Growing up in Grand Junction: The first step toward the Colorado Rockies

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GRAND JUNCTION, CO – MARCH 24: Amtrak’s California Zephyr rolls past a farm during its daily 2,438-mile trip to Emeryville/San Francisco from Chicago that takes roughly 52 hours on March 24, 2017 in Grand Junction, United States. President Trump has proposed a national budget that would terminate federal support for Amtrak’s long distance train services, which would affect the California Zephyr and other long distance rail lines run by Amtrak. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) /

Grand Junction, Colorado, sits 246 miles west of Coors Field in downtown Denver. Interstate 70 makes it a straight roughly four-hour drive between the two locations. However, the players who start on the western side of the Centennial State and hope they make their way into LoDo know they have a long and winding road ahead of them.

The Grand Junction Rockies are the rookie league affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. It is a franchise were Major League dreams begin for many and even end for some. It’s a city where recently drafted players get their first taste of professional baseball and quickly learn that being a pro baseball player isn’t all glitz and glamor.

I recently had the chance to spend the weekend in Grand Junction and spend time with the rookie level Rockies before, during and after the game. It was Opening Weekend of the 2017 short season and it was still a time when players were not only getting used to each other, but also getting used to being in a new environment where the pressure was unlike anything they had experienced before.

In Grand Junction, baseball turns from fun into a business. That’s not a negative statement. It’s a fact of life. The big league club drafted and employed these players in the hopes that they might one day make an impact 246 miles away.

So what is life like in rookie ball? We talked to some players, host families and team officials about what makes Grand Junction an experience that changes them forever.

Feb 23, 2017; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Colorado Rockies first base coach Tony Diaz (37) poses for photos during photo day at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports /

Tony Diaz knows a thing or two about the Grand Junction Rockies.

Now in his 18th year with the Rockies organization, including time as Colorado’s rookie-level team manager in Casper, Wyo. (2007-11) and Grand Junction (2012). From 2013-2016, he served as Grand Junction’s supervisor of development before getting his own call-up to the big leagues. This season is his first as the first base coach for the parent Rockies.

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He believes how things start for the Rockies in Grand Junction sets the tone as the players move up in the organization.

“It really starts with our scouting department and the homework they do with these kids,” Diaz told Rox Pile. “We do a tremendous job of drafting kids of high character. That makes our job in player development a little easier because we know we’re dealing with solid, high-value human beings. We try to continue that process and make sure the kids feel comfortable. We have a great host family program. It’s about learning how to be a professional, on and off the field. Being on time, being dressed professionally and representing the organization, their families and themselves in a professional manner. Those are the main points we try to hit.

“The other part is just going out there, playing and being yourself. We drafted you because we liked what we saw.”

Diaz says that while the players are getting used to play professional baseball, the Rockies won’t touch how they hit or pitch. They’re dealing with enough life changes as it is.

“Our policy in player development is that in the first 30 days, we’re not changing anybody’s mechanics or swings. Our scouts liked what they saw and the players were successful doing it,” Diaz said.

Diaz had the official title of manager and supervisor of development in Grand Junction. However, there was much more to do the job than just that, Diaz explained.

“It’s an ongoing balance,” he said. “Some people call rookie ball babysitting a little bit. It’s everything. You have to be a father figure, a counselor and a coach. Routines are important and it’s important to engrain the Rockies’ identity and who we are as an organization. Our main objective is that once they leave that level, they know what it takes to be a winning Rockies player.”

Even though he’s now with the parent Rockies, Diaz glows when asked about Grand Junction.

“The Grand Junction community is second-to-none,” Diaz said. “They are extremely hospitable. They have a baseball history with the JUCO World Series. Great people. The community is awesome. It starts with the host family program. These people open up their homes and provide housing, food and transportation to kids they don’t know. They trust us and we don’t take that lightly. The community is very supportive and it’s a great stadium to play in.”

GRAND JUNCTION, CO – MARCH 24: Amtrak’s California Zephyr rolls through a town during its daily 2,438-mile trip to Emeryville/San Francisco from Chicago that takes roughly 52 hours on March 24, 2017 in Grand Junction, United States. President Trump has proposed a national budget that would terminate federal support for Amtrak’s long distance train services, which would affect the California Zephyr and other long distance rail lines run by Amtrak. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) /

One of the unique parts of the Grand Junction Rockies organization are the host families. These local families open up their homes to these new professional players who arrive in Grand Junction with their entire career ahead of them. While they’re only required to give them a place to sleep, a safe environment and some form of transportation back and forth to the field, there is much more that goes into the experience than that.

