@MarkKnudson41
The Colorado Rockies and the Arizona Diamondbacks are living together at the basement of the National League West, staring out the window at the three potential play-off teams in their division that each seem to be light years ahead of them…and pulling away. It’s more than a little bit frustrating for the fans of both teams.
These two teams are both 1990’s expansion franchises that have had some success – Arizona more so than Colorado – and even share a spectacular Spring Training site. They’re like cousins and archrivals at the same time. But they have very different philosophies on some very key points as they try to somehow, someway, climb back into contention.
Neither the Rockies nor the DBacks are in huge markets that can command enormous local media rights fees. Therefore, they don’t have the budgets of the Dodgers, Giants or even the Padres. Each has determined that future success will be determined largely by their ability to draft and develop their own young talent, as opposed to spending big on free agents.
At least that’s the company line. One cousin isn’t sticking to the script as well as the other.
The Diamondbacks are in a full on rebuild mode and appear to be willing to take some lumps along the way as their young players develop. They may not openly use the “R” word, but their actions make it pretty clear that’s what’s happening. There’s plenty of evidence to support this approach.
The Rockies on the other hand, well…they say they are all about building through the farm system, then they go out and sign former MVP Kris Bryant to a huge mega contract this past off season. That’s not what rebuilding teams do, is it?
The truth is, the Rockies do not appear willing to commit full bore to a rebuild, like the DBacks are doing. That’s because the last time they did, they suffered at the gate. And that’s not something Rockies ownership appears ready to live with again.
Back in the early 2000’s, after the heyday of the Blake Street Bombers had come and gone, and Larry Walker was on the downside, the Rockies began a rebuild project that would ultimately get them their only World Series berth in 2007. During the years leading up to that amazing “Rocktober” run, the Rockies, dubbed “Todd (Helton) and the Toddlers” marketed “Generation R” as the next successful wave of Colorado baseball talent. The problem wasn’t that it didn’t pan out, because for the most part, it did. The problem was that it took so long.
It was the only period in their history in which fan interest waned and attendance dipped significantly.
After drawing 3.8 million fans in 1996, a steady decline on the field and in the stands began. By 2000 total attendance was down to 3.2 mil. Then in 2002, it dipped under two million, at 2.7. By 2005, the Rockies drew fewer than two million for the first (and only) time in franchise history, coming in at just 1.9 million for the (full) season.
Colorado fans didn’t turn out as well for “rebuilding” baseball.
They were back to 2.3 mil by the time they made their only World Series run, but ownership had gotten the message. Rebuilding doesn’t sell tickets.
So here they are today, stuck between needing to rebuild with young players, and needing to keep fans interested by acting like contenders.
They’ve been described as an organization stuck on a hamster wheel.
In recent years, other teams have gone full on rebuild and survived, including the Houston Astros, who went from winning 51 games in 2013 to World Champs in 2017. In their case, “tanking” – the catch phrase for a full on rebuilding job – worked. In a shorter amount of time. The franchise made it through those lean seasons on the field, even though they drew just 1.6 million in 2013 before growing that to almost three million in 2018, when they returned to the World Series.
The questions now are: Will the Diamondbacks rebuild be as successful as the Astros? Or will the Rockies current approach keep them on the fringe of contention every few seasons so the turnstiles don’t dip?
Most importantly, which franchise returns to contender status first?
Stay tuned.
Be sure to catch Mark Knudson and Manny Randhawa on the Park Adjusted Rockies Podcast each week, available on all major Podcast platforms.