Colorado Rockies: 12 notable quotes from the Kris Bryant presser

The Colorado Rockies officially announced that they signed Kris Bryant on Friday, cementing that they will at least get one bat to help their offense, which desperately needed it.

Bryant will be the team’s primary left fielder but he will occasionally play some other positions as well but he will be their best bat in 2022 and beyond.

To announce the deal, Rockies owner Dick Monfort, GM Bill Schmidt, manager Bud Black, Bryant, and his agent (Scott Boras) all spoke with the media for about 20 minutes. There were 12 quotes that you should know about from the presser to understand why Bryant signed with the Rockies, why the Rockies wanted him, and the outlook on the team going forward.

Let’s start with that last point first.

Colorado Rockies owner Dick Monfort on Kris Bryant

1) “So many things about (signing Kris Bryant) feel really, really right. … He can help us win that elusive World Series.” – Colorado Rockies owner Dick Monfort

Colorado Rockies owner Dick Monfort believes that with Kris Bryant and with their current team, they have the opportunity to make it to the playoffs and the World Series. It will take a lot to get there but regardless of where you believe the team is, the Rockies can’t be criticized for the lack of spending money.

The problem in recent years has been that they have spent the money poorly.

But for the team to even consider a playoff run in 2022, they had to get a bat and address their outfield. Bryant addresses both of them.

2) “I’ve worked my whole career to get to this point to be able to choose where [I] want to play. Colorado definitely fits my personality … It’s always been a big favorite of mine and my family … Getting to this point in my career where you get to choose where you want to play is a huge blessing and something that I don’t take lightly …” – Kris Bryant

This is the first of many quotes from Kris Bryant that we will have here about his love of Denver and his love of the Colorado Rockies.

Kris Bryant truly wanted to be a member of the Colorado Rockies. That went a long way in him signing with the team. But he has a great relationship with Bill Schmidt, he’s a big fan of Bud Black, Denver, Colorado, and a number of other things about being with the Rockies.

Another one of the things is Coors Field and Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, the Spring Training home of the Colorado Rockies. They are the subject of quote number three.

3) “Coors Field: I love hitting there. Who doesn’t?! It’s definitely a hitter’s park and that’s definitely attractive. But just the park, in general, and going there for the All-Star Game last year and getting to see the home side and the clubhouse and how much money they’ve invested into that and this facility (Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale, Ariz.), I was shocked and blown away at just the stuff that you had your fingertips (at Coors Field).

“I was talking with some other guys there (at the All-Star Game) and we were saying ‘this is the best clubhouse we’ve ever seen!’ – Kris Bryant

Kris Bryant had played at Coors Field and faced the Colorado Rockies plenty of times in his MLB career but before he was an All-Star in 2021, he had never seen the home side of things.

He had an opportunity to see it when he was on the home side for the National League All-Stars at Coors Field last July and those few days were a big factor in Bryant signing with the Rockies.

Despite their connection to San Diego, Bud Black (who went to college at San Diego State, managed, and still lives in San Diego in the offseason) and Kris Bryant (who went to the University of San Diego), the two had never spoken before the All-Star Game. Black said that he watched Bryant from afar “as a baseball fan” but the two never had connected before the All-Star festivities.

4) “I thought, when I was getting drafted, I was going to the Rockies. I definitely had communication with the Cubs but more so with the Rockies … so this has been a long thing kind of brewing … I’ve always said I’ve loved, loved Denver. I love the city. Denver and Salt Lake (City) are two of my favorite cities. I always saw myself living there … The division, being so close to home (Las Vegas), all of that is a plus to me.” – Kris Bryant

Colorado Rockies GM Bill Schmidt has had a relationship with Kris Bryant since he was in high school in the late 2000s in Las Vegas and when Schmidt was the team’s scouting director.

The Blue Jays drafted him out of high school and he didn’t sign since he went to go play in college. In the 2013 MLB Draft, the Rockies had the 3rd overall pick. The Cubs had the second overall pick and went with him. The Rockies, in turn, drafted a right-handed pitcher out of Oklahoma by the name of Jon Gray.

Schmidt scouted Bryant at Double Angel Ballpark in the Denver suburb of Parker “three or four times” when the Rockies were looking at him before the 2013 Draft so the connection goes back a long time. That connection was a big reason why the Rockies and Bryant came together for a deal, which leads into the fifth quote.