Mike and Shannon Sneddon have been a key part of the host family experience in Grand Junction since the team arrived here in 2012. Among the players who have stayed with them are Raimel Tapia, Brendan Rodgers, Dom Nunez and Sam Hilliard. That’s a good lineup, but that’s not why the Sneddons do this.

“We’re both big sports fans,” Mike said. “Our boys played baseball and our daughter played softball. When our kids got older and moved out of the house, we were bored. We decided when this came in, this would get us back in the game and get us with the players. We could do the things we love to do.”

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The Sneddons have hosted two to three Rockies rookies every year. The first year the Sneddons took part in the host family program, all three of the players they hosted were released by the Rockies.

“Are we bad luck? Should we do it again? We’ve lost a couple but even the ones that aren’t in the organization still keep in touch with us,” Shannon said. “One of our former players is now in training for the Army Ranger program. I got a text that said, ‘Hey Mom, I traded in my bat for a rifle.’ That’s all he said. It gave me goosebumps because you know you made a difference in their lives.”

Shannon said the thing that often gets lost in the first season of professional baseball is that these are often young men who have never really been away from home. They’re not only adjusting to becoming a professional athlete but doing it in a city and location they most likely have never been.

“We had one turn 19 while he was with us. That was hard on his mom. It was her first birthday away from him,” Shannon said. “We’re taking pictures and asking what they want for their birthday. The request was for pizza, a Dairy Queen ice cream cake and for six of the players to come over.”

“The business environment is hard enough,” Mike added. “It’s crucial for them to have a home environment. Next year, at Class A, they’re on their own. They have to do everything. Now, they can come back to something stable with a host family and they’re not thrown completely out there.”

Shannon makes snack bags for her boys for the long road trips between Grand Junction and Montana. Mike sits down and talks to them about those kids who hang out with them who might not have their best interest in mind and other sometimes tough topics. Yes, it’s very important for all parties that these new players have the influence of a mom and dad in Grand Junction.

“They’re still kids. It’s hard on them,” Shannon said. “We have one host mom who is retired. Whatever her boys want after the game, she’s fixing it. It doesn’t matter if she grills a steak. She loves to do it.”

The Sneddons say there are rules that are expected to be followed in their house. All they ask is that and respect.

“Here’s a truck for you to drive,” Shannon said of the small farm truck they let their players use for transportation during the season. “You keep it filled with gas. If you wreck it, you fix it. The house is open. If you want to have friends over that’s fine. Just respect us. Don’t party until 3 or 4 in the morning.”

“If you can talk about baseball and love it, that brings out conversations with these players,” Mike added. “We’ve had a couple of circumstances we have had to bring to their attention but we talk about it. Some of them may have never been talking to about certain situation. We’re firm believers that if they’re going to be professionals, they need to know how to speak to and act with people appropriately.”

Players are grouped together based on two simple things when plans start being made in February for the upcoming season: Position on the team and pet allergies. With pitchers and fielders having different times for workouts, it makes sense to have these two groups together when possible.

“Our first year, we had a pitcher and infielder,” Shannon said. “If they’re driving a vehicle, one would have to constantly go with the other because they needed the transportation. It takes more gas and being on the road every day isn’t good to give them down time when they need it.”

The short season has just started in Grand Junction. The toughest part of the Sneddons’ job will come, just like it does every season.

“For me, it’s saying goodbye,” Shannon said. “We’ve had some many people say to us, ‘We wish we could do something like this.’ These are boys that we’ve raised. These are boys that we fed and helped do their laundry. He’s one of my kids. That’s how we look at them.”

“This is a family. It really is.”

May 13, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Jon Gray (55) in the dugout fifth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /

As a 22-year-old rookie and first-round draft pick, Jon Gray went 4-4 with a 4.05 ERA in 13.1 innings in Grand Junction.

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“I wasn’t used to it. All of the host families are nice and easy to get along with. It made the transition much easier,” Gray remembered of his time in Grand Junction. “It was a beautiful place to play. The people there love their beer and baseball.”

Gray is one of several Rockies who got their start in Grand Junction. David Dahl recalled his rookie league time fondly in this article when the Rockies caravan made a stop in Grand Junction prior to the start of the season.

When you walk into Suplizio Field, you get a sense of just how important this place is to the development of tomorrow’s Rockies players. Pictures of Dahl, Tapia, Gray, Scott Oberg and Carlos Estevez are on display. So are pictures of Eddie Butler and Jayson Aquino, who are now with other organizations.

Next: Colorado's 10 best individual seasons in franchise history

They are symbols of the success that can happen to the players who step onto the field at Grand Junction. They are reminders that this baseball town in western Colorado isn’t just linked to Denver by I-70. It’s also linked to the Mile High City in dreams of big league cheers and Coors Field moments as well.

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