Blackmon on career: 'I feel like I've never really worked a day in my life'
DENVER ¨C On the Rockies¡¯ Mount Rushmore, you¡¯ve got Hall of Famers Larry Walker and Todd Helton, and -- come Sunday -- Charlie Blackmon, sandwiched right between them.
Blackmon finally took a look at his 14-year legacy in purple pinstripes Monday as he spent part of the off-day crafting an announcement of his retirement, effective Sunday, when the Rockies¡¯ season ends.
¡°¡¯Consistency¡¯ came up a lot,¡± Blackmon said at a press conference before the Rockies' 7-3 loss to the Cardinals. ¡°The game is just so hard that your only fallback is your consistency, your day to day, your foundation. I've never really considered myself a good enough player to be successful if I wasn't doing things the right way.¡±
Players across the league might call him modest for that last part, but there is unanimity among his teammates about the ethic he brought to prepare for the game every day.
¡°He¡¯s a guy that has made a career strictly off hard work and determination to create greatness and wealth and opportunity for himself,¡± Denver native Kyle Freeland said. ¡°I'm gonna miss that a lot.¡±
Fans are relishing the opportunity to celebrate Blackmon for this final homestand. A loud cheer went up well before the game as Blackmon sprinted into the outfield to warm up, and he got a standing ovation for his first at-bat.
¡°I don't really grasp the gravity of it just yet,¡± the four-team All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger Award winner said. ¡°[Baseball] is pretty much all I've known. I feel like I've never really worked a day in my life, but I do work really hard at the same time.¡±
Blackmon went 2-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch, a double and an RBI triple -- his franchise-record 68th triple, which is also tops among all active players. He is 5-for-14 with two doubles, a triple, two homers, and four RBIs in his last four games.
Landing on the injured list with a broken hand last year gave him an appreciation for the end date looming in his future. He came back strong, but he said he came into this season with eyes wide open, knowing it was likely his last.
¡°It's the right decision,¡± Blackmon said. ¡°The game is being played at such a high level, it really demands a certain amount of time, physical ability, health, strength. There's just a point at which I don't think I'm going to be able to continue to play. That's the fact of life, it¡¯s going to happen.¡±
Blackmon not only serves as a role model for fans, but also for his teammates. He made them better, to hear them tell it, and his impact on the organization matches his share of ownership in the Rockies' all-time record book, where he¡¯s in the top five in nearly every offensive category ¨C second in most to Todd Helton -- including games played, runs scored, hits, doubles, extra-base hits, and total bases.
¡°Half my RBIs in my career have to be Charlie,¡± Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado said Tuesday. According to Elias, in fact, 142 of the 760 runs Arenado drove in with Colorado were Blackmon.
Arenado came over to the Rockies¡¯ interview room to watch his friend¡¯s pregame press conference, a rare occurrence among players from opposite dugouts.
¡°It was a real treat to play with him, because he was so stubborn,¡± Arenado added. ¡°That's what made him so good, is that he's so stubborn in his ways, and if you try to get him out of his ways, it was just like a hard argument.¡±
Making his teammates better made life easier for his managers, from Jim Tracey and Walt Weiss to Bud Black.
¡°There's not one day on this job that I¡¯ve had to worry about Charlie Blackmon,¡± Black said. ¡°Not one day, because I've always known that he does it the right way.¡±
Blackmon learned from teammates like Helton and Carlos Gonz¨¢lez, but it would take some years before he found his sweet spot in the clubhouse.
¡°You can't be a leader unless you start thinking outside of yourself,¡± Blackmon said. ¡°It's really hard as a young player without a track record to spend time trying to elevate the guys around you when you yourself have glaring weaknesses. I've had lots and lots of failures and struggles in my career, and trying to recognize that in someone else's life or career or swing or whatever it is, and then maybe help them get over it quicker than I did, is my chosen leadership method.¡±
Coaching full time is not on his radar at the moment, noting he was looking forward to free time, the beach, the Kentucky Derby, and ¡°dad stuff.¡±
¡°I do want to come to Spring Training,¡± Blackmon said. ¡°I want to come to Coors Field. I want to be around the guys. I want to talk to some hitters, be in the cage occasionally. I do still very much want to be a part of the Colorado Rockies family, I¡¯m just not sure exactly how yet.¡±
His teammates ¨C current and past ¨C believe he¡¯s in company with Walker and Helton, the only Rockies to have their numbers retired by the team.
¡°I personally believe that ¡®19¡¯ should be thrown up there with those players,¡± Freeland said. ¡°He's been a staple in this organization for his entire career.¡±
Arenado echoed the sentiment, saying he¡¯d like to come back for the ceremony.
Blackmon was grateful for his relationship with the fans, and promised Colorado hadn¡¯t seen the last of him.
¡°Last night, after I made my announcement, we did the most Colorado thing we could think of and went to Red Rocks and watched some music,¡± Blackmon said.
For six days, fans are doing another Colorado thing: celebrating Charlie Blackmon.