DENVER – On a recent episode of the BSN Rockies Podcast, Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Kyle Freeland, unprompted, spoke glowingly about a veteran player who had taken him “under his wing” helping to guide his mental progress at the MLB level.
That player, Ian Desmond, has spent much of the 2018 season becoming the poster child for the frustrations of a fanbase incensed at an admittedly disappointing beginning with the bats.
Usually concise and to the point when speaking about himself, I saw the mentor in Desmond come out when I asked him about Freeland’s most recent performance that included an all-out sprint in an attempt to beat out a ground ball.
Manager Bud Black intimated in the post-game press conference that Freeland may need to learn how to “pull back on the reigns a bit” but Desmond didn’t hesitate to get into some details.
“It’s a great part about him but at the same time, it’s a bad part about him,” he said of his pitcher’s hustle play. “I want him to pitch. That’s his best attribute is his pitching, not his speed. It’s great that he has a desire to get to first base and he wants to help the team offesnively, but at the same time, he’s got the ability to go the distance every time he’s on the mound. If he’s using all that energy sprinting around bases, it’s kind of a double-edged sword. I think there’s going to come a time in his career he realizes that pitching is the most important, and everything else is secondary.”
This is the way the game has always been. Desmond is a student, and a teacher, of the game.
Even when asked about the offense coming around at home, he was giving credit to the pitching, that’s how important he says it is.
“We’ve been feeding off our pitchers,” he says. “Our pitchers have been doing a great job. They’ve been pretty consistent all year long and they’re bringing a lot of energy and momentum on our side. It makes it easier to go out there and bat when they’re doing that.”
That’s not to say he never wants to see that kind of all-out effort from Freeland or anyone else who toes the rubber.
“Obviously, there’s a time and a place for everything,” he continued. “But when we’re up by five, six runs we don’t need him sprinting to first base trying to beat out a knock.”
Desmond understands that everything in this game requires the proper context to be fully understood. His .196/.248/.387 slashline is a fair indication of his struggles. But his nine home runs and 28 RBI—the latter of which ranks third on the Rockies, two ahead of Charlie Blackmon—also tell a story of a player who has found a way to contribute when it matters most.
Sure, some of that is circumstantial, but much of it is also the timing of his extra-base hits, most notably five of his home runs that were key in propelling wins.
But it was his sac fly in the eighth inning of a recent extra-frames win over the Giants that caught my eye.
He didn’t help his batting average or his wRC+ or any other personal stat. He just came through in the most important at-bat of the game to help his team win. There is a reason they call it a sacrifice.
“I think you just want to help your team,” he told me afterward. “That’s it. You just fight for your teammate, that’s what you want to do.”
Concise. To the point.
