Well, the off-season is officially here.
At least for the Rockies.
The postseason just began and the Wild Card just finished, but we still have another 4 weeks left until the World Series wraps up.
Postseason baseball is easily the best time for baseball!
But during the off-season, the news tends to be quieter. So these newsletters tend to be shorter, but I’ll still be sending an email every Friday.
For anyone interested, here’s a high-level overview of what we can expect over the next few months from the MLB.
In October:
- Postseason baseball
- Arizona Fall League begins tomorrow
- We’ll see lots of nominations for awards like Gold Glove Award finalists, All-MLB Team, and Silver Slugger
- We’ll probably hear about some front office hirings and firings
In November:
- Awards are announced for the Gold Glove Award, All-MLB Team, and Silver Slugger
- More front office hirings and firings
- Player contract updates (because the World Series has ended)
- Arizona Fall League wraps up
- Winners of the All-Rookie Team are announced
- 40-man roster movements, in preparation for the Rule 5 Draft in December
In December:
- The MLB Collective Bargaining Agreement ends on December 1st, and we’ll hear all the news around the progress on a new deal (or lack of one)
- Rule 5 Draft is scheduled for December 9th
- We’ll hear some news around the MLB Winter Meetings that are scheduled between December 7th and December 9th
- More front office hirings and firings
And before we know it, Spring Training will be here in February!
Unless there’s a lockout.
But for now, let’s jump into the Rockies news from this past week.
Rockies Won 1 Game This Past Week
The Rockies were able to pull out one win during the final week of the season.
And it was a win against the White Sox, which made the Cleveland Guardians very happy (more on that story below).
But if anyone was looking for good news, the Rockies were 43-119 last season.
So the Rockies won 15 more games than last year.
But enough about this 104-loss season. Let’s move on to some other news.
Hunter Goodman Joins Short List of Catchers to Hit 40+ Home Runs in a Season
Hunter Goodman had a good year!
He ended the season with 41 home runs. His final 2 home runs of the season came during the game on Saturday, where the Rockies beat the White Sox.
With those 41 home runs, he now sits on a very short list of catchers to hit 40 home runs or more in a season.
Here is a breakdown of all the catchers to ever hit 40+ home runs in a season:
1) 60 – Cal Raleigh, 2025 Mariners (49 as catcher)
2) 48 – Salvador Perez, 2021 Royals (33 as catcher)
3) 45 – Johnny Bench, 1970 Reds (38 as catcher)
4) 43 – Javy Lopez, 2003 Braves (42 as catcher)
5-T) 41 – Hunter Goodman, 2026 Rockies (32 as catcher)
5-T) 41 – Todd Hundley, 1996 Mets (41 as catcher)
5-T) 41 – Roy Campanella, 1953 Dodgers (40 as catcher)
8-T) 40 – Mike Piazza, 1999 Mets (40 as catcher)
8-T) 40 – Mike Piazza, 1997 Dodgers (40 as catcher)
8-T) 40 – Johnny Bench, 1972 Reds (34 as catcher)
Pretty impressive milestone!
Cole Carrigg is the NL Rookie of the Month for September
Cole Carrigg had one heck of a month!
In September, he hit .327 with 6 home runs, 17 RBIs, and an OPS of .911.
And on Tuesday, Cole Carrigg was named the NL Rookie of the Month for September.
He is now the 10th Rockies player to ever be named NL Rookie of the Month.
And believe it or not, this is the 3rd time this year a Rockies player has won the NL Rookie of the Month.
TJ Rumfield won it twice this year – once in May and once in June.
The last time a team did this well with winning Rookie of the Month was when the Atlanta Braves won it 4 times in 2022.
Over 700 Cleveland Guardian Fans Donate $22,000 Because the Rockies Beat the White Sox
The Cleveland Guardians won their division and clinched a first-round bye in the playoffs.
And the Guardians’ first-round bye was locked in after the Rockies beat the White Sox on Saturday.
During that game, Hunter Goodman blasted two home runs. So the Cleveland Guardians reached out to the Rockies to find out what Hunter Goodman’s charity of choice was.
Then, the Cleveland Guardians posted this on X:
And the last news story I heard was that over 700 Cleveland Guardian fans donated $22,000 to Clothes to Kids of Denver.
Hopefully it’s more by now. But this was a really great way for the Rockies to end the season, and for Hunter Goodman to reach that 40+ home run milestone.
Zac Veen Named 2026 MVP for the Pacific Coast League
Zac Veen ended this season on the Rockies’ 40-man roster, but a majority of his season was on the Rockies’ Triple-A team, the Albuquerque Isotopes.
During his time in Triple-A, Zac Veen played 100 games, had a batting average of .327, hit 24 home runs, 87 RBIs, and 18 stolen bases.
And on Saturday, Zac Veen was named MVP for the Pacific Coast League.
In addition to being named MVP, Zac Veen was also named to the Pacific Coast League’s Post-Season All-Star team, along with his teammates Charlie Condon and Sterlin Thompson.
Congrats to Zac Veen!
Hunter Goodman, Jake McCarthy, & TJ Rumfield on Ballot for 2026 All-MLB Team
The All-MLB Team is an annual award that recognizes the top players at each position during the regular season, with both First Team and Second Team honors.
And this year, the Rockies have 3 players who are nominated!
Hunter Goodman, Jake McCarthy, and TJ Rumfield.
The MLB launched the ballot for the All-MLB team on Monday, and voting is open until 2pm ET on Friday, October 9th.
The winners will then be announced on Wednesday, November 11th, during the MLB Awards event.
Everyone gets one vote per day, so head on over to the ballot to cast your vote!
That wraps up this week’s newsletter! Hope everyone has a great week!
-Steve
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