Saturday, September 19

DENVER -- Rockies pitcher Kyle Freeland made generosity a team sport, rather than an individual act this year.

With the Rangers in town on May 19, Freeland and Texas' Jake Burger teamed up for a special day for children with Down syndrome: a day at GiGi’s Playhouse Denver, through the Jake Burger Family Foundation. 

The second daughter of Jake and Ashlyn Burger – Penelope, born Oct. 25, 2024 – has Down syndrome and sparked the Burgers to act through their Burger Family Foundation. Freeland and his wife, Ashley, have long been active participants in Special Olympics Colorado.

This partnership has been recognized by Major League Baseball through nominations for the Roberto Clemente Award. Burger is the Rangers’ 2026 nominee. Freeland is the Rockies’ nominee – for the fifth straight year.

• VOTE NOW: 2026 Roberto Clemente Award presented by Capital One

Teaming with Burger was a special addition to an already full schedule for the Freelands when it comes to humanitarian acts.

“We got to spend time with a lot of those kids, and later in the year Ashley and I were able to walk a 5K for GiGi’s Playhouse,” Freeland said. “We got to see some of those kids and their families again, and that had a big impact right there."

Freeland, a Denver native in his 10th year in a Rockies uniform, found himself drawn to Special Olympics during Rookie-level play at Grand Junction in 2014, the year the Rockies selected him in the first round of the MLB Draft out of the University of Evansville. Freeland’s dedication accelerated during a 2019 road trip to Seattle, when he spent a day cheering Colorado’s participants at a national event. For years, with the help of other Major Leaguers who donate items, Freeland has raffled off game-used and other items to raise money for Special Olympics Colorado.

During this season, the Freelands hosted medalists from the Special Olympics national event in a suite at Coors Field.

The point for Freeland is that it never gets old.

Before Freeland made the Rockies’ Roberto Clemente Award Nomination his annual celebration, former infielder/outfielder Ian Desmond had a five-year grip on it of his own. Desmond was one of the veterans in the clubhouse when Freeland broke in at the start of the 2017 season, and Freeland watched and listened.

This is the last year of Freeland’s contract with the Rockies, which means a return is uncertain at best. Freeland has a huge say, and he will be a free agent for the first time.

Maybe there is a Rockies player watching and listening to Freeland, the way he followed Desmond. But even if someone else is next year’s award nominee, the Freelands’ presence will be felt in Denver.

“Regardless where we are, we’re always going to connect to the community, with me being from here and us being here for the past 10 years,” Freeland said. “We’ve obviously set some deep roots inside Special Olympics Colorado and the community in general. Special Olympics always will welcome us with open arms, and we want to come back and help out.

“Plus, we’ve created such a great relationship with GiGi’s Playhouse, and with Jake Burger; we’ll be able to continue to do that as well.”

The winner of the Roberto Clemente Award will be honored at the 2026 World Series. The panel that will choose the winner includes representatives from the Commissioner’s Office, Capital One, MLB-affiliated networks (MLB Network, FOX Sports, ESPN and TBS), MLB.com, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Roberto’s children – Enrique, Luis and Roberto Jr. 

The image of Todd Helton -- arms above his head, his beaming face to the sky -- occupies the happiest dream the Rockies have ever lived. He had just put away the final out of the sweep of the Diamondbacks that sent the Rockies to the 2007 World Series.

Today, Helton will be present as that image is officially memorialized with a statue outside of Coors Field. Helton’s bronze image will join that of Larry Walker, whose statue was celebrated on Aug. 23. Walker and Helton are the only Rockies players honored as Hall of Famers.

Coors Field’s parking lots open today at 1 p.m., with the statue celebration at 20th & Blake outside of Coors Field at 2:30 p.m. Gates for the game with the Mariners open at 4 p.m., with the first 15,000 fans through the gates receiving a replica statue -- and 17 lucky fans will receive a statue signed by Helton.

Cole Carrigg only knows how to play baseball one way. And sometimes, that means a broken bat -- not from getting jammed on a pitch while at the plate, but from slamming the bat into the ground after striking out. Sometimes, that means there’s a helmet thrown somewhere.

Sometimes, it means getting thrown out trying to steal third as the tying run in the ninth inning of a 5-4 game.

“I go 110 percent all the time,” said the Rockies’ rookie. “And until I’m told otherwise [that] I'm hurting the team by any means, then I’m going to continue to play that way and try to play winning baseball.”

Carrigg was in scoring position in the ninth inning on Friday night after singling and stealing second. But he wanted more. He wanted third. He was picked off, denting the Rockies’ chances at tying the game or leaving with a walk-off win.

“You’re taking a calculated guess,” Carrigg said. “And sometimes, you’re … out of luck.”

Lest you think Carrigg would be sulking afterward, his reaction was something more akin to resigned acceptance. Accepting that with the good -- three hits, an RBI, a steal and a nice running catch on a drive to deep center in the eighth -- comes with getting burned for being too aggressive. 

Still, it’s one thing when it happens in the fifth inning. It’s quite another when you’re the tying run in the ninth.

It’s one of the many “almosts” of the 2026 campaign for the Rockies. There isn’t an “almosts” column for a win-loss record. But part of rebuilding is what happened with Carrigg on Friday.

“We do a lot of good things, but we’re not quite there,” manager Warren Schaeffer said. “And everybody in that [clubhouse] knows it. … We’re going to come out tomorrow and try to win a ballgame. And hopefully, it’s not an “almost.”

MLB.com's Manny Randhawa wrote this section.

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