When Ryan McMahon woke up the morning of Friday, July 25, he was the starting third baseman for the Colorado Rockies, the only major league organization he’d ever known in 12 years as a professional.

Before he went to bed that night, he was a New York Yankee.

Yes, the Yankees. Of Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio . . . Mickey, Yogi, the Captain, and now, Aaron Judge.

At the time the deal was made that landed the Rockies two 22-year-old pitchers, Colorado was a legitimate possibility to set the modern major league record for losses in a season (122 or more). 

New York, meanwhile, was struggling to hold on to the third and final Wild Card playoff spot.

Upon the end of the regular season last Sunday, The Rockies avoided the ignominy of 122 or more losses—if barely—finishing with a 43-119 record. 

Game 162 was a shutout loss.

At the same time, McMahon finds himself not only in the American League postseason (hosting Boston) but, as well, with a team that tied for the most victories in the American League with 94. (Toronto won the tiebreaker against the Yanks, 8-5, and thus won the AL East.)

He’s also playing for one of baseball’s hottest teams. New York closed the season with eight straight wins and 11 of the last 12.

McMahon was drafted by the Rockies in 2013 from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California and made his major league debut on August 12, 2017, when he was still 22 years old.

In 1,010 games for the team that drafted him, between 2017 and late July this year, he had a .240 batting average with 140 home runs and 452 runs batted in. He was a Gold Glove-caliber defender, though he never won the award, and last season was a National League All-Star.

The Rockies had a 26-76 record (.255) with McMahon on the roster this season and went 17-43 (.283) without him. He had a .217 batting average with16 homers and 35 RBIs in 100 games with Colorado. 

The Yankees were 56-47 when they acquired McMahon. They finished 38-21 with him in their pinstripes.

“He is a presence and can really defend over there at third base for a number of years,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone. “We are excited to get him.”

How much difference he made, though, is not obvious.

In 54 games, his batting average of .207 was 10 points below what it was for the Rockies. He hit four home runs and drove in 18 runs. He struck out 62 times in 159 at bats (39%), which is slightly higher than his 127 in 350 (36.3%) with the Rockies.

Defensively, he committed four errors and had a fielding percentage of .973.

But New York had tried six players at third base before getting him. His stability at third must have played a role in the Yankees’ stretch run, a .644 winning percentage.

This is not McMahon’s first postseason action, but he did go into it looking for his first playoff hit. He went 0-for-3 with a walk against the Cubs and Brewers in 2018.

There are a few ways to evaluate McMahon’s departure.

His exit opened third base for the son of Eric Karros, a former Dodgers star and Rockies tormentor. If Kyle Karros even approaches his father’s career in Los Angeles (.268, 270/976), he’ll far exceed McMahon’s impact. In his 43-game debut, Karros II was marginally better than McMahon this season: .222 batting average, 1 HR, 9 RBI. After his callup on August 8, the Rockies won 13 and lost 35 (.271).

The pitchers Colorado acquired, lefthander Griffin Herring and righthander Josh Grosz, are not ready for prime time, but at least one of them has to develop into a bona fide big leaguer. Both went to High-A Spokane after the trade. Herring allowed only 14 hits in 30 innings and had a 2.40 ERA. Grosz was less effective: 5.87 ERA in 38 and a third innings.

This involves Ryan McMahon and how you feel about him now that he’s no longer “our” guy.

Do you miss him?

Do you begrudge him success-by-trade?

Do you wish him well in his next life?

The reality is, he ends the regular season with a chance to be fitted for a World Series ring.

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Denny Dressman’s 17th book, a collaboration with Kansas City artist Anthony High titled Black Baseball’s Heyday – Capturing An Era in Art and Words, will be published late this year. You can write to Denny at dennydressman@comcast.net.