‘You can’t be mailing it in right now’: How the Rockies are handling the worst start in MLB history
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Jesse Rogers
With seemingly every loss this season, the Colorado Rockies make headlines for a new level of futility: They have already set the modern mark for fewest wins (eight) in the first 50 games of a season and lost a record 22 consecutive series before sweeping the Miami Marlins this week.
But unlike most teams marching toward baseball infamy, Colorado’s roster isn’t made up of rookies and journeymen. Instead, it consists of some of the key players from the franchise’s last glory days.
They remember the good times. When Coors Field was packed, players were flying around the bases and the Rockies had just enough pitching to catapult them into the postseason.
It might seem like forever ago as Colorado barrels toward its third straight 100-loss season, but current pitchers German Marquez, Antonio Senzatela, Kyle Freeland and infielder Ryan McMahon were all part of the organization’s last playoff teams, in 2017 and 2018. Colorado won a combined 178 games over those two seasons.
Few could have imagined what would come seven years later: The Rockies are on pace to shatter the modern record for losses, set last year by the Chicago White Sox. They’re on pace to lose 130 games, which would be nine more than Chicago.
“You ask me back in 2017 or 2018, I would have said there is no chance that is happening,” Freeland told ESPN recently. “You realize how special those seasons are.”
Despite their record, the vibe in their clubhouse doesn’t feel all that different than any other team’s midway through the grind of a 162-game season. According to Rockies players, there is too much baseball left to give in to the negativity that surrounds all the losing. They also point to their increased competitiveness since making a managerial change early last month.
“The start of the year was tough, if we’re being honest about it,” injured reliever Austin Gomber said. “We weren’t very competitive. Since [interim manager Warren Schaeffer] has taken over we’re pretty much in every game. But it’s not going our way. It’s easier to keep the attitude positive. I know we’re competing every night. At the beginning of the year, that wasn’t the case.”
Freeland added: “You can’t be mailing it in right now or closing up shop. We have a lot of learning to do as a team, with a lot of young guys doing that learning. Us veterans have to keep the attitude of the team in the right spot.”
The Rockies’ struggles come down to this: They have given up the most runs per game while scoring the least. That latter is stunning, considering the hitting advantage they’ve enjoyed over the years playing at the big leagues’ highest elevation in Denver. Going into this season, the lowest the team ranked in scoring since Coors Field opened 30 years ago was 22nd, achieved last season.
The lack of production on either side of the ball has led to blowouts (they’ve lost 16 games by at least five runs) and heartbreaking losses (they’re just 6-11 in one-run games). “Some stick with you,” McMahon said. “We have guys that care and when you care, you carry it longer. But if you keep holding on to the night before, it’s not going to help today and it’s going to be a long season. You have to flush it.”
“You have to flush it” might become the team’s slogan as the organization is attempting to turn the page on its horrendous start, pointing to some improvements since the 40 year-old Schaeffer took over for 67-year-old Bud Black. After Black’s eight years and about six weeks at the helm in Colorado, the Rockies decided a change was needed.
“Buddy Black is a real good baseball guy,” general manager Bill Schmidt said. “It was probably time for a different voice.”
Schmidt was asked what gives him hope during such a wretched time for the franchise.
“We’ve been way more competitive lately,” he said. “We’re going to turn it around. I’m embarrassed by what’s transpired.”
After their numbers were boosted by the sweep of the Marlins, the team can point to a per-game run differential of minus 2.41 since Schaeffer took over, compared to minus 3.2 under Black — though their winning percentages are similar (.175 under Black to .227 since the change).
Black turned down an interview request for this story.
Like the White Sox last year, the Rockies aren’t focusing on the record for losses as they believe it’ll be a self-fulfilling prophecy if they do.
“If not being the worst team in baseball is our main focus, then we’re going to be the worst team in baseball,” Freeland said. “Our focus is ‘Let’s get better every day.’ That’s the lens. We have a new manager, new coaches, a lot of moving parts. But let’s focus on ourselves.”
