Rockies play-by-play announcer attributes slow start to strength of schedule

It’s no secret that the Colorado Rockies have gotten off to the worst start in the history of the modern era this year. Baseball’s worst team can’t get consistency from its starting pitching staff and has posted the league’s worst batting average and fielding percentage as a team through the first 62 games en route to a 12-50 start.

Yes, the team has a low payroll, has battled injuries and just doesn’t have that talented of a roster compared to some of the World Series contenders, but the schedule has been a big disadvantage to the Rockies. As of Friday afternoon, the Rockies have played the fourth-toughest schedule in the league, and are heading into yet another series against the New York Mets, who sit at 39-24 atop the NL East.

Colorado’s strength of schedule of .510 is only behind Cleveland (.515), Pittsburgh (.514) and Arizona (.513), per ESPN’s Relative Power Index. The club’s expected record is 13-49, good for a .213 win percentage that is way behind the second-to-last Athletics, who sit at .330. Colorado’s .431 RPI ranking is also good for dead-last in the league.

The voice of the Rockies on the radio, Jack Corrigan, also credited the Rockies strength of schedule as part of the reason to their early-season woes.

“They had the toughest strength of schedule,” Corrgian said in an interview on “The Dan Patrick Show” this week. “They played all the first and second place teams, so that was an immediate challenge for a team that’s in the process of trying to remake themselves.”

Corrigan has seen more Rockies baseball than almost anyone on the planet, from the pennant run in 2007 to the dark years of late, and knows a thing or two about the organization.

When the purple and black finally got a break in playing the Miami Marlins, who have one of the worst records in the National League, it was their best chance in forever to string together some wins, an opportunity that they capitalized on.

“When they played the Marlins the past three days, it was the first time in five weeks that they had played below .500. So they were able to match up a little better. It’s still going to be a challenge where they are talent-wise,” Corrigan said.

Corrigan, who has been the voice of the Rockies since 2002, also talked about the mentality it takes for a team to keep coming back to the diamond after all the struggles they’ve endured, comparing baseball to a long chapter book.

“Baseball is a 162-chapter book. All you do is worry about the chapter that night … You can be an awful team and you’re still gonna win 50-60 games,” Corrigan said. “So, you tell yourself ‘Oh, tonight’s the night we’re going to win,’ you get all excited to do it. Then, if you don’t win, you leave the ballpark feeling even better ’cause your odds just improved by a game that you’re still going to win 50 to 60.”

The only problem with that is that the Rockies might be shooting for 30-40 wins instead of the 50-60. However, the mentality is correct, and either team can win on any given night in baseball. It was seen with the Rockies taking down the Yankees one night at Coors Field a few weeks back.

It’s been a tough season for the Rockies, but the recent sweep over the Marlins provided a tiny, much-needed spark to a season to forget. They’re back in action at Coors Field on Friday night against Juan Soto and the Mets, with first pitch set for 6:40 p.m. MDT.

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