After debuting out of relative prospect anonymity to hit two home runs to open the 2016 season, to becoming the youngest shortstop to ever to hit 100 in their career, to becoming the face of the franchise in 2021, Trevor Story’s reign with the Colorado Rockies may be coming to an end.
Story will become a free agent this offseason and though the Rockies can give him a qualifying offer to stay another year for upwards of $18 million, even more greener pastures may lie ahead for the 28-year-old shortstop.
A down season of production – at least for a player with his pedigree – and three other high-profile free agents at his position make for a tricky situation for Story and his agent.
“My numbers over the past six years kind of speak for themselves,” Story said to a group of reporters on Tuesday ahead of the penultimate home game of the 2021 slate. “I honestly feel that I haven’t played my best ball. Yeah, I think that’s ahead of me. I know that consistency is ahead of me. That’s what excites me and the prospect of winning is what’s always driven me.”
During the game, he gave fans another memory by hammering an 0-1 slider off Patrick Corbin into the centerfield bleachers for his 24th home run of the season.
“That was a good one to happen tonight,” Story said of his 95th dinger in front of a home crowd. “The fans are always cool. They’re always high-energy and have a great atmosphere.”
Then on Wednesday, Story took the field at 1:09pm by himself in a gesture of respect by teammates and coaches before being joined by the remaining starting nine a minute later.
He produced four hits in four at bats, walked in his final plate appearance and scored three runs in front of the announced crowd of 20,613. (Maybe a thousand stuck around for all nine innings after the two-hour rain delay and following a temperature drop of 20 degrees from first pitch.)
After the game, the emotions of the day were visible on Story’s face.
“I think it was kind of what I was expecting,” said of the response from Rockies fans. “During the game, I’m pretty locked in trying to just compete and do my job, but at certain points in the game it kind of hit me that it could be my last game here at Coors. Also, when we’re (going around the ballpark) seeing the fans. That got me pretty good in the feels, too.”
So what does he represent to this franchise and its fans? Story links a generation of Rockies’ supporters to the Troy Tulowitzki era and sends the memory back to those wistful days of consecutive postseasons in 2017 and 2018.
His 157 career home runs are second-most for a shortstop in their first six seasons, trailing only Hall of Famer Ernie Banks with 183 home runs, and he trails only Todd Helton (7) and Dante Bichette (5) for most walk-off homers (4) in franchise history.
Come the day they unveil their own Colorado Rockies’ Hall of Fame, his plaque will display some impressive facts and figures: two-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger Award winner, 4th in 2016 Rookie of the Year voting, top 12 in NL MVP voting in three different years.
And maybe, the unexpected happens. Trevor Story returns for one more rodeo. Maybe?
“You don’t know what’s going to happen. I’ll emphasize that,” manager Bud Black said when asked about Story’s impending journey in free agency. “Whenever I think about the possibility, I immediately stop that thought because I don’t want to think about that.”
Most Rockies’ fans don’t want think about it either, Bud.
