DNVR Exclusive: How Nolan Arenado's moment was experienced on-air by voices of the Colorado Rockies

For the 30,410 fans at Coors Field on Thursday night, it was a moment seared into their memory.

Nolan Arenado, the greatest player in Colorado Rockies’ 29-year history, came back to Denver as a visiting player for the first time since the collective heart of the city broke on February 1 with the announcement of his trade to the St. Louis Cardinals.

“I just took my helmet off and I just wanted to word to them, ‘Thank you. It means a lot.’ I know they appreciate what I did,” Arenado said the day after his standing ovation between rounds of batting practice. “That was pretty cool to see that.”

It was the type of response the likes of which hasn’t been seen since Troy Tulowitzki returned with the Toronto Blue Jays on June 27, 2016. 

Veteran manager Bud Black has witnessed this numerous time before since becoming a professional baseball player and eventual lifer back in 1979.

“I thought the crowd was very classy,” Black said of the moment preceding Arenado’s first at bat. “I thought the crowd was loud. I thought Nolan did a good job of working around the ballpark. I think everybody knew it was coming. It didn’t surprise me at all. Both sides. The crowd and Nolan.”

Yet, for hundreds of thousands of fans unable to physically lift from out their chair and feel the roar of the crowd, they viewed the moment on television or streamed the clip via social media, or listened live on radio to hear the moment. And it was still an experience, one delivered through the voices – and at times, silence – of the Colorado Rockies’ broadcasters.

How it was handled and delivered shared similarities, but the reasons why was different for each medium and each person through whom we consume the game.

Drew Goodman, AT&T SportsNet

“(Jeff Huson) and I have worked together for a while. We looked at each other and we knew we weren’t going to say anything. We work in a visual medium. It’s probably different for Jack (Corrigan) and Mike (Rice). So, what am I going to add? That needs to sit by itself. Less is more.”

Mike Rice, KOA Radio

“We really didn’t plan anything out. With the experience level that Jack has and (Executive Producer) Jesse (Thomas) has and hopefully I have too, you sort of know it’s a storyline. Right? Because of everything that happened in the offseason.”

“I was really letting Jack have that moment. I thought he did a great job with it. On one hand, he described what was going on and captured the emotion of it. On the other hand, you have to let it breathe a little bit. You have to let people feel that crowd. You have to let people experience that energy. I thought Elias Díaz did a great job with that. Lance Barksdale, the umpire, behind the plate did a great job with that. And I think Nolan felt that, too. I thought Jack did a great job of capturing that moment. I thought it was just right. I thought everybody handled it really well.”

Jenny Cavnar, AT&T SportsNet

“Being a fan favorite and having someone return like that, you always want to make sure what we’re doing is for the fans. When Tulowitzki returned, there were a lot of fans excited to see him back. Same with a lot of players from the past.”

“It was just one of those moments where fans didn’t get to say goodbye to Nolan. There were no fans in the ballpark last year. Nolan didn’t get to say goodbye to fans. We knew there would be a moment that would be felt emotionally and I think we saw that. We didn’t know if it would be before the game, in his first at bat, if he’d make a sick play in the field and how it would come about, but we knew there would be that moment.”

“Sitting out in the outfield getting ready for the pregame show, as soon as he ran out of the dugout. Just to hear that eruption of fans. It was really neat to see the reception.”

“I thought it was really classy of Nolan to give the moment back to all the fans. To really say thank you to every single part of the ballpark. I think it was closure.”

Jack Corrigan, KOA Radio

“Some of it is having some understanding doing this job for a lot of years, it was a chance for the fans to recognize a player. Especially when a transaction happens in the offseason and fans – whether they’re at Coors Field or listening – missed out on that chance. Talking with Buddy, I knew there would plans and Nolan would (get his moment). This is for you, Nolan. Let the crowd say what they’re going to say to you and you can respond.”

“From a broadcasters perspective, it’s the Vin Scully rule: sometimes 10 seconds of just a crowd cheering isn’t the worst thing in the world.”

“I always think back to when Vin did Henry Aaron’s home run that broke Babe Ruth’s record. After he made the initial description of that, he cut off his microphone, took off his headset and stood in the back of the booth just so he wouldn’t be tempted to say anything. While I wasn’t going to do something like that, it was still that same idea. The moment, even just orally, is very impactful. Let that be the storyline.”