5) “A lot of (the things mentioned in the fourth quote) goes into it but you have good people (here). (Rockies GM) Bill (Schmidt), (Rockies owner) Dick (Monfort), and (Rockies manager) Buddy (Black), and the players (some of which were there for the presser and Bryant pointed them out). (Pointing to Bud Black) This is a guy I want to play for. This is a guy I respect a lot. Our Zoom call was really awesome and he’s just a baseball guy … This guy right here, I’m really excited for our relationship here.” – Kris Bryant

Again, it was the personal connections that also helped seal the deal for Kris Bryant.

It was connections but also, the city, the challenge, the All-Star game and seeing the home clubhouse, and also, it was the team, which ties in with quote number six.

6) “[The Rockies] are so often overlooked in terms of the players they have here, the pitching staff, the velocities they are running out in the bullpen. I don’t think I’ve had a comfortable at-bat out there facing the Colorado Rockies.” – Kris Bryant

Kris Bryant is a very smart man. That’s one thing that his agent, Scott Boras, mentioned in the presser and Kris Bryant knows the Colorado Rockies well.

To the casual observer, they think it’s the same old Rockies: “You just know they’re going to hit but they never have any pitching.” There’s a reason why they signed Bryant and not a big-name starting pitcher: their starting pitcher staff is very good and their offense was not.

In 2021, the Rockies had one hitter with an OPS+ of 103 or better with at least 200 at-bats. That was C.J. Cron. All five of the Rockies’ primary starting pitchers had an ERA+ of 104 or better. Both say a lot about the strengths and weaknesses of the team.

Bryant said more on the pitching staff in the next quote.

7) “One thing I’ve always known about this team is that I hated facing them. The pitching staff always has arms.” – Kris Bryant

Just imagine if you would have told someone back 20 years ago or even nine years ago when Kris Bryant was drafted that he was saying this about the Colorado Rockies.

People would have said that he was nuts but it’s true. The only problem for them is getting consistent relievers and health. Otherwise, the pitching staff is there, which is why the Rockies decided to go into a “buy now” mode and not into a selling mode.

The Rockies want to win now and Kris Bryant believes that they will be a good team in 2022.

8) “I take pride in the fact that I’ve never played on a losing team in the big leagues and I don’t plan on doing that.” – Kris Bryant

In the final two-thirds of the season, the Colorado Rockies went 55-53 in the 2021 season. With the expansion of an additional playoff team in 2021, the Rockies believe. that they can be a playoff team.

Most people believe (and for good reason) that they will fall short but if some players step up, they could be in the hunt in July and then the Rockies could be buyers at the trade deadline.

9) “In my job, it is a rare, rare time that you can say that a player gets to go where he wants to go and that all things work out where he chooses the city, the place, the environment where he plays, his examination of the organization. I think (it’s) really enlightening in this deal that all of this happened because he chose to be a Rockie and for a lot of reasons.” – Scott Boras

Scott Boras reaffirmed the fact that Kris Bryant really wanted to be with the Colorado Rockies. It was the perfect storm of Kris Bryant wanting to be with the Rockies or live in Denver for the better part of a decade and the Rockies needed a big bat that can play the outfield.

Time will only tell on whether or not the deal will work or if Kris Bryant will be as thankful to be a member of the Colorado Rockies in the coming years or by the end of the deal but, at least as of now, the Rockies are the team that he wanted to be with. Perhaps, he could have played with some other teams but we may never definitively know because …

10) “When I go to a wedding, I don’t talk about the bridesmaids.” – Scott Boras

Boras was asked about the other teams that were trying to get Kris Bryant and that’s what he had to say. A glass half full perspective is that Kris Bryant entertained other offers but the Rockies had a competitive enough offer to get him to the place where he wanted to be in the first place.

A glass half empty perspective is that the Rockies were the only team in on Bryant, at least at the years and money they gave him. Other teams were definitely interested in him but to what extent, we don’t know, at least yet.

A lighthearted story between Kris Bryant, Bud Black, and Scott Boras

Kris Bryant also told a story (starting at 8:58) about how he always accepts a challenge. He said his grandparents gave him $20 for every time he hit a homer. Rockies manager Bud Black (at 10:09) said this in response to that.