As the rest of Colorado sports keep rolling, Rockies getting left in the dust

The Rockies and the rest of MLB started spring training this past weekend.

Did you care? Or better yet, did you even know?

Colorado’s forgettable 2022 season ended on Oct. 5 with a 6-1 loss to the Dodgers. It wrapped up a 68-94 campaign that generated almost no interest on the Denver sports scene. The Avalanche won the Stanley Cup, the Nuggets crowned a back-to-back MVP, the Broncos traded for Russell Wilson and the CU Buffs hired Coach Prime.

A lot more happened with all four of those teams, and a lot continues to happen, but they dominated the sports news cycle across the Rocky Mountain Region. The team named for those very mountains barely registered a blip on the radar.

Seriously, what’s happened over the last five months with the Rockies that’s been newsworthy? Connor Joe got traded. Todd Helton barely missed the Hall of Fame. Manager Bud Black was given a contract extension. Oh, and the future of the games being on cable television looks bleak.

What an offseason!

While other teams around baseball handed out big contracts and made exciting moves, Rockies owner Dick Monfort told fans with a straight face he thinks the team can play .500 baseball in 2023. That generated the most chatter of anything surrounding Colorado’s baseball team, capping a very underwhelming offseason.

And fans have choices about who or what they want to invest their time into. Even if you’re a die-hard fan of every single team in the state, why do the Rockies deserve an ounce of your attention? Or any of your hard-earned money? They didn’t do anything to improve their product this offseason, so why should fans think anything will be different?

Rocktober 2007, a playoff run in 2009 and postseason teams in 2017 and 2018 can only keep folks engaged for so long. All the best players from those squads are gone. The boys from the World Series team are long since retired, while Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story, DJ LeMahieu and more wear different jerseys.

For the first time since Major League Baseball entered our state 30 years ago, the Rockies are on the verge of getting left in the dust. I used to be a passionate fan, counting down until Opening Day. I can honestly say entering 2023 that I don’t really care. And I work in sports media. If that’s the case for me, how does an average fan with a lot more going on in their daily life feel?

It’s nothing personal against the players, but the Rockies simply don’t have the talent to compete. GM Bill Schmidt might as well have vacationed the last several months, because I’m not sure what he got done.

We all know how this year will play out. The Dodgers, Padres and Giants will be good while the Diamondbacks are anyone’s guess. That leaves the Rockies to finish either fourth or fifth in the NL West, something they’ve done so many times already in their frustrating existence.

Meanwhile, the Avalanche could win another Stanley Cup. The Nuggets are chasing their first NBA Title in franchise history. The Broncos traded for a coach with a Super Bowl ring. And the CU Buffs football team is the most relevant it’s been in two decades.

Fans have options, and unless baseball is the only sport they care about, that energy and attention won’t go toward the Rockies. And if the games might not be on cable in 2023? Forget about it. Coors Field will remain nothing more than a great spot to party. Sadly, it’s been that way more often than not over the last 28 years.

Solutions are hard to come by for complex problems, but this one might not be that complex. The day Monfort sells the team is the day the Rockies will have a chance again. Until then, they’re getting left behind, and another mundane season will come and go with barely a whisper.

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