Colorado Rockies share the best piece of advice they ever received

Mark Reynolds is back with the Rockies for a second stint after a year in the Washington Nationals organization. He will turn 36 in August and is expected to once again provide veteran leadership for many of Colorado’s young, up-and-coming players.

However, Reynolds hasn’t officially made the Opening Day roster yet. At the end of January, he was signed to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. He’s competing for a roster spot, which ties directly into the advice he shared.

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“I guess the one thing that always stuck with me from my dad is that baseball has a lot of people playing,” Reynolds said. “Always be working and remember that someone is trying to take your job. You have to keep at it.”

And what advice would he pass along to younger players?

“You have to love it (baseball),” Reynolds said. “It’s a game of failure. It’s a pretty easy game to get frustrated with and quit. You have to love it and if you love it, you have to work. It’s a two-pronged deal. There are plenty of times when I get in a slump and think, ‘Screw it. This sucks. What am I doing this for?’ But it keeps going back to the love for the game. That’s something that can’t really be taught. It just has to be there.”

Like Reynolds, Chris Iannetta has seen plenty and learned plenty since his Major League debut with the Rockies in 2006.

Iannetta’s advice is simple when he talks about hard work … but he also delivers an aspect that continues to grow when it comes to baseball. It’s truly a global game and players are making their way into MLB from many countries. That ties into his advice he has not only received but would share as well.

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“Keep working hard. Keep learning as much as you can. Try to hone every aspect of the craft you can. Try to continually get better. Whatever your weaknesses are, strive to make them your strengths.

“Also never stop. You hear it a lot that, no matter how good you are, there’s someone out there who is getting better or someone out there who is working harder than you.

“Don’t get caught up in what you’re doing locally because there is an international talent pool that you might not see. Even if you’re playing really well in your local leagues, there are kids out there who are doing really well and may be better than you. In your mind, you may be playing the game against local kids, but really be focused on playing against everyone in the world and try to be at that level.”

Bud Black was a Major League pitcher for 15 seasons. However, he still thinks back to a moment that happened near the start of his career as a defining point for not only himself, but also how he now views the game and what it takes to succeed.

“Early in my tenure with the Royals, I was pitching against the Twins. It was about the fifth inning and I got into a little bit of a jam,” Black recalled. “Venerable pitching coach Cloyd Boyer came out and the bases were loaded. he came out and said, ‘Blacky, there’s a time when you have to prove you’re a Major League pitcher.’ He paused and I listened for advice on how to do that. He then said, ‘This is one of those times.’ He turned around and walked back to the dugout.

Colorado Rockies

“I absorbed that and the next hitter hit an absolutely bullet to the shortstop and we turned a double play. I walk to the dugout and get high-fives from everybody and we went on to win the game. But thinking back to that moment, the message I got, and he never really told me what his message was, was that you have to prove you’re a big leaguer. And not just one time, but every day. His comment, I always held to that motto every day. Whether it was winter time or in the weight room or in the middle of a game. Every day, you have to prove you’re a Major Leaguer. And I think that’s part of what helped me be a long-time big leaguer because I never took that for granted.

“If you don’t prove it every day or lose that edge, you’ll be gone quickly.

And how does that story translate over to Black now that he’s a manager?

“I’ve told that story to a lot of pitchers, but never in a game,” he said. “You say it to somebody and the guy hits it off the wall, it doesn’t mean they’re not a big league pitcher. But that rang true to me that day.

“Do I watch every game and see bases loaded and I see what a guy does, and then the next time it happens, and the next month and next year when it happens? Yeah. Guys are going to be in those positions all of the time. Offensively, there’s going to a guy on third with two outs. Can a guy get him in? I’m going to watch the young guys like Ryan McMahon, Garrett Hampson, Mike Tauchman, Raimel Tapia, and all of these young guys that happen every day on how to win a game.

“I’ve watched thousands of games. I see a game a certain way. I watch what these guys do all the time and I know who I can trust and not trust.”

Ian Desmond broke into Major League Baseball with the Washington Nationals in 2009, but it was something that happened while he was a part of the organization at the Class A level that impacted him greatly and still does to this day.

“Eddie Rodriguez was the bench coach for Frank Robinson back when I was a kid in like 2004 or 2005,” Desmond recalled. “I can remember like it was yesterday. We were in Winter Haven (Florida) and I was standing by the bat rack and he said, ‘Don’t ever change, kid.’ I think he meant that as a man. I think he meant that as a player. I’ve tried to stay true to who I was that same day up until now.”

Kyle Freeland has etched his place in Colorado lore. Hometown kid grows up to pitch for the Rockies. Nearly throws a no-hitter and finishes fourth in the National League Cy Young voting, proving that pitchers can prosper at Coors Field.

After throwing three solid innings on March 3 (303 Day for those of us who live in Colorado … and what better day for Freeland to pitch?), Freeland said the piece of advice that has stuck with him the longest is simple.

“Don’t try to do too much,” Freeland said. “What got us here has obviously worked and gave us success, so when you’re on the mound, don’t try to do too much. Be you. Be where your feet are. Play your game.”