\u201cObviously, losing is not fun,\u201d Dollander continued. \u201cBut at the same time, we know that we\u2019re capable of winning, and we haven\u2019t put a winning product on the field. So that\u2019s exactly what we did today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Such moments have been few and far between for the Rockies so far this spring. So much so that the franchise is now chasing baseball infamy.<\/p>\n
Colorado went 5-25 in its first 30 games, tying with five other teams \u2014 the 1904 Phillies, 1932 Red Sox, 1952 Pirates, 1981 Cubs, and 2003 Tigers \u2014 for the second-worst 30-game start in Major League Baseball\u2019s modern era (since 1901). Only the 1988 Orioles, who opened the season with 21 consecutive losses<\/a>, started worse (4-26).<\/p>\n Even the 2024 White Sox, who set the major league record with 121 losses last season, bettered the Rockies\u2019 start, opening the year 6-24.<\/p>\n Dollander, only 23 and with just five starts on his big-league resume, doesn\u2019t feel the weight of the losses. But veteran left-hander Kyle Freeland sure does. The Denver native, who grew up dreaming about pitching for his hometown team, signed a five-year, $64.5 million contract<\/a> in April 2022, believing the Rockies would eventually be winners. But they are hurtling toward their seventh consecutive losing season.<\/p>\n A third straight 100-loss campaign appears possible, too. And perhaps even the worst season in Rockies history, with the club already \u201cahead\u201d of the 2023 club\u2019s 103-loss pace.<\/p>\n \u201cI take it very personally, as I assume anyone in my situation would,\u201d Freeland said. \u201cThis is the team I want to win with. I signed up for five more years to be a part of this. I want to win here and be a part of this, but we are going in the wrong direction.\u201d<\/p>\n Statistics illustrate Freeland\u2019s point. Entering Thursday night\u2019s game at San Francisco, the Rockies had not only the worst record in the majors but also the worst run differential (minus-77), lowest batting average (.211) and most strikeouts (312). Colorado\u2019s 5.30 team ERA was the third-highest, trailing only Miami (5.89) and Baltimore (5.47).<\/p>\n Fielding, touted by owner Dick Monfort before the start of the season as having a chance to be the best \u201cin the history of the game,<\/a>\u201d has been spotty. Colorado\u2019s 25 errors were the third-most behind only the Red Sox (28) and Athletics (26).<\/p>\n As legendary manager Casey Stengel said about the 1962 Mets team, which famously lost 120 games, \u201cCan\u2019t anybody here play this game?\u201d<\/p>\n And it doesn\u2019t get any easier. Over their next 27 games, through June 1, the Rockies will not face an opponent with a current record below .500. Plus, the Rockies reside in the National League West, the toughest division in baseball, where only the Rockies own a losing record.<\/p>\n Hall of Fame baseball writer Tim Kurkjian<\/a> knows about a team going south in a hurry. In 1988, Kurkjian was a young beat writer covering the Orioles for the Baltimore Sun. Those O\u2019s opened the season with 21 straight losses en route to a 54-107 campaign.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m at least in the discussion for most losing game stories written by anyone in the \u201980s,\u201d joked Kurkjian, now a senior writer at ESPN.com and analyst for ESPN\u2019s \u201cBaseball Tonight\u201d broadcasts. \u201cI have experience with this, unfortunately. It was the biggest challenge of my beat writing career, and I tried to do it properly. I knew a lot of people were reading about the Orioles.\u201d<\/p>\n The \u201988 O\u2019s attracted national attention and became the butt of jokes. In Game 15, as Milwaukee beat Baltimore, 7-1, Brewers announcer Bob Uecker quipped: \u201cThe President will call when the Orioles finally win a game. Unfortunately, it will be someone like President (Manuel) Noriega (of Panama).\u201d<\/p>\n During the Orioles\u2019 losing streak, Kurkjian said it was challenging to come up with fresh questions after every game.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat made it hard was that this was a veteran team,\u201d he said. \u201cThey had Cal Ripken Jr., Eddie Murray (both Hall of Famers) and Fred Lynn on that team. These guys had been used to winning, had been to the World Series, so that made it so much harder.\u201d<\/p>\n On April 29, when the Orioles finally broke the losing streak by blanking the White Sox, 9-0, there was a mock celebration after the game, with several O\u2019s pouring cranberry juice on each other.<\/p>\n Kurkjian, however, didn\u2019t sense any joy.