September is a great time of year. It’s MLB playoff race time. The Dodgers only have a 2.5-game lead over the Padres in the NL West. The Blue Jays are trying to fend off the Yankees to keep their hold on the AL East. The third AL Wild Card spot is looking to be a close race between the Mariners and Rangers with the Royals and Rays on the fringe.
The Giants, thanks to a home run hitting streak of epic proportions and a sweep of the Rockies, have begun to climb into the NL Wild Card race. It’s a fun
time of the season where games start to really count!
Unless you are a Colorado Rockies fan. Here, we are in the seventh straight season of games not mattering in June, let alone September.
With 21 games remaining, the Rockies have the distinguished honor of being the first MLB team to hit 100 losses in 2025. Most likely, the White Sox will be the only other team that won’t clear that low bar this season. Three more losses will guarantee the worst season in the organization’s history. Three more wins will help the Rockies avoid being the worst team in the MLB modern era.
Those are the kinds of races that aren’t as much fun to witness. Without playoff contention to look forward to, it’s hard to stay invested at times in the tail end of the season.
So I figured I would try something I hadn’t done at a Rockies game. I decided to go on Tuesday night and keep score – old school style with a scorecard and pencil. I’d only gone to two games so far this season, and even though I am mad at the Rockies front office for not fielding a better team, I still love them. I’ll still be sad when the season is over. So I decided to do it and to have a mission to make it more fun.
I thought it would be a good way to stay engaged for nine innings and could make things interesting. Plus, I would get to see Logan Webb face off against Kyle Freeland. Or so I thought (more on this later).
Baseball is the only sport where keeping score is a serious fan activity. At every MLB game, you can bet there are at least a handful of fans with a scorecard and pencil, possibly listening to the game on the radio in addition to sitting in the stands. It’s one of the weird quirks of baseball. As a proud nerd, it’s one of the things I love about the game.
My mom used to keep score at baseball games as a job when she was younger and she taught me how to do it. That came in handy when I worked as a sports reporter for small newspapers in Colorado and California. Most of the time, I covered high school baseball games where there was no communications team keeping score and generating stats. I had to keep score and do it accurately to have stats in my articles.
It seemed like this would be a good chance to find a scorecard (I found one in my 2024 Colorado Rockies Media Guide), sharpen some pencils and go check out a game.
Here are the five lessons I learned:
1. Just Do It
Keeping score was fun. It kept me engaged. I chatted about the game (mostly trying to figure out what was happening with the brawl) with my section neighbors. I had a great time. If you haven’t kept score before, you should try it. It’s low stakes and it’s fun to be part of the game’s traditions. If you need a guide, former Purple Row writer Andrew Martin posted this guide back in 2009. If you have done it, but it’s been a while, I recommend giving it another go.
2. Expect the Unexpected
Just as I got my lineups set and was feeling good about my ability to recover the art of scoring a game, the dugouts cleared in a massive brawl. The next thing I knew, three players were ejected. First, I learned I don’t know how to score that except for just drawing a line through their names. I did this happily as I was mad at Freeland, who should be used to giving up homers at this point and doesn’t really have any room to feel disrespected, get ejected and subject money-paying fans to a bullpen game against the Giants. I was worried I would run out of spaces for pitchers, but luckily, Antonio Senzatela made it 4 2/3 innings. Now, I have a system for ejections.
3. Have an Eraser
Relearning how to do things, accidentally tallying marks in the wrong inning, having to change overturned/challenged plays and more, I made a lot of mistakes. I was really glad to have a good eraser. I am also sure I didn’t do it all correctly, but I figured it was kind of like taking notes. It was just for me, so as long as it makes sense to me, that’s all that matters.
