Colorado Rockies: What players really think about “the wave”

Rockies starting pitcher Kyle Freeland made it pretty clear how he feels about the wave. In his mind, as a pitcher, it’s a no-go.

“For me, as a pitcher, we’re trying to be as locked in as possible,” Freeland said in an exclusive chat with Rox Pile. “Sometimes when it is going on, I will pitch around it almost. If it’s going behind the backstop, I’ll step off and reset. I don’t need people standing up and going ‘woooooo’ as I’m trying to deliver a pitch.”

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Freeland likened it to what fans often do at a basketball game to keep the away team from scoring.

“I think it’s more of a distraction for the pitcher than the hitter because they don’t have to see it,” Freeland said. “You see a bunch of people standing up and it can be a distraction, just like in basketball when a guy is trying to shoot free throws.”

The 25-year-old southpaw says don’t do the wave, especially when the team you’re rooting for is on defense and doing the pitching.

“I think a lot of people don’t realize the effects it can have on a game, especially if the team you are rooting for is out there on the field,” he said.

OK, so what about position players and even manager Bud Black? We went straight to the sources to find out.