Charlie Blackmon on Atlanta roots and coming back home

ATLANTA — Colorado Rockies outfielder/designated hitter Charlie Blackmon doesn’t shy away from saying that a return to Atlanta to play the Braves once a season is special for him.

Raised in the Atlanta area, Charlie Blackmon of the Colorado Rockies discusses the emotions of returning to face the Braves.

After all, Blackmon’s formative years were spent in the Atlanta area, including his high school days at North Gwinnett High School (where he played three sports, including pitching and playing outfield, and was first drafted (in the 28th round of the 2004 draft by the Florida Marlins)) and building his college baseball resume at Young Harris College (where he was drafted in the 20th round of the 2005 MLB draft by the Boston Red Sox) and Georgia Tech (where the Rockies took him in the second round of the 2008 draft after hitting .396 with eight home runs and 25 stolen bases from the leadoff spot). So yes, with all of that history, when the Colorado Rockies schedule comes out, there’s little doubt that Chuck Nazty looks ahead to see when he’ll be back in the ATL.

“We only come here once a year and being from here, there are a lot of people who have really helped me along the way and provided a lot of support,” Blackmon said before Wednesday’s Rockies-Braves game. “It’s really cool to be here in their town and have those people come out and watch. It’s fun.”

This year’s schedule gave the 36-year-old Blackmon an extra bonus, with an off day in Atlanta on Monday before the three-game series against the Braves began on Tuesday. Blackmon said he spent the day relaxing with family and not tied down to any schedule while enjoying the family time.

“No plan is sometimes the best plan being that everything’s been scheduled for you for the last seven months,” Blackmon said. “Sometimes it’s nice to just not have a schedule.”

While the Braves currently call Truist Park home, Blackmon has high praise for the stadium that opened in 2017, but also a soft spot for Turner Field, where the Braves played from 1997 through 2016.

“Turner Field was really cool and I have a lot of memories from there,” Blackmon said. “I always enjoyed watching games there, but I like everything about this stadium better.”

And perhaps the most important question to Blackmon: Would he rather go fishing in Georgia or Colorado?

“Colorado is much better, I will say that,” Blackmon chuckled.