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was no elation after that game because while they were relieved it was over, they were embarrassed by it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Kurkjian doesn\u2019t pretend to be an expert on the Rockies. However, he senses that most baseball pundits and executives are not shocked by the club\u2019s current state.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the average person in the business looks at this and sees, on many levels, a spectacular failure,\u201d he said. \u201cI just don\u2019t see any other way to see this. But for what it\u2019s worth, I also don\u2019t sense that anyone is taking great joy in watching this.\u201d<\/p>\n Rockies manager Bud Black, who remained remarkably upbeat during the 30-game swoon, acknowledges that his team is wearing it.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is frustration, sure,\u201d Black. \u201cGuys are angry. Guys are (ticked off). All of the adjectives you want to throw out there. These guys are competitors, regardless of the group we have. These guys are professional baseball players who want to do well. It just hasn\u2019t happened, as a group. We just don\u2019t have enough guys playing well.\u201d<\/p>\n Colorado is in a semi-youth movement, and the win-loss record reflects the inexperience. The Rockies had five players make their debut in April: right-handed pitchers Zach Agnos and Juan Mejia, catcher Braxton Fulford, outfielder Zac Veen and Dollander.<\/p>\n There have been injuries, too. Gold Glove shortstop Ezequiel Tovar has missed more than a dozen games with a bruised hip. His return is pending. Two-time Gold Glove center fielder Brenton Doyle missed 11 games because of a quad strain and time on the bereavement list to deal with family matters.<\/p>\n Thairo Estrada, signed to be the starting second baseman, has yet to play a game as he recovers from a right wrist fracture suffered in spring training. Lefty starter Austin Gomber has missed 12 games as he deals with a shoulder injury and is not close to returning.<\/p>\n Then there is Kris Bryant, the hard-luck designated hitter lavished with a seven-year, $182 million contract three seasons ago. The 2016 NL MVP has played just 170 of 516 games (32.9%) since signing that deal, and is once again on the injured list due to chronic low-back issues<\/a> with no timetable for a return.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to remain optimistic that K.B. is going to return and come back healthy and ready to contribute,\u201d Black said, for the umpteenth time, after Bryant went on the IL on April 13. \u201cI still think there\u2019s a hitter in there; a hit tool and an on-base component.\u201d<\/p>\n Until Bryant actually produces, he\u2019ll be the symbol of Colorado\u2019s current failures. The two worst seasons in Rockies\u2019 history \u2014 going on three \u2014 have come since Monfort gave Bryant the biggest free-agent contract for a position player in franchise history.<\/p>\n But the Rockies\u2019 woes are not solely the result of injuries \u2014 or Bryant\u2019s inability to deliver on his big deal.\u00a0Veterans such as third baseman Ryan McMahon and starting pitcher German Marquez are off to the worst starts of their careers.<\/p>\n McMahon entered the San Francisco series with a hitless streak of 34 at-bats, the longest such streak by a position player in franchise history, surpassing Desi Relaford\u2019s 33 at-bat streak in July of 2005.<\/p>\n Marquez, an All-Star in 2021, went into San Francisco carrying the baggage of a career-worst five-game losing streak during which he had a 12.81 ERA, the most runs he has allowed in a five-start span in his career.<\/p>\n The fans have noticed. After their first 15 home games, the Rockies are averaging 25,142 fans per game at Coors Field, ranking 18th in the majors. The Rockies have not finished in the bottom half of MLB attendance since 2007, the club\u2019s only World Series season. However, the \u201907 season followed the terrible seasons of \u201905 and \u201906, and it took time for the Rockies to regain their fan base.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s terrible and frustrating, but I will still take my kids to a few games,\u201d said Centennial\u2019s Peter Harris. \u201cI should be able to get good seats for cheap, which is a plus! I remember going to lots of games in \u201805 when they were terrible, and, honestly, it built my fandom ahead of the World Series run two years later.\u201d<\/p>\n Other fans have thrown in the towel.<\/p>\n \u201cHonestly, it breaks my heart for our city and the players,\u201d said Miguel Breceda of Aurora. \u201cI haven\u2019t felt motivated to go back to the stadium since the Nolan Arenado trade (in February 2021).