Schaeffer, a career minor leaguer as a player, is learning on the job but has brought new energy to the dugout. He says he wants what every other manager desires from his players: accountability and the ability to master the fundamentals. Does he see improvement?
“I do,” he stated. “For sure. I feel like the competitive nature is there. Little by little we’re learning how to be in games and win. Not there yet. We have to execute late in games. That’s the next step.”
The past several weeks illustrate how both close and far the Rockies are from being respectable. Inability to execute — especially late in games — led to eight losses by two runs or fewer in a span of 12 games. It’s the kind of thing that will keep them on their record pace. That is, along with the blowouts, which still happen about once a week.
“We have like 100 games left,” Gomber said. “We can throw that record off by just a good two-week stretch. I’m confident that we’ll turn it around from that standpoint because just watching, I’ve seen us much more competitive every night. It’s going to turn.”
There’s some concern about the team’s young players learning in such a losing environment. They point to those veterans — particularly the players who were in Colorado during better times — as the reason the team is sticking together.
“We treat every day as a new day,” 26-year-old utilityman Tyler Freeman said. “It’s tough to look at the record right now. But everyone is working hard. We come in looking to win. The results haven’t shown, but we have to stay patient.
“If we take a look at the beginning of the year to now, it’s way different. I think we’ve turned a corner.”
Residing in the toughest division in baseball will only make it harder to avoid losing 120 games this season. Colorado is just 3-13 against the National League West with 36 games remaining against those opponents.
Amazingly, the Rockies are still drawing more than 26,000 fans per game — a testament to their loyalty and the fan experience at Coors Field. But what will the stands look like come September as the team winds down a potentially record-breaking season? One thing the clubhouse is unified on is how much the team has let those fans down. The Rockies have traveled a long way — in the wrong direction — since those back-to-back postseason appearances last decade.
“A lot of things have happened since then,” Senzatela said as he shook his head. “We have to stick together. Hopefully we’ll get back there.”
NEW YORK — Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber topped Mark McGwire for most home runs among a player’s first 1,000 hits, hitting long ball No. 319 during Friday night’s 12-5 victory over the New York Yankees.
“I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not,” Schwarber said.
Ten days after lifting the National League to victory in the first All-Star Game swing-off, Schwarber keeps going deep. He hit a pair of two-run homers Friday night, with the first drive, his milestone hit, starting the comeback from a 2-0 deficit. He got the ball back after it was grabbed by a Phillies fan attending with his friends in Yankee Stadium’s right-center-field seats.
“I saw it on the video and then I see the dude tugging,” Schwarber said. “I’m like: ‘Oh, they all got Philly stuff on.’ That was cool.”
He met the trio after the game, gave an autographed ball to each and exchanged hugs. When he went to get a third ball to autograph, one of the three said he just wanted the potential free agent to re-sign with the Phillies.
“You show up to the field every single day trying to get a win at the end of the day, and I think our fans kind of latch on to that, right?” Schwarber said. “It’s been fantastic these last 3½ years, four years now. The support that we get from our fans and it means a lot to me that, you know, that they attach themselves to our team.”
Schwarber tied it at 2-2 in the fifth against Will Warren when he hit a 413-foot drive on a first-pitch fastball.
After J.T. Realmuto‘s three-run homer off Luke Weaver built a 6-3 lead in a four-run seventh and the Yankees closed within a run in the bottom half, Schwarber sent an Ian Hamilton fastball 380 feet into the right-field seats.
Schwarber reached 1,000 hits with eight more homers than McGwire. Schwarber has 36 homers this year, three shy of major league leader Cal Raleigh, and six homers in seven games since he was voted All-Star MVP. He has 33 multihomer games.
“I don’t know where we’d be without him,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “Comes up with big hit after big hit after big hit. It’s just — it’s amazing.”
Schwarber, 32, is eligible for free agency this fall after completing a four-year, $79 million contract. He homered on all three of his swings in the All-Star Game tiebreaker, and when the second half began, Phillies managing partner John Middleton proclaimed: “We love him. We want to keep him.”
