Colorado Rockies news and links for Friday, December 26, 2025
When it comes to the Colorado Rockies, there weren’t a lot of highlights in 2025. In fact, the biggest bright spots might be in the front office and coaching staff personnel changes.
While there were some memorable moments on the field, I thought it might be more pleasant to focus on what happened off the field. In this time of looking back on heart-warming stories from 2025, it might be good to share some of the uplifting fundraisers and charitable events the Colorado Rockies were a part of this year.
This is not a comprehensive list, but just some highlights as a way to end the year on a good note.
Hit the Mitt
In the wonderful annual tradition, UCHealth signed on to donate $5,000 to Freedom Service Dogs for every time a Colorado Rockie hit the mitt with a homer to left field.
The Rockies finished the season with four long balls to the red mitt, totalling $20,000 for the Englewood-based organization that pairs service dogs with people who have physical or intellectual disabilities, along with veterans and first responders with PTSD.
Brenton Doyle, Ezequiel Tovar, Mickey Moniak and Blaine Crim each hit one of the fundraising homers.
The $20,000 was on top of the $175,000 UCHealth donated to Freedom Service Dogs in June for the Healthy Swings Home Run Derby at Coors Field, despite the event being cancelled because of rain and lightning. The annual event hosts several Denver Broncos who take over Coors Field to take swings for a good cause.
Rockies Charity Night
On Aug. 20, the Rockies had a really good day.
First, the Rockies beat Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers 8-3. As a bonus, by the end of the night, the Rockies had sold all of their Charity Night packages and raised $125,000 for Colorado Rockies Foundation organizations with a focus on Access Opportunity.
The Rockies.TV broadcast featured highlights of the Rockies-swag packages and heartwarming stories of the work that Access Opportunity does. The Boulder-based organization was founded in 2014 and helps low-income students access educational support throughout high school and college, eventually helping them launch their careers, “ultimately benefiting the lives of others.”
2025 Players Alliance Clinic
In 2021, when the MLB All-Star Game was relocated from Atlanta to Denver, the Players Alliance hosted an All-Star Clinic in Denver where kids from the community got the chance to play baseball with Major Leaguers. At the same time, MLB announced it was donating $10 million per year for 10 years, plus matching donations to the Players Alliance, a nonprofit organization founded by current and former professional baseball players to make the game more equitable and accessible. The organization was started by more than 100 Black current and former players in the wake of George Floyd’s death in 2020 to help build Black participation in baseball.
This year, Curtis Granderson and the Players Alliance returned to Denver to host another clinic, and Colorado players — including Kyle Freeland, Jordan Beck, Seth Halverson, Chase Dollander and others — took the field to play “community catch” and help provide instruction.
Eco-Slugger Innovation Award
On Earth Day in April, the Rockies were announced as the winners of the MLB and WM (formerly Waste Management) Eco-Slugger Innovation Award. According to MLB.com, the organization was “recognized for innovative sustainability initiatives, including their stormwater management program, reusable cup pilot program, and Earth Day activiations focused on incorporating education on sustainability into the ballpark and with the youth.”
The Rockies have always made environmentally friendly efforts, including having the first solar panels in an MLB stadium in 2007, a LED light retrofits,energy efficiency systems, the Coors Field Garden and a top-notch recycling program that includes cardboard, plastic, aluminum, cooking oil, metals, batteries, electronics, construction debris, glass, pallets, compost, grass clippings, shrubbery and more.
With these efforts and more, the Rockies probably did more good on the field than off in 2025.
At least, they’ve got that going for them.
Mike Axisa’s holiday gift for the Colorado Rockies would be a Luis Arráez signing. Able to take advantage of a large infield, a great batting average and a low strikeout percentage, Arraez could be a great fit. )Purple Row’s Skyler Timmins discussed this earlier in December.) Another of Axisa’s reasons is very thoughtful: “Colorado almost certainly won’t contend in 2026, but Arraez is an entertaining player when he’s hitting, and the Rockies faithful deserve entertaining players.”
The best baseball players born on Christmas | MLB.com
Ricky Henderson is the no-brainer that tops this list. However, there is also a former Rockie in the “Others of Note” section of this post: Willy Taveras. The center fielder, who played for the Rockies from 2007-08, led the National League with 68 stolen bases in 2008. The 68 stolen bases mark is still the Rockies single-season record.
Revisiting every team’s best win in 2025 | MLB.com
For a team out of playoff contention in April, you might think this might be hard to find. But MLB.com picked the one most Rockies fans would think of within three seconds — the unbelievable 17-16 come-from-behind win on Aug. 1 vs. the Pirates. It’s worth remembering that the Rockies were down 9-0 in the first inning and trailed often before rallying back, which included a five-run bottom of the ninth, for the memorable win.
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Category: General Sports
