Between fans, family and media, the entirety of the baseball world has descended upon Coors Field this week to celebrate the sport we love and embrace the abilities of those who play the game.
For all the men and women on the field, there’s a story behind how that person got to where they are today. A struggle and a perseverance. For every anecdote is an antic resulting in belly laughs.
For those fans in the Rocky Mountain, the tales of the Colorado Rockies are familiar.
Vinny Castilla, organization ambassador and manager of the National League in the Futures Game; LaTroy Hawkins, 2007 NL Championship ring holder and Minnesota Twins representative at the MLB Draft; Todd Helton, the franchise and Celebrity Softball Game participant.
All contributed to the festivities in Denver.
One man participating in the events this week that has largely been overlooked is Garvin Alston.
As the pitching coach for the San Francisco Giants’ Triple-A affiliate Sacramento River Cats, Alston pulls from his nearly two decades of coaching experience with the Oakland Athletics, Arizona Diamondbacks and Minnesota Twins, becoming the team’s first African-American pitching coach in 2018.
It was this experience that allowed him to help Houston Astros’ Ryan Pressley during their time together with the Twins, developing the veteran reliever into a two-time All-Star in his 30’s.
Even more remarkable about this baseball lifer is that Alston is an alumni of the purple and black. It lasted all of six games and six innings. Not to mention one win.
Among players no longer active, Alston is one of just 10 Rockies to have registered exactly one career win.
He debuted in Houston on June 6, 1996, pitched at Coors Field two weeks later on June 18 against Montreál and was sent down shortly after. He’d never appear in a major league again.
On Sunday, he returned as a coach in the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Games to the place where he retired two Astros’ in the eighth inning of a game on June 11.
“First and foremost, being here and being back in Colorado is everything to me,” shared the 49-year-old from Mount Vernon, NY. I love this organization, everything about them. They gave me my start. My first and only win here.”
Life is short and so are many MLB careers. But thanks to clubhouse attendants working dutifully to secure memorabilia for their players, many are lucky enough to take home their first career home run or strikeout ball mere hours after putting themself in baseball’s official registry.
Unfortunately for Alston, he wasn’t quite as fortunate.
“I remember after the game was over, Trenidad Hubbard took the game winning ball and threw it into center field,” he said with a cavalier smirk. “I was never able to retrieve the ball. That’s the one thing that sticks out in my head.”
Though it’s a far cry from having the baseball from his biggest moment in The Show, Alston is fairly compensated by his former teammate.
“The last time I saw him was in Vero Beach. And he had to pay for my dinner for throwing that ball out there.”
