Rockies win despite losing team president…
Written by The Go-To-Man Mattie T. on April 21, 2010
The Colorado Rockies played with heavy hearts on Tuesday evening, as they were able to beat the Washington Nationals 10-4 just hours after learning of the death of team president Keli McGregor, who was 48.
McGregor was found dead inside of a Salt Lake City hotel room on Tuesday morning, so the Rockies honored him by bringing a jersey with his name and the number 88 (his old college football number) on it into their dugout.
1st baseman Todd Helton had a hard time believing of McGregor’s death, as the two had gone golfing & duck hunting in the past:
“Seeing his picture up there, it’s hard. It’s hard to believe it actually happened. He basically brought us to where we’re at right now. It really hasn’t set in yet. I struggle with the words because I don’t think they would do him justice.”
Rockies manager Jim Tracy also issued a statement regarding McGregor’s death, which was done before his team put up 8 runs in the 3rd inning:
“What took place tonight on the field was a wonderful tribute to a man that we obviously loved. The game tonight—and the way it turned out—eases the pain. It’s there. There’s no getting around it. Eventually with some time, it will go away, but not immediately.”
Since McGregor took over as team president in 2001, the Rockies suffered six straight losing seasons before finally breaking through in 2007 with an unbeliveable NL Wild Card run that ended in heartbreak as they were swept in 4 games by the Boston Red Sox in the World Series.
Just last season, Colorado won a franchise-best 92 games but lost in 4 games to the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS.
