DENVER – Reboots are all the craze these days. Every movie in every cinema is a reboot. Clothes from the 1960s are enjoying a renaissance.
But none of this nostalgia stuff can hold a candle to the retro trip the baseball team from Denver is currently teasing their fanbase with.
The Colorado Rockies will bring back one of the most popular players in the history of their franchise, according to reports.
Matt Holliday, the player involved in probably the most famous play in the baseball history of this Dusty Old Cowtown, is back within the purpled walls of the organization.
Signed to a minor league deal on Saturday, it is unclear what, if any, long-term plans the Rockies have for Holliday. They nee right-hand power and if their former left-fielder can show some of that pop in a few at-bats on the farm, he could certainly earn a spot when the rosters expand in September.
Playing in Colorado from 2004-2009, he was a major driving force behind the run into the World Series in 2007, coming in second that year and MVP voting. He should have come in first.
One of the more interesting wrinkles to this story is that, should Holliday get such a call, he will be in a clubhouse with Carlos Gonzalez, the guy he was traded for in 2009.
Is Huston Street still looking for a gig?
He last played in 105 games for the New York Yankees in 2017, slashing .231/.316/.432 with 19 home runs and 64 RBI. That’s a far cry from his .299/.378/.511 career numbers, but it’s also a solid home run rate that could play well in a pinch-hit role.
At 38, it’s unlikely Holliday has a long runway of baseball in front of him. But who knows? Nolan Ryan played until he was 45. Manny Mota was approximately 78 when he made his last pinch-hit appearance for the Los Angeles Dodgers. (A joke, but maybe not that far off).
A lot of talented players already on the 40-man roster and have contributed to the big-league club over the last couple of years. One would have to believe that they are ahead of Holliday on any depth chart at this moment. The team also signed veteran Ryan Howard last season down the stretch and never called him up to MLB. It probably was a desperation stunt somewhat steeped in the publicity it might bring. Let’s hope this isn’t the same.
But all it takes is a few weeks of showing he can still hit to make things incredibly interesting. Guys with experience winning postseason games in Colorado are few and far between.
Either way, his return to the organization is likely to be a welcome sight for fans, even if he never pulls on that purple jersey again. Holliday has spoken in interviews before about possibly wanting to coach one day and it would be more than a beautiful piece of symmetry should he manage to do so (no pun intended) with the Rockies.
It’s been 11 years, but for some, it feels like just yesterday we were watching Matt Holliday hit towering home runs through the autumn Colorado air. And we may just get to see that one more time.