<\/p>\n \u201cEven watching games on TV isn\u2019t the same. I used to make sure I didn\u2019t miss a single (Charlie) Blackmon walk-up. I never used to miss a game. Now, I might check the score, but I\u2019m usually checked out by the fifth inning.\u201d<\/p>\n But it\u2019s the players who live with the losses.<\/p>\n During the Tigers\u2019 miserable 2003 season, in which they lost 119 games, catcher Brandon Inge told the Detroit Free Press<\/a>, \u201cIt\u2019s like that dream you had as a kid when you\u2019re walking down the school hall naked and there is no place to go.\u201d<\/p>\n The fiercely competitive Freeland can relate.<\/p>\n He made his big-league debut in 2017, when the Rockies made the playoffs for the first time since 2009. In \u201918, they came one victory away from claiming their first NL West title but still made the playoffs. That\u2019s the only time the Rockies made the postseason in back-to-back years.<\/p>\n Now, they\u2019re in the lowest place in franchise history.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, it\u2019s not been easy at all,\u201d Freeland said. \u201cWe understand what we are going through right now, and we are doing everything in our power to get ourselves out of this and moving in the right direction.<\/p>\n \u201cBut it\u2019s become tough for us to complete a baseball game \u2014 a well-rounded baseball game. We are struggling to find our image and struggling to find our identity. Right now, we are just kind of going out there trying to play baseball.\u201d<\/p>\n Infamous Beginnings<\/p>\n The Rockies opened the season with a 5-25 record, becoming one of seven teams since 1901 to post five or fewer wins in their first 30 games. The 2024 White Sox, who set the major league record with 121 losses last year, opened the season 6-24. Here\u2019s a look at how the other teams finished their seasons (click here to view chart in mobile<\/a>):<\/p>\n Year 1904 Comment: Played in the Baker Bowl and had an announced attendance of 140,771 for the season.<\/p>\n 1932 Comment: Had the distinction of having the worst run differential of any team in the modern era at minus-349.<\/p>\n 1952 Comment: Nicknamed the \u201cRickey Dinks,\u201d after GM Branch Rickey. In one game, they fielded an entire starting lineup of players under 6 feet tall.<\/p>\n 1981 Comment: First baseman Bill Buckner was the Cubs\u2019 lone All-Star. He led the team with 35 doubles and 10 homers in a strike-shortened season.<\/p>\n 1988 Comment: The O\u2019s lost 21 consecutive games to open the season. Frank Robinson replaced Cal Ripken Jr. as manager after just six games.<\/p>\n 2003 Comment: When the Tigers avoided matching the 1962 Mets for the record number of losses, the headline in the Detroit Free Press read: \u201cMets 120, Tigers 119\u201d<\/p>\n 2025 Comment: After their first 30 games, Colorado\u2019s dismal offense ranked last in the majors with a .211 batting average while leading the majors with 312 strikeouts.<\/p>\n * Season interrupted by 50-day strike<\/p>\n \u2014 Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post<\/p>\n![\"It](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/202204080919TMS_____MNGTRPUB_SPORTS-OPTIMISM-FOR-ORIOLES-REBUILD-WITH-30TH-1-BZ5.jpg\")
It seemed like nothing went the Orioles\u2019 way during their 21-game losing streak. Here, manager Frank Robinson argues a call with the umpire as Eddie Murray looks on during an O\u2019s game versus the Kansas City Royals. (Gene Sweeney Jr., Baltimore Sun file photo)<\/p>\n![\"Colorado](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/TDP-L-ROCKIES-BRAVES_JAC4456.jpg\")
Colorado Rockies third base coach\/infield coach Warren Schaeffer (34), left, and manager Bud Black in the dugout before the game against the Atlanta Braves at Coors Field in Denver on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (Photo by Andy Cross\/The Denver Post)<\/p>\n![\"Kyle](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/TDP-L-ROCKIES-BREWERSAO1_4905x.jpg\")
Kyle Freeland (21) of the Colorado Rockies falls to the ground after Michael Toglia (4) make a force out of Brice Turang (2) of the Milwaukee Brewers at first base during the third inning at Coors Field in Denver on Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz\/The Denver Post)<\/p>\n
\nTeam
\nStart
\nFinal record<\/p>\n
\nPhiladelphia Phillies
\n5-25
\n52-100<\/p>\n
\nBoston Red Sox
\n5-25
\n43-111<\/p>\n
\nPittsburgh Pirates
\n5-25
\n42-112<\/p>\n
\nChicago Cubs
\n5-25
\n38-65*<\/p>\n
\nBaltimore Orioles
\n4-26
\n54-107<\/p>\n
\nDetroit Tigers
\n5-25
\n43-119<\/p>\n
\nColorado Rockies
\n5-25
\nTBD<\/p>\n