Freeland draws franchise-record 5th Opening Day start for new-look Rockies

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Last May 8, the Rockies swallowed their 30th loss in 36 games and left-handed pitcher Kyle Freeland held off tears long enough to give fans a message: “Keep believing in us … keep ridin’.”

For his actions more than his emotion and belief, the Rockies will ride with Freeeland on Opening Day on May 27 against the Marlins at loanDepot park. It will be the fifth opening-game assignment for Freeland, who set the club record last year.

“It’s going to be cool to know that we’ve gone through a drastic change, and when we take the field for that game, it’s going to be the start of something new -- the start of something, hopefully, very special for us,” said Freeland, who went 5-17 with a 4.98 ERA last season. He had some solid stretches amidst the team's worst season in its history.

Freeland never let go through last year’s rough ride. There were continued struggles for him and the club. One night in Cleveland, he left his lunch on the infield grass while trying to pitch through illness. But as the 43-119 season continued, Freeland began galloping in the right direction.

Away from the field, Freeland dedicated himself to showing the way. On May 12, Warren Schaeffer replaced Bud Black as manager, and he invited Freeland and the few other veterans into his office to tell him he was leaning on them.

Even with a front-office overhaul led by new president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta, the Rockies continued to ride with Freeland.

“I was involved in a decent amount of conversations with Schaeffer and DePodesta about my tenure here, what we have done and what I would want to see,” Freeland said. “The conversations I was a part of were about the clubhouse -- the team aspect. That way, Schaef could understand what we’re thinking, and he can bring it to Paul or [general manager Josh] Byrnes.”

The exchange of ideas energized Freeland, who quickly embraced a new staff of pitching coaches. And Freeland was an important voice in changing in how the Rockies are conducting their Spring Training camp -- with an eye toward more efficient work days. Being a Denver native with a long Rockies tenure, Freeland communicated that there is no reason to enter baseball’s toughest home environment already fatigued.

“It’s huge any time you can get a veteran on board with a lot of change,” Schaeffer said.

Still, Freeland starting the opener wasn’t as automatic as it may have been in a recent past that has seen the Rockies struggle to field a rotation or find experienced starters. The Rockies have signed righty Tomoyuki Sugano, a eight-time season-opening starter during a storied career with Tokyo’s Yomiyuri Giants in Japan; lefty Jose Quintana, who made Opening Day starts with the White Sox in 2017 and the Mets in '24; and righty Michael Lorenzen, a righty whose January signing signaled that the Rockies could entice veteran free-agent starters.

But those who joined have found Freeland to be the type of leader who should carry the torch for the Rockies. The club established a Spring Training competition for the assignment, and Freeland made himself the choice by enthusiastically expanding his pitch mix and putting in the work on and off the field -- including early in spring, when mid-back spasms delayed the start of his game participation.

“I’m really glad that Schaeffer told me they were really considering me to be the Opening Day starter,” Quintana said. “But it’s amazing to have a guy like [Freeland], who has played for the franchise this long and has a record for Opening Day starts. It’s not easy to do. He deserves it.

“What’s impressive about him is he has been on good teams and bad teams, but he has kept consistency -- every single year, every opportunity to pitch.”

But Freeland has learned in both successful and trying ways that the start of a season offers excitement, but maintaining a dedication to the process through tough times truly matters.

“The hardest part is keeping that mentality through 162 games, year after year,” Freeland said. “This is our work. This is our standard. We’re holding ourselves to this standard and we’re going to continue to push forward no matter what. We’re not going to revert back to old ways.

“That’s the hardest part. It’s easy to fall into a rut of, ‘Things are going bad, so I’m going to revert [back] because what I was doing kind of worked and it was OK.’ We have to continue to press, apply the new stuff, make the adjustments and hold those standards.”