Read Rockies owner Dick Monfort’s letter to season ticket holders

I have to admit I’m still having withdrawals and trouble coming to terms with the fact that another Rockies baseball season has come to a close. I miss flipping on the game when I get home, and I miss texting with my buddies from the time the lineup comes out until the last pitch is thrown. The high of having the division within our reach and the extra inning victory over the Cubs still seems greatly overshadowed by being swept by the Brewers and sitting in a frigid Coors Field watching another team celebrate on our home turf. The high and low of the postseason is captured in two lasting images:

Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images

Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

I’ve been a season ticket holder since 1994, and I do know as the pain fades in the offseason it will be replaced by optimism that 2019 will be the year we finally win the division and move past the first round of the postseason (at the very least)!

The Rockies’ C-Suite is looking forward to 2019 as well. At the end of each season Dick Monfort sends out a season wrapup email to season ticket holders, below is this year’s edition.

Rockies Executive Update from Dick Monfort

It is hard to believe another season has come and gone - earlier than we wanted, but it was such a great year in so many ways. Our 91 regular season wins were the second-most in franchise history, and we were one win away from our first division title. We won a game for the ages at Wrigley Field to kick off the postseason, and if you are like me, it seemed as if every game in September was a playoff game.

I stressed through every out this season, which can be very exhausting over the course of 162-plus games, but I would do anything to be stressing over an LCS game right now! I recall talking to Buddy after the team had lost a couple games and having him assure me that these guys show up every day, prepare and get ready to do battle, firmly believing we can win that day’s game – and, like you, I could see that. I was proud of our players’ grit and determination; I was proud of their professionalism; I was proud of the fact that they never gave up, even in the toughest stretches of the season. I firmly believe that we have the tools to compete at an even higher level next year. We all know how close we are, and if the team prepares this offseason as well as they did the last, we can win the division and more.

I was also proud of the fact that our players and coaches continually acknowledged all of you for the unwavering support you show our team every game. Each team has its advantages when it comes to location. In Denver we have our gorgeous sunsets, we have ideal summer weather, we have a beautiful ballpark anchoring a great downtown, and we get to host the best fans in the game. For the first time since 2001, we sold over three million tickets! Even though Denver is the 19th largest market, our fans turned out in numbers that ranked seventh in baseball in attendance. That’s an elite mark that you all set and we thank you for your tremendous support.

As we prepare for the 2019 season, a natural step in our annual business planning is evaluating our ticket pricing. We understand that no one wants to pay more. However, our prices continue to be some of the lowest in baseball. We will be instituting a modest price increase for 2019, and hopefully this will allow us to assemble the championship team we all want.

I would like to end with this: First and foremost, I am a fan, my heart pounds like yours, my anger rises over a bad call or a bad game. And that’s because we all care, we love our Rockies and we want the world to know how special this place and our team truly are. Everything we do here starts with all of you. Without your support, we can’t compete. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you. As I have told people, the 2018 season was like a great movie, but I just didn’t like the ending. I commit to you that we will do all we can possibly do to provide even more excitement and results in 2019. You deserve the best product on the field and off, and we will deliver it. I’m proud of our team, our employees, our city, our state and region, and most important, you, our loyal fans.

See you next spring and GO ROCKIES!

Sincerely,

Richard L. Monfort

Owner/Chairman & CEO

Through the years many people have questioned if Rockies ownership really cares about winning. I firmly believe that they do. During times of frustration I’ve even had a couple conversations with Monfort, which further reinforced my belief that he is passionate about putting a winning team on the field each and every year.

I appreciate the pledge to use a ticket price increase not for rising expenses but “to assemble the championship team we all want.” Now it’s up to Jeff Bridich and his team to figure out how to make that happen. If Bridich is looking for suggestions I just happen to have a rough draft of my 5 point plan for the offseason:

1. Add a power hitting OF or 1B
2. Upgrade the catcher position
3. Get rid of some of the dead weight in the bullpen (even if it means eating some salaries)
4. Let the best players play every day, even if they’re young
5. Show Nolan the money!

Monfort cares about winning, and so do I. If this plan isn’t the Rockies’ cup of tea, I hope their ideas for improvement are even better. We’ll see.

See you next spring, too, Dick. And GO ROCKIES!