Colorado Rockies Quotes: Walt Weiss and Jeff Hoffman

Quotes from Jeff Hoffman after making his MLB debut on Saturday night in a loss to the Cubs…

On why the Cubs had success against him in the fourth and fifth innings…

“I wasn’t getting ahead as much as I should have been and that obviously opened up a whole world of opportunities for guys in the box. When you are not getting ahead, you give them opportunities. When you throw the ball in the zone late and you are facing guys in the box who know what they are doing, they find holes. That’s what they did tonight. They found holes with everything.”

On whether he was nervous or not taking the mound for the first time…

“I felt very comfortable here. I don’t know why that was. I was really expecting to be nervous, to be jittery, all of that stuff. But we have a clubhouse of guys like this and they make you feel welcome and you go out there and everything isn’t so bad. You go out there and just do what you do. That’s what I went out there, planning to do tonight.”

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On what he learned from his first MLB start…

“You always go back and look at videos and say, ‘Yeah, that was a good pitch.’ But I guess it could’ve been better also. I’m going to take that as a learning opportunity for me. Late in the count, had a battle with Bryant. You can’t give in. I thought I threw a pretty good fastball on the outer half. As good as a hitter he is, he shot it the other way and found a hole. Next time, maybe I go with something different. Maybe I throw a changeup there and he rolls it over to the other side. I’m taking it as a learning experience and will get back to work a couple of days from now in the bullpen.”

Next: Why the Box Score Doesn't Tell the Story of Hoffman's Debut

On the atmosphere inside Coors Field…

“I thought the atmosphere was great. Obviously I’d like to see a little more Rockies (fans) show up. It was kind of like the Cubs fans drowned them out. But for my first big league game, it was exactly what I was expecting. A ton of people. It was loud. It was electric.”