“He’s been an incredible force all season long,” Realmuto said. “What he’s meant to his team, his offense, it’s hard to put in words.”
A World Series champion for the 2016 Chicago Cubs, Schwarber has reached 35 homers in all four seasons with the Phillies. He’s batting .255 with 82 RBIs and a .960 OPS.
He also has almost as many home runs as singles (46).
Schwarber had not been aware he topped McGwire for most homers among 1,000 hits.
“I had no clue. I didn’t even know it was my 1,000th, to be honest with you,” he said.
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Jorge Castillo
NEW YORK — The Yankees on Friday acquired third baseman Ryan McMahon from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for minor league pitchers Griffin Herring and Josh Grosz, the teams announced.
The Yankees assumed the remainder of McMahon’s contract, which includes approximately $4.5 million for the rest of 2025 and $32 million over the next two seasons, a source told ESPN.
An All-Star last season, McMahon, 30, was batting .217 with 16 home runs, a .717 OPS and a National League-leading 127 strikeouts in 100 games for Colorado in 2025. After a dreadful start to the season through April, he has been significantly better, with a .246 batting average, 14 home runs and an .804 OPS. He hit home runs in the first two games after the All-Star break and another Tuesday. He is on pace to keep his four-year 20-homer streak alive.
Defensively, McMahon is a Gold Glove-caliber third baseman whose four Outs Above Average is third in the majors this season. He joins a Yankees club that has been marred by sloppy defense. On Wednesday, the Yankees committed four errors against the American East-leading Toronto Blue Jays.
“He has had some ups and downs offensively this year,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of McMahon. “I know, over the last month, he’s really swinging the bat well, but he’s a presence, and he can really defend over there at third and has for a number of years. So, we’re excited to get him.”
Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suarez, who began Friday with 36 home runs and an MLB-leading 86 RBIs, could be the best hitter moved before the July 31 trade deadline, but the Yankees were not particularly aggressive in pursuing him, a source told ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Though McMahon’s offensive production resulted in a 92 OPS+, which suggests he has been 8% worse than the average major league hitter this season, he’s still a significant offensive upgrade at third base for New York. The Yankees have had Oswald Peraza, one of the worst hitters in the majors, playing third base nearly every day since the club released DJ LeMahieu, another former Rockies player, earlier this month and moved Jazz Chisholm Jr. to second base.
Peraza, though a strong defender, is slashing .147/.208/.237 in 69 games this season. His 24 wRC+ ranks last among the 310 hitters with at least 160 plate appearances this season.
McMahon has played his first eight-plus seasons with the Rockies. They selected him in the second round of the 2013 draft. He debuted four years later and became a regular in 2019. By then, the Rockies were descending to the bottom of the NL West. This year, they’re 26-76 and could finish with the most losses in major league history.
He leaves that environment for New York’s pressure cooker and a club with World Series aspirations, a change the Yankees hope can help McMahon.
“Hopefully, the environment is a great thing for him, that he falls into that and doesn’t have to be the guy,” Boone said. “Go do your thing. Go find the role. But it’s our job — my job, staff, coaches, players — to make sure they’re welcomed and get them as comfortable as possible.”
The price for McMahon — and his team control over the next two seasons — was a pair of pitchers who have not reached Double-A.
Herring, 22, has a 1.71 ERA in 89⅓ innings across 16 starts between Low- and High-A this season. He was a sixth-round pick out of LSU in the 2024 draft.
Grosz, an 11th-round pick in 2023, had a 4.14 ERA in 87 innings over 16 games (15 starts) for High-A Hudson Valley this season.
With third base addressed, the Yankees will seek to acquire pitchers to bolster their rotation and bullpen. Luis Gil‘s return should help. The right-hander, who has been out all season because of a lat injury, made his third rehab start Wednesday. Boone said there’s “a good chance” Gil gets another start in the minors before making his season debut.
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