This story was excerpted from Thomas Harding's Rockies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
DENVER -- Rookie first baseman TJ Rumfield’s regular presence in the starting lineup stands as a testament to the Rockies’ dedication to establishing putting the ball in play as a standard.
Rumfield leads the team with 140 plate appearances, but his 23 strikeouts are fewest among the nine Rockies who have stepped into the batter's box at least 80 times. Troy Johnston, who was touch-and-go to make the team until the final days of camp, has 24 strikeouts and has earned himself some regular playing time as well.
The production is increasing. Included in his .268/.329/.425 slash line is a current surge – .288 with five doubles, two home runs and 11 RBIs with four walks and just eight strikeouts in his last 15 games. In Sunday’s 11-6 loss to the Braves, he went 3-for-5 with a home run and an RBI single.
Mickey Moniak homered twice in the losing effort, his fourth multihomer game of the season.
Rumfield’s key is bringing the skills he learned from when he first picked up a bat to the Major Leagues.
“It’s how I was raised – playing pepper in the backyard or playing Wiffle ball, you’re going to try to hit everything – it’s tough to do at this level, but you just want to hit it where it’s pitched,” Rumfield said. “That’s what this game is about, just being able to react.
“I’ve always taken pride in being able to put the ball in play. And no matter how many strikeouts happen in the game today, I always take pride in putting the ball in play and trying to do something other than striking out.”
Rumfield arrived in a pre-Spring Training trade with the Yankees, and is the only position player on the active roster who had not appeared in the Majors before this year. Whether it was guys with little previous experience, such as Johnston or third baseman Kyle Karros, or more-veteran players such as Willi Castro or Edouard Julien, the Rockies wanted to establish a lineup of players who didn’t fall into the swing-and-miss holes that have dogged the team’s players in recent years.
In addition to improving the record at the Major League level, the way Rumfield and others have earned playing time is a message to players throughout the farm system. Strike-zone proficient plate appearances get noticed, even above gaudy Minor League numbers.
“One of the things we’ve talked about since my first week here was this idea of organizational consistency,” Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta said. “Whatever we do at the big league level, we want to do all the way through the organization, even into our scouting operations.
“It’s something we’ve tried to do through the course of spring, and now the first month of the season throughout the Minor Leagues, to really have one language when we talk about hitting, one language when we talk about pitching. It’s starting to take hold in the Minor Leagues, but we still have a lot of work to do.”
Players on and off the active roster could benefit from listening to Rumfield discuss pride in putting the ball in play. It’s the language of the Rockies’ future.