4. Try to Stay Focused
This exercise taught me that my attention span is shot. It’s always been hard to record each pitch of a game, especially when you know you can find all the information you could ever want on your phone, but I have to admit that it was a constant battle to stay engaged. I can blame the Rockies not being competitive, but it’s also a symptom of our bombarded environments that have shortened by brain’s ability to focus for long periods of time. This makes me want to keep score more often to sharpen this skill.
5. Keep Score at a Bark at the Park Game
When the Rockies are losing and vying for worst-team-in-history accolades, having cute dogs on the big screen and on the concourses was a lovely bonus. I really appreciate the dogs who are down to sit with 18,934 people (now that I think about it, I wonder if this attendance number included the dogs) and not freak out. The best part of the night was definitely the Simba Cam when people lifted up their furry friends, large and small, into the air like Rafiki on Pride Rock. I also might blame some of the dogs for my missing a few balls and strikes, but it was a very welcome distraction.
If anyone keeps score, please share why you do it and what you like about it below. If you haven’t, definitely give it a shot!
On the Farm
Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes 10, Round Rock Express 6
Keston Hiura, Zac Veen and Aaron Schunk all hit solo homers, Adael Amador recorded three hits, including a double, and drove in three runs and Hiura and Schunk also both had three-hit nights.
Midway through the fifth inning, Round Rock was up 6-4 before the Isotopes rallied to take a 7-6 lead in the seventh and add three insurance runs in the eighth. Everyone on the Isotope roster recorded at least one hit on their way to totalling 17.
Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats 4, Reading Fightin Phils 1
Michael Prosecky recorded six strikeouts in four scoreless innings, despite giving up four hits and walking four more, Victor Juarez added three solid innings, giving up only one run on three hits with one strikeout for the hold and Austin Smith threw a perfect ninth for the save for Hartford. Juan Guerrero and Charlie Condon each hit RBI singles, and the Yard Goats scored another run on an error and another on a wild pitch for the win on Thursday.
Guerrero recorded three hits on the night, Dyan Jorge added two hits and Roc Riggio doubled and scored a run.
High-A: Eugene Emeralds 3, Spokane Indians 0
The Emeralds held Spokane to two hits – singles by Ethan Hedges and Skyler Messinger – for a shutout win Thursday. Josh Grosz gave up two runs in the first inning, but bounced back with five scoreless frames for a quality start with seven hits, three walks and three strikeouts.
Low-A: Fresno Grizzlies 7, Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 1
Wilder Dalis hit a two-run homer, Alan Espinal hit a two-run single and a pair of RBI doubles to help the Grizzlies add another win to their playoff-bound record on Thursday. Royneir Hernandez posted two hits, including a double, and scored two runs and Ethan Holliday walked twice and scored a run. Jackson Cox earned his fourth win of the season after pitching six solid innings, giving up one run on two hits and two walks with six strikeouts. Ismael Luciano earned a three-inning save, his first of the season, after holding the Quakes scoreless with two hits and five strikeouts.
Rockies fan turns frustration into fashion with ‘Purple Purgatory’ brand | 9news.com
Colorado Rockies fan Danny DePrez has started his own online clothing brand that symbolizes the Rockies status for the last three seasons, or even more: Purple Purgatory. It’s pretty brilliant and the gear is funny. Shirts say “Purple Purgatory, Colorado Baseball Lowered Expectations,” “Altitude Adjusted Expectations” and “Warning: Thin Air & Thin Bullpen.” Purplepurgatory.com is definitely worth a visit.
MLB 2025: All of the ways the Colorado Rockies have lost games | ESPN.com
David Schoenfield dives into various Rockies over the season. In their 100 losses, Schoenfield breaks them into 17 categories in this long piece. I don’t need to go down this losing memory lane, but it’s an interesting concept.
1 player from each team with lots to prove down the stretch | MLB.com
I think there could be a lot of Rockies in this category in terms of the future. Thomas Harding picked Antonio Senzatela. Having moved to the bullpen, but still signed through next season for $12, Senzatela needs to finish strong to better his standing on the squad.
Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!
