Rockies Retro: It Could Be Worse (AKA the Story of Kit Pellow)

The purpose of this edition of Rockies Retro is to help you cope with the recent struggles of your favorite ballclub (which I'm assuming is the Rockies, if you're reading this). Despite the exciting win tonight, the Rox have been disappointing since October of 2007, and a lot of us feel as if the quality of product on the field is less than desirable. So, you ask - how is this supposed to be making me feel better? Well, here's why: it could be worse - Kit Pellow could have been in the starting lineup on Opening Day.

Kit Pellow was originally drafted in 1996 by the Kansas City Royals, and made his way to the Rockies organization prior to the 2003 season.  As a September call-up toward the end of the '03 season, Pellow performed well - hitting .444/.476/.889 in scrap time that included mostly home games and blowout losses. However, in typical organizational fashion, the hot streak in a miniscule sample size ended up not only earning Kit a spot on the roster for 2004 - it earned him a starting outfield job on Opening Day (okay okay, that was partially aided by Larry Walker's injury, but still...).

Allow me to backtrack a bit so that I can tell you about Kit Pellow's career up until his shining moment of being an Opening Day starter.  He spent five consecutive seasons in Triple A before being called up by the Royals in late-2002. He was always a guy who hit for decent average and good power in the minors (a career .293/.363/.544 minor league hitter with 293 home runs), but he struck out four times for every walk he drew, and was not a good defender no matter where he played - whether it was 1B, 3B, C, or OF.  This kind of player really never worked out for the Rockies, and Kit would be no exception.

On Opening Day '04, Pellow was accompanied only by "the other" Luis Gonzalez as players with the distinction of not being credible MLB veterans in Colorado's lineup. Gonzalez established himself quickly in the 6-2 victory over Arizona by going 2-for-5 with a homer and two RBI's; Pellow did not, going 0-for-4 with 2 K's. More of the same would follow from the obscure Pellow, as he would finish his Rockies (and MLB) career a lifetime .257/.335/.381 hitter who walked 17 times in 99 games and struck out on 68 occurrences.

As of this season, Pellow is playing for Lincoln of the American Association. Prior to that, he spent four years completely owning the Mexican League. If you're reading this Kit, no hard feelings - it's all in good fun. Plus, you're doing your part by easing the minds of some hardcore Rockies fans by allowing them to realize that IT COULD BE WORSE. Hats off to you, Kit Pellow!