This is not major league level. The Colorado Rockies' struggles have reached a serious level. Even the last-place team usually has a .300 win percentage, but Colorado is struggling with a win percentage in the .100s. No matter how early it is in the season, they are playing terribly.
On the 27th (Korean time), Colorado lost to the Cincinnati Reds at Coors Field by a score of 4-6. After ending an 8-game losing streak, they are now in the midst of another 5-game losing streak, deepening their struggles with a record of 1 win and 13 losses in their last 14 games.
As a result, Colorado's season record stands at 4 wins and 22 losses, the lowest win percentage in Major League Baseball (.154). This marks the worst start in the franchise's history. The San Diego Padres (17 wins, 9 losses), San Francisco Giants (18 wins, 10 losses), Los Angeles Dodgers (16 wins, 10 losses), and Arizona Diamondbacks (14 wins, 12 losses), all belonging to the National League (NL) West division, have win percentages above .500, while Colorado has dropped sharply to the .100s. The team has failed to make the postseason for six consecutive years from 2019 to last year with win percentages below .500, and this year they have hit rock bottom.
According to the Denver Post, Colorado is the fifth team since the introduction of the division system in 1969 to record at least 22 losses in the first 26 games of the season. They have matched the records of the 1988 Baltimore Orioles (2 wins, 24 losses), 2003 Detroit Tigers (3 wins, 23 losses), 2022 Cincinnati Reds (4 wins, 22 losses), and the Chicago White Sox (4 wins, 22 losses) last year.
It's difficult to recover after such a poor start to the season. The 1988 Baltimore Orioles (54 wins, 107 losses), 2003 Detroit Tigers (43 wins, 119 losses), and last year's White Sox (41 wins, 121 losses) all suffered over 100 losses and could not escape last place. Cincinnati (62 wins, 100 losses) finished fourth in the division but still reached the 100-loss mark.
The team ranks 30th in earned run average (5.22) and 30th in opponent batting average (.290), making the pitching staff the worst. The team batting average is 28th (.216), and OPS is 26th (.647), indicating a weak batting lineup. After dismissing hitting coach Hensley Muñoz on the 18th, former manager Clint Hurdle, who had been serving as Director General, returned to the field as hitting coach, but the batting lineup fell silent after scoring 11 runs in their first game.
Chris Bryant, who has become a failure as a free agent, has a batting average of .154 (6 hits in 39 at-bats) with 1 home run and 2 RBIs in 11 games this year and was placed on the injured list again on the 14th due to a herniated disc. He signed a record 7-year, $182 million free agent contract with Colorado before the 2022 season but has been placed on the injured list an astounding 9 times in just 4 years.
To make matters worse, All-Star left-handed third baseman Ryan McMahon, who has been the team's backbone, has also fallen into severe struggles. In the game against Cincinnati on the 27th, McMahon went 0-for-4, and his batting average this year over 26 games is .160 (15 hits in 94 at-bats) with 2 home runs and 4 RBIs, resulting in an OPS of .528. In his last 14 games, he has only 2 hits in 50 at-bats, with a batting average of .040 and 25 strikeouts, which is equivalent to automatic outs.
Colorado manager Bud Black said, "Tomorrow (28th) a left-handed pitcher (Nick Lodolo) will be starting for Cincinnati, so I will sit McMahon on the bench to give him a breather. He's a player who can play every day, but right now he’s in a tough position. He is ahead of breaking balls but is late on fastballs. His timing is completely off."
Since his debut in 2017, McMahon has recorded 126 home runs over 9 seasons, and except for the shortened COVID-19 pandemic season, he has hit over 20 home runs for 5 consecutive years since 2019. However, this year, he has 40 strikeouts in 94 at-bats, indicating his plate discipline has collapsed completely. As a veteran who should steady the young players in Colorado, even McMahon's struggles are accelerating the team’s decline.
McMahon said, "I need to go out every day and set an example for the young players," stating, "We are still working hard to find the solution. I need to show productivity starting with myself to help the team. I cannot be like this in the 3rd spot in the lineup."
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