Charlie Blackmon's near cycle lets us in on why he just keeps getting better

 

DENVER – Charlie Blackmon was never touted as one of the best prospects in baseball or even one of the best in the Colorado Rockies system. Blackmon was a failed college pitcher and not only was he humbled by elbow problems but he remained humble despite being drafted in the second round and receiving honors for his career at Georgia Tech.

The candid, bearded and mullet-ed centerfielder is now one of the best players in baseball but the drive that it took a failed and overlooked college baseball pitcher to make the majors as an outfielder is the attitude that still persists though one of baseball’s pristine talents.

On Friday night Blackmon was a couple dozen feet from accomplishing something that had only been done 308 times in MLB history: a cycle. But when presented with the opportunity to stretch a single into a hustle double in a ten run game, Blackmon slammed the brakes.

“Why?” Many fans asked.

“Why?” Media asked Chuck.

The answer is the same answer to ‘how in the hell did Charlie Blackmon become one of the best players in the game after hitting the wrong side of 30?‘

Blackmon is unique, not only in his improvements at his age but in his approach, work ethic and the respect he has for the players that try as hard as he does.

“I knew what the situation was so when I hit it I was thinking double right away,” Blackmon said of his single which was 90 feet short of a cycle. “You know you have to have some respect for the game and that to me is not a situation where you try to stretch something into a double just for the sake of getting a double. This game is hard you have to have a lot of respect for it. I’m really trying hard and everyone is this league is trying hard.”

Blackmon is batting a blazing .323/.358/.608 on the season. But his wRC+ and wOBA are just negligibly higher than that of what he produced last year. To those who have been watching Blackmon—this—one of the best centerfielders in baseball, is what they’ve seen for the past two years.

“From the other side I had seen Charlie from his first couple years to now, there has been this vast growth,” manager Bud Black said. “You usually see that growth in the minor leagues where guys get better as they go through the minor leagues they get better then they get to the majors and maintain a level of performance but Charlie is one of those guys that has truly gotten better as a big leaguer and you don’t see that often.”

Blackmon’s WAR per season has shot from a negative 0.7 to a positive plus two in each of the 2014 and 2015 seasons. Then last season it jumped once more to above four and this season he’s already accumulated a 1.8 WAR, good for top 20 in the majors and best on his club.

“I think I’ve got more experience and I have the ability to make more adjustments and I’ve learned more about my body, my approach, and the league,” the rugged leadoff hitter said. “I think I continue to try to learn.”

This says a lot coming from someone who was awarded an All-Star appearance in just his first year as a full-time player in 2014.

“I think I’m a better player now than I was in 14,” Blackmon said. “In 14 I got hot real early, it’s different now.”

He’s right. It is different now. He’s gone from hot hitter to constant weapon from the one spot. There isn’t more than a 10 at bat stretch from an entire season where he isn’t producing. He may as well be the most valuable Rockie in his role as a table setter and captain of the outfield.

“A lot of it has to do with the experience I’ve been able to learn the last few years on how to make adjustments,” Blackmon said. “There is so much that goes on in this game that if you can pick up on something here or there it will have an effect on the field.”

The Rockies recognize his considerable growth and this can be seen in him being one of the only players that survived a rebuild.

“I think so. I think it’s all inclusive,” Blackmon thought if this was the best baseball he’s been a part of in Colorado. “You watch the game tonight and the first thing that stands out is how well Senza pitched and then wow how many double plays we turned and then we had a good play in left field and at first so our defense has been pretty good and we’ve been able to run the bases pretty well. I think we’re doing a little bit of everything and it’s adding up to some good baseball.”

But it comes back to Blackmon’s perspective, the one he carries from being doubted that still hangs as a chip on his shoulder.

“I’m thankful to be able to play the game a little bit later,” he said. “Some guys are almost done by the time I got into pro ball. I don’t think I would’ve made it if I was one of those guys that signed out of high school.”

“He’s getting to know himself as a hitter and a player and we talk about his preparation but it’s more about what he has to do during the course of an at-bat and he knows his strengths and he knows what he needs to do,” Black said. “He’s a great student during pregame of the opposition pitching. This is not happening from nowhere. He puts the work in. He’s a talented player but there’s a lot of work that goes on to give him the best possible advantage.”

Blackmon just keeps getting better and better and now, he might just be the best the Rockies have.