SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- It started as a presentation assignment and ended with Gerardo Parra on top of a 1,600-pound steer.
Rockies rookies Kyle Freeland, Ryan Castellani and Yency Almonte were assigned to give a presentation on some of the history of team owners Charlie and Dick Monfort, whose father built a meatpacking and distribution company in Greeley, Colo.
The trio went the extra mile and brought in the steer, General, with Freeland showing off where different cuts of meat come from to a delighted manager Bud Black.

Despite a steady drizzle, roughly 30 players took in the presentation outside the team's weight room. Most sought a picture with the animal, and Parra jumped at the chance to mount the steer after infielder Alexi Amarista quickly declined the same offer.
"It's a way to create some oneness," Black said. "We focus on baseball so much, all the time. It's a brief period of the day where there's a little levity.
"It's a project that's close to our owners -- where they come from, what they've done, what they mean to Colorado -- and to get a brief history on Charlie and Dick's family was good for all of us."
Monfort of Colorado, Inc., was acquired by ConAgra Foods in the late 1980s.