Banter From The Bench: Germán Márquez doubles confidence with second bobblehead

As strange as it may sound, Germán Márquez is already in his seventh season with the Colorado Rockies and is still just 27 years old.

It may also come as a surprise to realize that he’s the third-longest tenured member of the active roster behind only Charlie Blackmon and Carlos Estévez.

Last season, Márquez had a 5.56 ERA through his first nine starts. Then, he ripped off nine outstanding performances of 6 or more innings with two or less earned up runs in his next ten outings.

Included during that stretch were a pair of no-hit bids in back-to-back starts.

On June 23, he didn’t surrender his first hit until the sixth-inning on the road against the Seattle Mariners.

“I thought with 10 outs left that it might happen,” Bud Black said of the potential no-hitter.

Well, in his next time out, it nearly did.

Going into the ninth-inning of his June 30 start, only three outs away from joining Ubaldo Jiménez as the only Rockie to ever throw a no-hitter and becoming the first to do it at Coors Field, a single by Pirates’ left fielder Ka’ai Tom erased Germán’s dance with destiny.  

With those consecutive outings giving him even more national recognition, Márquez became a first time All-Star and only the sixth Rockies’ starting pitcher to represent the organization in the Midsummer Classic.

Unfortunately, the Venezuela born right-hander has been unable to pick up where he left off in 2022. Amongst the 60 who qualify for the ERA title – a pitcher needs to average one inning per team game played – Márquez has the second-worst earned run average for a starter.

Though his 2022 has produced just four quality starts – six or more innings pitched and three or more earned runs allowed – two of those have come in his last two times on the bump.

Both of those starts performances were on the road and against a pair of National League West rivals poised to make the postseason.

Can this year mirror last year with the rough start and subsequent rebound thanks to ace-like abilities?

Saturday’s game against the San Diego Padres could do even more wonders for a man with the highest ceiling amongst Colorado’s rotation. 

Patrick Lyons: I don’t know if you’ve gotten into hockey or not, but have you enjoyed seeing the Colorado Avalanche make it this deep into the playoffs?

Germán Márquez: Yes. You have to support your city or community. I’m so happy for them to be in the Stanley Cup Final. I wish them the best. I hope they win it. 

Lyons: Did you turn into a little bit of a hockey fan here recently?

Márquez: I haven’t gone to a game yet, but I hope to go next season.

Lyons: Back in Venezuela, I know baseball and basketball are two of the more popular sports there, right?

Márquez: Yeah, we do that a lot. But my hometown is a big soccer city. So we have a pretty good stadium there. And I liked basketball and soccer growing up.

Lyons: I just learned that Venezuela is the only country in South America that has never qualified for the World Cup.

Márquez:  They haven’t. No. I know. We’ve been close, but that is what it is. 

Lyons: That’s heartbreaking.

Márquez: We have a hard division. We play Brazil. We have Argentina, Chile. CONMEBOL is the hardest division.

Lyons: Well, I’d venture to say this rotation has been hard to crack right now with six starters since Ryan Feltner started showing his potential. Has that been a good thing for you guys?

Márquez: I like it. Competition is always good because we are working. We’re going out there to give it our best with the team.

Lyons: You’ve had back-to-back solid starts here. Are you beginning to feel like you have a little swagger back?

Márquez: Yeah, a little confidence. I needed it because I was battling a lot. But I feel a little better with everything. So, I’m gonna keep my plan and keep throwing some good games.

Lyons: Do you think having a bobblehead helps with that swagger?

#Rockies manager Bud Black blind-reacts to Germán Márquez's bobblehead (spoiler alert: he's kinda speechless) pic.twitter.com/mJLicAUhnU

— DNVR Rockies (@DNVR_Rockies) June 17, 2022

Márquez: That’s nice. (Saturday) is gonna be big day. 

Lyons: You just got to look at your bobblehead for the first time in that All-Star uniform. What did you think? Fair resemblance?

Márquez: I like it. It’s pretty nice. It looks like me. Yeah. 

Lyons: I guess everyone in your family knows what they’ll be getting from you over the holidays. 

Márquez: Ha ha. Yeah.