\u201cLook, I spent seven years of my life in that organization,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m grateful whenever I go back. Those were formative years in my life, and I always say that I grew up into a man in Philly. It\u2019s helped me get to where I am today \u2014 the good and the bad.\u201d<\/p>\n
The good is right now. He enters the Rockies\u2019 three-game series with a 1.0671 OPS, best in the National League. His 11 home runs are tied for second in the NL.\n<\/p>\n
Moniak, who turns 28 next Wednesday, had hit safely in 18 consecutive games until going 0 for 3 in Colorado\u2019s dramatic 6-2 win over the Mets on Thursday<\/a>. During his streak, tied for the longest of his career, he\u2019s slashed .371\/.429\/.757 with six home runs, seven doubles, and a triple. \u201cMickey\u2019s just really playing well, and you can tell that he\u2019s loose and playing comfortably,\u201d manager Warren Schaeffer said. \u201cHe\u2019s just proving that, day after day, he\u2019s a really good ballplayer.\u201d<\/p>\n The bad, at least from a baseball perspective, was his fall from grace in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n When the Phillies picked him No. 1, Moniak was an 18-year-old left-handed-hitting phenom from La Costa Canyon High School in Carlsbad, Calif. He batted .476 with seven home runs and 12 triples in his senior season and was named the 2015-16 Gatorade California Baseball Player of the Year. There were media projections that he could be the next Christian Yelich.<\/a>\n<\/p>\n But it didn\u2019t work out. Moniak made his big-league debut during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Then he rode the elevator between Triple-A and the majors from 2020-22, appearing in just 47 games for the Phillies. \u00a0Moniak posted a .129\/.214\/.172 slash line across 105 total plate appearances, and the Philadelphia media labeled him one of the Phillies\u2019 biggest draft busts. The fans let him have it.\n<\/p>\n \u201cI got booed plenty of times,\u201d Moniak said. \u201cIt\u2019s part of it. They booed Bryce (Harper) when he won MVP (in 2021). It didn\u2019t matter. If you\u2019re not performing, they boo you. It\u2019s part of playing in that city. The flip side of it is that if you\u2019re playing well, they cheer as loud as anybody. It\u2019s how they are wired on the East Coast.\u201d<\/p>\n Moniak is a California kid, but he spent plenty of time back East, so he gets it.<\/p>\n \u201cI have so many relatives from back there, kind of with the same personality,\u201d he said, laughing. \u201cIt\u2019s real, in your face, no filter. I love it. It\u2019s in our blood.\u201d<\/p>\n Moniak\u2019s Philly experience ended at the 2022 trade deadline, when he was shipped to the Angels along with minor-league outfielder Jadiel Sanchez in exchange for starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard.\n<\/p>\n \u201cAt the time, the Phillies were competing for a World Series, and I was a 22-year-old kid who didn\u2019t get off to the hottest of starts,\u201d Moniak said. \u201cLooking back, I may have been overmatched, at times, but they didn\u2019t have the luxury of giving me 100 at-bats to see if I could figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, Moniak admits to wondering if his big-league dreams were dying on the vine.<\/p>\n \u201cThere were times when it crept in, for sure, but that\u2019s what I have my family for, that\u2019s what I have my wife for,\u201d he said. \u201d Sophia is always there to pick me up. And I talk to my dad (Matt Moniak) every day on my ride to the field.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Moniak had a middling 2 1\/2 seasons with the Angels, hitting .242 with 31 home runs over 228\u00a0 games. The Angels released him at the end of last year\u2019s spring training, and former Rockies general manager Bill Schmidt swooped in and signed him just before Opening Day to a one-year, $1.25 million contract. His .270\/.306\/.518 slash line with 24 home runs during his first season with Colorado earned him a one-year, $4 million contract to avoid arbitration.\n<\/p>\n Moniak has one year of arbitration remaining before he\u2019s eligible to become a free agent after the 2027 season. But he says he\u2019s found a home in Colorado.<\/p>\n \u201cThe most enjoyable part is seeing the transition in the organization from last year to this year,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are, obviously, not where we want to be right now, but you can see things turning in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n Moniak has become one of the Rockies\u2019 most popular players in the clubhouse.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is so full of optimism and always ready for what\u2019s next; next game, next at-bat, next whatever,\u201d first baseman\/outfielder Troy Johnston said. \u201cIt\u2019s so important to have a teammate like that, someone to look up to. If you\u2019re having a bad game or whatever, you can go to him, and he\u2019s always ready to pump you up. You need that in this sport. There are 162 games; it\u2019s a grind. That optimism is so important.\u201d<\/p>\n Moniak has loved baseball since he was a toddler. His grandfather, Bill Moniak, played in the minors for six seasons and got hitting lessons from Ted Williams<\/a> during spring training. His dad played college baseball at San Diego State.<\/p>\n Baseball was Moniak\u2019s obsession, but once he struggled in the majors, he realized he needed to find some balance.<\/p>\n \u201cThere were definitely times when it felt like baseball was everything, and when things weren\u2019t going the right way, it seemed like the end of the world,\u201d he said. \u201cSo I took a step back and was just grateful for what I have; grateful for the plan God has for me. God gave me a gift to play baseball, and I know I can be damn good at it. So I\u2019ve stopped worrying about what could happen, and I just go out there and play.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n![\"New](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TDP-Z-MONIAK-Mets-Rockies-Baseball_262317639.jpg\")
New York Mets third baseman Brett Baty (7) fields the throw as Colorado Rockies left fielder Mickey Moniak (22) slides into third base with a triple in the eighth inning of a baseball game Monday, May 4, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski)\n<\/p>\n