off normally impeccable closer, Trevor Hoffman, to win the wildcard and extend their season.
Following the game, the team gathered and made one of the most selfless decisions in the organization’s history.
In a private meeting, the team voted to distribute a significant share of its post season earnings to Amanda Coolbaugh, Mike Coolbaugh’s widow, and her family.
Upon hearing the team’s decision, Rockies’ general manager Dan O’Dowd told USA Today, “I almost cried.”
The Rockies’ incredible story, though, is far from just an emotional segment on “Oprah.”
No team remaining in the post season personifies a fighting spirit and the opportunity to be this year’s rags-to-riches tale quite like the Rockies, a team trademarked by bad investments, losing seasons and empty seats.
And that’s because Colorado has one outstanding characteristic since its inception in 1993: losing.
In fact, prior to the club’s playoff berth this season, the team had only made one post season appearance.
In 1995, Larry Walker led the Rockies to their first wining season, as the club snuck into the playoffs with 77 wins. There waiting for them was the National League East champion Atlanta Braves, who rudely greeted them with a 3-1 series loss.
But that’s old news now.
This season, Colorado has turned a corner. Led by MVP candidate Matt Holliday and grizzled veteran Todd Helton, the Rockies won an unprecedented 11 straight games (20-8 overall in September) on their way to a wildcard berth.
Based on the early results, “Rocktober” (as they call it in Denver) is just getting started.
Their most recent memory was a sold-out Coors Field crowd cheering their team in a decisive 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies, clinching the team’s first ever series victory and an unlikely trip to the National League Championship Series.
Not surprisingly, the Rockies came from behind yet again, scoring the game-winning run in the eighth inning with a pinch-hit single.
That hit came only a few hours after Coolbaugh’s sons, 3-year-old Jacob and 5-year-old Joseph, threw out the first pitch prior to the start of the game.
The players stood united in the front of the dugout, applauding with misty eyes, as the #29 jersey hung alone on the bench.
And the story continues in Colorado.
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