Gov. Jared Polis watched the Rockies’ home opener through heavily purple-tinted lenses.
Coming off three straight 100-loss seasons and widely projected for a fourth in 2026, Polis believes the club’s changed front office, led by president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta, gives the Rockies a shot to shock the baseball world with a wild-card berth.
Entering Friday’s game against the Phillies at Coors Field, FanGraphs gave Colorado a 0.1% chance to make the playoffs. Don’t tell Polis, though, who was in the stands as Philadelphia jumped out to a 9-0 lead after three innings in a 10-1 blowout.
“We happen to be in the same division as the Dodgers, so we’re going for the wild card,” Polis told The Denver Post. “We’ve got some great talent, it just needs to all come together. We’ve got to have another great year out of (Silver Slugger catcher) Hunter Goodman, (rookie first baseman T.J.) Rumfield’s got to come through as an amazing young talent, of course (shortstop Ezequiel) Tovar’s got to stay healthy. (Right-hander Chase) Dollander has ace potential.
“… You’ve got to be optimistic on Opening Day. I was glad to see some changes, and we’re all glad to see some changes. Clearly what they did last year (with a franchise-record 119 losses) didn’t work.”
Polis, in the final year of his second term as governor, issued a letter to the public on Thursday night giving people “an official, fully sanctioned excuse” to get out of work and school to go to Friday’s home opener. In the letter, the former Rockies season ticket holder called attendance at the home opener “essential civic engagement.”
“Employers, educators and all other authority figures are strongly encouraged to honor this excused absence and, where possible, join in the celebration,” Polis wrote.
It’s the first time that Polis, whose 11-year-old daughter left school early to get to the game, has issued such a proclamation. Polis, who was born in Boulder but spent his formative years in San Diego, is a diehard Colorado sports fan. But his primary athletic love is baseball, a game he played all growing up and at La Jolla Country Day School in California.
Polis was a corner infielder who also occasionally pitched. He also happens to be one of the best hitters to ever step in the box in the Congressional Baseball Game, which has been played consistently between Democratic and Republican congressmen since 1909.
The Colorado governor is the all-time career leader in RBIs for the game with 14, according to data compiled by FiveThirtyEight.
“Some people say RBIs are a junk stat, but I stand by my record,” Polis quipped.
In Polis’ nine games in the Congressional Baseball Game, which has been played at Nationals Park since 2008, he batted .400 with three doubles, seven runs scored, two steals, no strikeouts, and a .448 on-base percentage. He said his favorite moment from those games was an extended at-bat where he fouled off 14 pitches before roping a line-drive single up the middle.
In that vein, Polis said Tony Gwynn — whom Polis grew up watching with the Padres in San Diego — is his favorite player. Todd Helton is his favorite Rockies player, and whoever can step up this season to help fulfill Polis’ long-odds prediction of a wild card berth will also earn his acclaim.
“Whatever breakout player we have will be my favorite player this season,” Polis said.
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